Fun Archives - Page 14 of 75

The Color Run

June 5, 2013/2 Comments/in Family, Fun, Happiness, Kansas City /by Megan

Last year was the first time the Color Run came to Kansas City, and I wanted to go more than anything! Have you heard of the Color Run? It’s the happiest 5K on the planet! Basically it’s a 5K fun run, and at every kilometer you run through a tunnel where people throw colored powder all over you. By the end you’re a multi-colored mess, but it’s such a blast! When the race is over, you run across the finish line and straight into a huge dance party, where everyone throws more colored powder up in the air during countdowns led by the Color Run DJ. Here’s a video explaining the whole, crazy thing:

Last year the race filled up so fast, we didn’t get in. But this year they decided to do two Color Runs in one weekend, so there were a few more spots and we snatched them up. My sister and her whole family decided to run, so we joined up with them and ran as a team. The dads and older kids all ran together, while my sister and I stayed back with Lulu and Tate (who was riding in our jogging stroller). We definitely did more walking than running, but it was still super fun. Here are some pics from race day (all taken with the iPhone since I didn’t want to bring the fancy Canon 60D in to that mess):

Some tips for running the Color Run with kids:

– Make sure the kids and adults know who they are sticking with during the race. It’s a bit chaotic and since everyone is wearing the same thing, it can be scary if someone gets separated from the group.
– Plan on bringing your cell phones both to take pics and keep in communication, but be sure to wrap them up in a plastic ziplock bag. Since we had the jogging stroller, we threw our phones and other items in there, but people (like my sister) were rocking fanny packs and armbands to carry their essentials as well.
– At two-years-old, Tate is a bit sensitive to big crowds and got pretty upset during parts of the run. He didn’t like the colored powder being thrown on him at all, so the jogging stroller was a godsend. We just put down the sun canopy and he was mostly protected. You’ll notice he’s quite a bit cleaner in the photos, and that’s why 🙂
– Bring a change of clothes or something to cover up your car seats so you don’t get the colored powder all over on the ride home.
– Speaking of the colored powder, it’s just corn starch and food coloring, so it’s non-toxic and won’t hurt you if you accidentally swallow some. Wear sunglasses or another eye covering to keep the dust out of your eyes (we even saw some younger kids wearing swim goggles). The color washes out, but if you’re blond, like myself, my sister, both my kids and her daughter, it was recommended to cover up your hair. I had someone who ran last year warn me it took six weeks to wash the color out of her blond hair, so we pulled out all the stops, with bandanas, hats and sweatbands. We still did end up with some in our hair, but it washed out within a few days.
– Before you leave, find the guys with the giant leaf blowers that will hose you down and get a bunch of the loose colored powder off you before you get to your car.
– You will get a t-shirt to wear for the race, but make sure the other clothes you are wearing are ones you don’t mind being ruined. I ended up buying a pair of $10 shorts from the Color Run shop and wearing old sneakers. Not great for running, but it didn’t matter if that were gross after it was over.

The Color Run will be back in the Kansas City area for a race in Lawrence in September. If you’re available, you should totally do it! Such a fun race, and something both the kids and the parents really enjoyed. Happy Color Running!

A Photography Guide for the Non-Photographer

May 15, 2013/1 Comment/in Fun, Photos /by Megan

So, you got a new camera for Mother’s Day, huh?! Lucky you! Or maybe you finally got your friend’s hand-me-down point and shoot. Or you’re just an Instagramming fool, taking tons of shots with your phone or other mobile device. Well, you don’t need to be a professional photographer to take beautiful photos, and you certainly don’t need the most expensive camera on the market. With a few easy tips and tricks, your photos will look awesome, regardless of your professional status or equipment.

1. Find the Light – I think this is the most important rule of thumb when it comes to any kind of photography. Light will make or break your image, and natural light is the way to go. Look for interesting shadows or backlighting that is a bit different from the norm. If you’re taking portraits of people, make sure not to have them in direct sunlight. Find a shaded spot or head out on a cloudy day instead. In terms of shooting time, first thing in the morning and right before sunset is when the natural light is at it’s best, so if you can work around that schedule, do it.

2. The Rule of Thirds – This is a basic photographic principle that’s pretty simple for even a novice to use. In it’s most simple form, the rule of thirds says that the frame of the photo can be broken down in to a grid with 9 parts and if you place the subject of your image on those grid lines it will be more interesting to the eye. For nerds like me, it means, simply, don’t center your subject. Crop at an angle that is a bit different and that can take your photo to another level.

3. Learn Your Camera – When I got my first digital SLR camera, I spent the first two months reading the manual cover to cover. It sounds tedious, but that was the best thing I could’ve done. Every camera is different and if you don’t understand what the buttons mean than you’re never going to get the most out of it.

4. Find Tutorials Online – The Internet is a magical place, isn’t it? It’s full of experts who will help you with pretty much anything, and that extends to photographers! Some of my favorite photography tutorials are on the Pioneer Woman’s site, where she goes through everything from exposure to aperture to focus to Photoshop with easy to follow images. If you’re looking for great photography apps, I’ve done a few round ups of those right here and here that will really help you out if your a smartphone photographer.

5. Have Fun! – I know, that’s annoying advice, but it’s true! Keep trying different things until you find what works for you. Get out and shoot whenever you can and eventually you will find yourself with images that will blow your mind. Happy snapping!

