One Moms World Mom Blog - Jen Houck

North Carolina

Family Fun at Xtreme Park Adventures (Durham, NC)

What do you do when a doctor appointment is extremely stressful? You toss the worries out the window for a little bit and drive to the Xtreme Park Adventures in Durham, NC! We enjoy experiencing family fun adventures, so we were happy to accept the invitation from the host at Xtreme Park Adventures. It was the best medicine for us that afternoon.

There are many activities to experience from gem mining to the escape room. Our family experienced three of the activities at the park.

Gem mining was first on our “bucket” list. Each family member received their own pail filled with dirt and sparkling gems. You will be surprised at all the precious gems and you may even walk away with your birthstone. I know I did!

Hubby and M are two very analytical people that love to analyze every situation. This was the perfect pair to experience the escape room. Let me just say, this was their first time in an escape room and now they are eager to try the bigger one at the park. The word on the street is that only four people have successfully escaped the bigger room. Hubby and M say challenge accepted!

Our last adventure of the day was tackling the challenging rope course. Our family of four was all “we got this” until our eight feet stepped onto the first deck. I stood there in awe, Hubby said, what the heck, I’m going, M started tackling one course and then said nope, changing courses, and L said I will just stay right here with my feet firmly planted. You will have to watch the below video to check out Hubby owning the course.

Pack the family up for a morning or afternoon and explore the park. Just a warning as there will be many laughs, smiles, and family bonding!

There is so much more to experience at this park nestled off the main road. You will forget you are near a big city! Schedule your family for a great adventure soon at the Xtreme Park Adventures!

Take a trip back in time with the all-new county fair at Carowinds

Carowinds County FairTrue Carolinians will agree, the feel of an old county fair is like no other. Now guests can enter into an atmosphere of timeless fun for all ages as Carowinds opens an all-new County Fair themed area in spring 2017.

More than three-acres of family fun await in County Fair, featuring four retro classic rides: the twists and turns of Do-Si-Do glides guests up, down and around on three giant arms; the floorless gondolas on Electro-Spin flip guests upside down up to 63 feet above the ground; Rock ‘N’ Roller’s circular motion paired with music tunes and spectacular lighting is a crowd pleaser; and grab the family for some high flying action on the Zephyr swing ride.

The hardest part of the day might be deciding which regional treat to eat! No fair would be complete without recognizable smells and tastes from some “blue ribbon” favorites including: fried corn, hot dogs, cotton candy and fresh cut fries – yummy! Let’s not forget the ever-popular funnel cake. Guests can indulge the deep-fried pastry the old-fashioned way, or chow down on our bite-sized funnel cake fritters.

The County Fair section of the park will feature a wide range of activities that exceed everyone’s imaginations. Family members of all ages can enjoy the comforting feel of the old fair imagery.

“We combined some long-time guests’ favorites, four classic fair rides, traditional fair food and music, to bring a one-of-a-kind experience families will want to enjoy over and over again”, says vice president and general manager, Pat Jones. “Parents can go back in time and re-live their childhood with their kids and create memories that will last a lifetime.”

It’s not too late to purchase a 2017 season pass or renew a current one at the lowest price of the year at carowinds.com. Season passholders will get to experience the all-new County Fair before anyone else during Carowinds exclusive Season Passholder Preview night Friday, March 24 from 6-10 p.m. The park opened to the public on Saturday, March 25.

5 Things You Should Know About Aerial Adventure Parks

We experienced a taste of Spring this past weekend. The entire family enjoyed being outdoors.

With spring around the corner, I wanted to share a great outdoor activity that needs to be checked off your adventure bucket list. High Gravity Adventures, an exciting high ropes playground located in Blowing Rock, N.C., allows guests to climb, balance and swing from heights as high as 50 feet or as low as 15 feet. Visitors are often surprised to learn certain facts about High Gravity Adventures, so we’ve have a list of five things most people don’t know about aerial adventure parks. This ropes course will be opening back up for the season on March 18!

High Gravity Adventures

1.       A Course for Kids – The whole family can experience aerial adventure together. Kids four-years-old and up are welcome to enter the aerial world on High Gravity Adventure’s Kids’ Course. With a responsible adult present, kids will have their very own elements to discover and explore. They can explore the Kids’ Course solo or have a guardian accompany them for a joint experience.

2.       Choose Your Challenge – High Gravity Adventures includes 75+ different aerial challenges that range from 15 to 50 feet in the air. There are many elements to choose from, such as walking over aerial bridges, crossing tight-rope walks, swinging through floating foot loops and traversing giant spiders’ webs.

