Sesame place- Review.

Who doesn't love Elmo?! Well we do! So we hit Sesame place again this year. Last year was our first year there, we didn't really know what to expect. I have learned a lot since then! One thing if your local DO NOT GO ON A WEEKEND!!!! If you can avoid it , please try. We went our first year on a weekend, I will never go again. Thankfully only a 45 min ride I will ask hubby to take a vacation day and we will go! If you have triple AAA you can get discounts also alot of local places has coupons, rite aids, wawa's etc, just have to look for them. And if your local do the 2 day pass!

Second thing I learned was we didn't know it was a mostly water park. So be prepared for it, bring change of clothes, swimsuits, towels , sunscreen! I really wasn't expecting it. This year we were so prepared for it.

We got there around 11am, got great parking. My friends that went she needed a wheelchair (which you can rent btw and motor scooters) I think the wheelchair was $15.00 and scooter was $50.00. Lockers are $20.00 but you get 5.00 back. (we did get a locker) most say you don't need a locker but we had bottles, ect. so we just got one. I could see if you had a membership that would get costly.

They have a lot for all ages to do in our group we ranged from a 19 month, 2 1/2 year old, 4 year old and 9 year old and they all had fun! We did the dry rides first . And then went to do all the wet stuff. We stopped for a few and watched the parade. My daughter went on the roller coaster her first real one :) was exciting. We even went down the tube ride climbing up was a little scary for me with heights. I can say shes not scared of looking down, I was..lol.

I have now been there three times and our favorite place for the parade is get in the middle or end, but NOTE you get there early to get a good spot. This last time we got beginning it was okay for us because it was so hot out so we were okay with it ended fast but at the end they take kids from the sidewalks and interact with them. It was cool. but on a weekend get there super early!!! I almost never went back to sesame street, my first time there was HORRIBLE. But since then i did research and now I know.

Pack a lunch, they let you come in and out of the park and they have picnic tables.

Def. pack your lunch! Foods expensive. We did get the elmo cup to get $1.00 refills on soda it was 6.50. So I didn't think it was that bad. And you have a collectors cup.

We haven't made it over to the dry rides yet, just a few , didn't do them all because we were all getting tired because it was 104 degree day!!! Water, sun was enough for the kiddo's and adults.

the characters walk around and you can take your pictures with them. they have cute shops. We always get a hat , its kinda tradition. (not every time we go) just each year. If we were too stay around this area sesame place would be fun for memberships. I'm all about memberships if you can save money in the longer run.

I think the best times are mornings, and later in the evenings. Also in the Evenings if you live close enough would be worth it! I think they do twilight hour too, which would be fun. They also do events through the year. We haven't been to any of them yet. My kids had a blast THIS year now that I did my research and thanks to Mom2MomNJ facebook site where people gave advice. We had such a pleasant time this year and I'm excited to go back again!!

http://www.sesameplace.com/sesame2/

Also if you buy a membership now you get the rest of 2011 :) GREAT DEAL that will pay for itself in 2 visits.

Sprayground at dorbrook

About 4 weeks ago we went to Sprayground in Dorbrook. I have to say it was a drive for me. Esp, when my kids hate traveling. I went with a few of the moms from my mom's group. It took me about an hour and 20 minutes I would say to get up there.

It was a lot bigger then what I expected and for free?! That is always a good thing, us moms love free places! Lots of picnic tables inside (just get there early) for one. They have umbrella's covering them so they do go fast. Which was nice because my youngest napped in her stroller under the shade while we played. It was gated in and they have someone in the front. It's not gated in 100% so there's a pretty big entrance. We brought buckets (recommended by another mom that went already). So bring buckets (write your name on them. I also brought plastic cups that I didn't care if they got left behind. It was very clean (making people eat outside of the park has a lot to do with it also).

The one thing they do have a rule of is you can NOT EAT inside the actually spray park, so if you get a picnic table in there , you can't eat at it. They are pretty strict about the food thing. You can bring your own food, just have to eat it outside the gate. It was fine for us anyways because it gave the kids a break from the sun and water. We packed a lunch and went and sat under a tree. They have bathrooms, a park next to it. If I would have stayed longer we would have went to the park after we played in the water, but 4 hours in the water wore us out.

We also went on a Monday, it was pretty busy in the morning. Around 1 it cleared out a little. I really don't know if I would go on a weekend by myself with two kids anyways. Might be pretty busy.