(All photos in this post, other than the first one (by Christina Gepner), were taken by me with the iPhone 4S, proof you don’t need a $3,000 camera to get some fantastic results!)

Happy Weekend : Family Movie Night

May 3, 2013/1 Comment/in Fun, Lucy /by Megan

We have a standing tradition in our house that weekends are for movie nights! Lulu is a huge fan of this idea, and honestly, would have movie night every night if she could. It has become something that Lu and I can do together, that doesn’t cause too much stress and isn’t hard to pull off. We usually wait until Tate has gone to bed, because two-year-olds are kind of a bummer when it comes to watching a good movie in peace, but I’m sure one day he will become a part of this tradition as well. Until then, it’s girls only movie night at my house!

We have a steady stream of Disney flicks on rotation, but lately I’ve been looking for movies that both Lu and I will enjoy. Here’s a list of our top five mother-daughter movie faves (of the moment, of course, we are very fickle):

1. The Sound of Music – I love this original trailer from 1965!

2. Lemonade Mouth – OK, yes, so technically a Disney movie, but I’m a nerd and I sort of love this one…(plus I have a secret wish that Lu is in a band someday…I might be living my dreams through my kid.)

3. The Wizard of Oz – A classic, and as a kid from Kansas, she’s gonna need to know why everyone keeps asking her about Oz (Flashback: Remember our Wizard of Oz photoshoot with a three year old Lu as Dorothy? Adorable.)

4. We Bought a Zoo – This one is probably the only one that you’d have to worry about language or adult themes, and it’s pretty mild and adds to the story (the older son goes through a phase where he yells curse words at his dad…). Lucy adores this film and both of us bawl our eyes out every time we watch it. So good.

5. Bride & Prejudice – Jane Austen + Bollywood, need I say more! No lie, this is Lucy’s favorite movie right now. And for good reason!

Have a great weekend and hopefully a movie night or two!

P.S. Check out these amazing ideas for a backyard movie night. I think we may have to plan one for this summer….

Big Plans

April 26, 2013/1 Comment/in Blond, Fun /by Megan

Peeking through fence holes, looking for treasures. #childhood #fmsphotoaday

Things I Plan to Do This Weekend:

1. Watch every episode of Scandal I can get my hands on. (I blame Michelle for this…)
2. Plant all the flowers that have been sitting in our sunroom waiting for Kansas to realize it’s spring already and quit snowing.
3. Attempt to potty train one very surly little boy who hates everything about the potty except the M&Ms he gets when he accidentally goes in it (seriously, every successful attempt has been an accident).
4. Search for treasures and fairy lands through holes in the fence.
5. Soak up all the vitamin D I can…you never know when that damn snow is going to come back to visit.

Hope your plans are equally fantastic!

Matching sunnies. #sorrynotsorry #amazing

Take your daughter to work (because you forgot your laptop power cord and had to pick it up) day! #kc #rivermarket

P.S. I also plan to eat an entire jar of Trader Joe’s cookie butter because, well, just because.

P.P.S. Don’t forget about the HappyBottoms fundraiser!

I Heart KC : The Great Wolf Lodge

April 8, 2013/1 Comment/in Fun, Kansas City, Videos /by Megan

As a part of our “at home” Spring Break this year, I thought it might be fun to try and take the kids somewhere overnight here in the city. That way even though we weren’t going somewhere foreign and tropical, they’d still feel like we “got away.” And I wouldn’t have to travel for hours with a crabby two-year-old. Win/win.

Since it had been so snowy and grey for the past few months, we decided to hit up the Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City, Kansas. The Great Wolf Lodge is a hotel that features a massive indoor water park and is about 20 minutes from our house. The minute we walked into the building, the kids started freaking out, and for good reason. This place completely caters to kids. From the hula hooping in the lobby to the bedtime stories told every night by the hotel’s mascots to the huge arcade, it’s a child’s paradise.

We stayed two nights, and while that was PLENTY, I’m sure you could spend a whole week there and not run out of things to do. We spent the days at the waterpark, but Lulu’s other favorite part was the Magiquest, a game set up throughout the hotel where kids used a magic want to open up treasures and secret powers. It’s hard to explain, but you can learn more about it here. It was nice to have something Lu was so excited about that was outside of the pool area, just in case we needed a break or were trying to get back to the room so Tate could nap a bit.

Wheeee! #swim #slide #greatwolflodge #springbreakin

Skeeball wizard. (Sidenote: I just played appx 1 million games of skeeball) #springbreakin #arcade #greatwolflodge

My only gripe with the Great Wolf Lodge would be the actual rooms. The walls were thin, and when you’re in a hotel full of kids, it can get pretty loud, which made it hard for my little guys to get to sleep. Also, we decided on a suite with what we thought was a separate room for the kids, but it was more like a divider with no door or full walls, so getting the kids in bed was a challenge. They loved the bunkbeds though, and thought the whole thing was a great adventure.

If you’re looking for a fun, easy, indoor getaway in Kansas City, the Great Wolf Lodge is an awesome idea! The location is pretty rad too, right in the Legends area, next to a huge outlet mall, the Kansas Speedway, Sporting KC and a ton of other activities.

Most of my photos from the Great Wolf Lodge were taken with my iPhone (hard to juggle a DSLR camera and a toddler in a swimming pool!), but I was able to shoot a bit of video in the waterpark. I hope you enjoy! Special thanks once again to Grammy who came with us on this adventure!

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