3.        No Experience Needed – No experience is required when exploring the vertical world. With challenges of varying difficulty levels offered, there is something to please hardcore adventure seekers as well as people who prefer to keep theiradventure closer to the ground. The aerial challenges are diverse and match up to a variety of skill levels.

4.       You Are the Decision Maker – Unlike zip lines or canopy tours, you get to the make the decision of what route you want to take and the height with which you are comfortable. Whether you want to stay at 15 feet or climb all the way up, the decision is entirely up to you at High Gravity Adventures. There are a variety of ways to make your way through the course, and guests have the freedom to take as many breaks as they want.

5.       Safety is Priority – High Gravity Adventures utilizes state-of-the-art safety systems and the latest technology. The owners and staff of the course pride themselves on adhering to industry leading standards for construction, inspection, equipment and staff training. Before entering the course, each guest will be required to attend a mandatory orientation—“Ground School”—where they’ll be educated on helmet and harness fitting, how to use personal safety tethers, course procedures, and how to enter and exit the course.

Why am I so excited?

I love the four seasons. The different seasons are the main reason why we enjoy living in NC. If I didn’t see snow in a given year, my feelings would be hurt. This girl loves her snow. The snow from today is just a tease to what is coming this weekend. We can expect at least a foot of snow starting Friday. Time will tell how much we will fall here in western NC. I say bring it on Winter Storm Jonas. We are ready.

Of course, I had to let the child in me enjoy sledding this evening. It’s a promise there will be more sledding fun this weekend. We’ll be sure to share our adventures!

12615283_10153783420484336_8753858845441505058_o

I’ll leave you with this precious video of our shih tzu, Kingston, enjoying his favorite winter activity this evening.

LEGO KidsFest Stops in Charlotte, NC (Win Tickets)

LEGO building was a favorite pastime when I was a young child. My youngest daughter, L, shares the same love for this great toy. Creativity can go on for hours when it comes to LEGOs. It is one toy that does not need batteries and kids can use their imagination to create all types of buildings. If you have a LEGO fan in your family, you will be so happy about the LEGO KidsFest.

The LEGO KidsFest national tour stops at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC, from February 19 – 21, 2016, for the very first time, bringing all of the creative hands-on, minds-on fun of LEGO building and experiences together in this three acre activity- and entertainment-packed family event.

legokidsfest Charlotte NC

LEGO KidsFest is for children of all ages and builders of all skills and interests.

Among the many LEGO attractions, families will find:

* LEGO Model Museum: life-sized models made entirely from LEGO bricks
* LEGO Master Builders: live demonstrations and activities from the crew who get paid to play
* Race Ramps: build a custom car, then race it down the ramp against friends and family
* LEGO Star Wars: build and display a Star Wars model
* LEGO Disney Princess: create a princess scene to add to a LEGO story book
* LEGO Super Heroes: pose with a life-sized Spiderman model and more
* LEGO DUPLO: younger visitors can explore imagination through building
* LEGO Retail: purchase LEGO merchandise and official KidsFest tour goods
* LEGO Friends: build for the five empowered friends from Heartlake City
* LEGO Ninjago: spin the way to being a Spinjitzu member
* LEGO Mindstorms: build and program robots and snakes
* LEGO Technic: get hands-on with the cool, realistic vehicles at the booth
* Creation Nation: build your own creation to add to a custom map of the U.S.
* Brick Pile: a gigantic pile full of LEGO bricks for creative play and enjoyment
* Monochromatic Builds: bricks of a single color foster group creativity

“Our 2016 LEGO KidsFest tour is going to delight both new and returning audiences,” said Vince Rubino, Events Manager for LEGO Systems, Inc. “We’ve still got some favorites on the show floor, like the Big Brick Pile, Creation Nation and the Race Ramps. There are also many new and unique activities designed for building, learning and fun.”

Five sessions – all identical and 4 1/2 half hours in length – are held at each tour stop. LEGO KidsFest tickets can be purchased at www.LEGOkidsfest.com. Tickets are $19 for the Friday and Sunday afternoon sessions, and $22 for both sessions on Saturday and the Sunday morning session.

WIN!

One lucky reader will win two tickets to the opening night session, Friday Feb 19 (4-8:30pm). Please leave a comment below telling us who you would like to take to the opening session. Contest Ends Monday, January 18, 2015. Good luck! Giveaway winner: Scarlet 

Related Posts with Thumbnails