Things I would bring is lots of sunscreen, a lunch, extra clothes, towels, buckets and lot's of drinking water!

I would recommend this place to anyone that either lives in the area or want's to take the drive up there. Even if my kids hate car rides they did enjoy it and it was worth going!

I heard there was another one closer to here so we will go to that one and see. It would be nice if there was one around our area!

http://www.monmouthcountyparks.com/page.aspx?ID=2503

(please note we did bring all these toys) they didn't provide any.

Johnson's corner farm

Since we moved here (2 1/2 years ago) we have been going to Johnson's corner farm, I really don't know how I came to find Johnsons, I think I was just googling farms and pumpkin picking or fruit picking I'm not sure, but to my surprise I found it. I remember my daughter was only a year when we went. We love it there! I never knew you could get memberships there until MOM2MOMNJ said something about it in a post.

We got a membership this year, and I can't believe how much we use it and go there. Prices are below. If you live near by the membership will pay for itself after the 4th time. I think they run evening specials for 1/2 off. You have to check to see when the hayrides run, on the weekend i'm pretty sure the last hayride is at 4pm.

DAY PASS

• $6.50 per child (between ages 12 months and 12 years old)
• Adults and children 13 and older $3.25

SEASON PASS

• $30 per child per season, $15 per adult per season
• (not available after Aug. 1)

Well of course you can't get the season pass but i would recommend it for next year if you live in the area!

My only complaint about the farm was that it gets super hot in the summer and its mostly an outdoor thing so it was hard to go during the day in the summer, but they added a SPLASH PAD :) It is awesome! *Please note to bring a change of clothes, or bathing suit and towels* I also brought buckets for them to play with (just write your name on them) so the kids could fill them up! We usually feed the animals first , get nice and hot and then go play on the spalsh pad / playground area. Its not super big , but its just the right size and they kids get pretty soaked. I also like how its right near the bathrooms. They even have a family bathroom which is nice! The splash pad is in the playground area, which the playground is separated in ages, my kids love the back area where you can do the sandbox (Please note that if you plan on doing the splash pad your kids will get dirty after, so have them dry after). They can play pretend with the little play buildings vet doctor, little pretend market and garage with tools , the bigger kids can ride the "go cart" type rides in the back! They have a little crawlers area as well. Really this place is great for all ages ! The discovery barnyard area is all gated in!

We also love feeding the animals, I kinda wish that their was a little petting zoo there, but all in all this mom gives it a thumbs up! Not only do we love feeding the animals , is picking the fruit and Veggies! The strawberries are so yummy when you turned the corner of the tractor you could just smell how juicy they were, and the blueberries were the girls favorite to pick! Esp. pozzy , I think she ate a pound while we were picking!

Also we did the Easter bunny this year, the egg hunt was SO cute!!!! They had enough eggs so kids were fighting over them, had a cute story before hand. I thought the bunny was the cutest Easter bunny I have seen, i'm usually creeped out about stuffed bunnies ;) The staff was also nice to give us our own wagon for our moms group so we could all go together! So if you have a group I am sure they will assist you very nice.

We still have to do Santa! That will be this year!

You can bring your lunch/dinner which is nice, they have a lot of picnic area, but I LOVE their home made stuff. The pie looks amazing but haven't gotten to purchase one yet, but will before the end of the season.

We went to the family night on Friday night! It was fun! the music was great, some of the food was sold out so get there a little early to get what you want. Was about $25.00 for the 4 of us to eat. They have Dizzy pigs BBQ there, my husband had the brisket and he said it was delicious , they also have pulled pork, they are grilling right in front of you! I had some yummy corn bread and my daughters are wanting more! We also had their yummy corn on the cob with lots of butter on it! Great way to spend the night! The music was family fun and they interacted with the kids so well. They even had a little craft with water bottles that you could make your own music shakers, they had instruments for the kids to play with . The hayrides were free but note that last one stops at 7pm, so if you want to do the hayride do it before eating or get there early enough to do it all. There are even antique cars which some of the boys would like!

This is our favorite place in the area to go, you can go for a few hours or make it a whole day.It's great for all ages!!! I am so glad we are making great memories here for my girls , and hope that they will make memories for their family one day!

If you have any questions please feel free to ask! I'm pretty sure I could answer or get the answer for you!

http://www.johnsonsfarm.com/

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