Samantha, Author at Have Sippy Will Travel

TrackMaster Cranky And Flynn Save The Day

November 29, 2011 by Samantha 9 Comments

Thomas and his friends are always out either getting into trouble and trying to help each other get out of it. The newest line of toys from TrackMaster is Cranky and Flynn Save The Day. Cranky is a Cane and Flynn is a new fire truck which is featured in the Thomas direct to video film, Flynn Saves the day. New movie nominee for best usage of a firetruck with a face on it, LOL- think the academy will go for that? Haha.

The new TrackMaster line of toys separates itself from the other Fisher Price Thomas lines with two important characteristics- one, detail! There is much more detail to these train sets, making them a long lasting Thomas set, one that will retain the interest of your little guy or girl in a few months instead of gathering dust on a shelf or bottom of a closet. The other characteristic is they are motorized. In this particular set, Cranky is controlled [Read more…]

Filed Under: kids, review

Mary Poppins- Disney on Broadway (Live Theater)

November 28, 2011 by Samantha 23 Comments

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to see Mary Poppins on Broadway, for it’s 5 year Anniversary. Not only that, but we were able to go backstage and check out some amazing props from other Disney shows, like The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Tarzan, Aida, and Beauty and the Beast. OK, nerd alert? Totally have seen them all, with the exception of Tarzan, LOL. Aida is one of my all time favorite shows, ever-ever, and I nearly had a heart attack standing backstage.

Did I mention I was a total Broadway lover and geek? OK, well, so what? And I am raising one to boot! My son, age 4, loves the theater, and sits rapt through shows, then listens to the CDs and learns them by heart. This wonderful experience was not one either of us will be forgetting, especially since he got to touch the props themselves!

Disney Theatrical’s VP of Operations Dana Amendola gave us all a backstage tour, and told us a bit about the history of the New Amsterdam Theater- by the way, when you go, see if you can find the hidden Micky Mouse! LOL There is a ghost of one of the original Ziegfeld Follies stars, Olive Thomas who resides there and will only show herself to men. The cure for this phenomenon was to only hire female security guards, since Olive was scaring all the men off, LOL. There is also a “listening post”, where critics could be listened to during the intermission of shows. If they didn’t seem to like what they were seeing, then they were invited up to have a drink with a Ziegfield girl after the show. I bet that changed quite a few minds! Ah, men. So easy to manipulate, LOL.

There were also these beautiful ornamental light fixtures, that were re-created by using descriptions from old diaries and journals. Women would write in great detail of their theater visits, and when the time came to re-construct and renovate the New Amsterdam, nothing was held back. The above was what was created from the descriptions- and right before the show opened, they found one of the original light fixtures, with lights and all still working- buried in a wall! Here was what it looked like-

Not bad, right? So close! And how cool, don’t you just love that story? They very quickly had a new batch made, replicating the newly-discovered old fixture, just in time for the re-opening.

Another Quite Famous Lady of the Theater!

These lovely and ornate carvings are found everywhere you look in the theater- many based on Shakespeare’s plays. Right now, if you go see Mary Poppins, you can get the added perk of being [Read more…]

Filed Under: disney, family, kids, theater

3DS stocking stuffers- Fun Video Games

November 28, 2011 by Samantha 7 Comments

So you all know how much we love the 3DS this year for the holidays.Now we take a look at a few more great 3DS games and even a DS game which is often overlooked.

First we start with a stellar DS game, Professor Layton and the Last Specter. The story of professor Layton is an easy one to jump into, think Sherlock Holmes with more puzzles and a younger assistant. This particular game is a prequel to the trilogy which began with Professor Layton and the Curious Village. In this game we meet his assistant and start up a new trilogy of games. Originally scheduled to be one trilogy, this new/prequel trilogy was began when the developer learned of people love of the characters and game design. Professor Layton is a puzzle based detective story which is heavy on the puzzle solving and thinking.
This particular game also includes a large role playing game starring the Professor called “Professor Layton’s London Life”. This game is a bit plain graphically, but is a very nice addition to an already incredibly fun game.

Next up is a game for the more casual gamers and kids among us, Nintendogs and Cats. This game lets you raise a puppy and for all intents and purposes, lets you “adopt” a new pet. It is quite fun as most digital pets are. This is a fun game for little ones. The kind of game a little kid can fool around with for quite some time, then come back to later. This is more of an interactive toy then an actual game to me. Take your dog for walks, to the store, the park, give them baths, teach them new tricks, everything you do with a real dog. The only problem we had with Nintendogs was when we had to say the dogs name, the 3DS couldn’t hear us when we said the same name twice as it asked.

When designing this portion of the game I really wish there was a way to skip it. It took us a good half hour of Little Man trying, then me trying, then use shutting it off because it was stuck. We had to start the whole process again. Quite a bit aggravating, but these things can be expected with any game which requires user input, its going to go wonky sometimes. Other then this one issue, it was definitely a favorite of Little Man. Just a word of warning, the 3D elements are not meant for children below the age of 7. Little Man still had a blast and the game is just as playable in 2D as it is in 3D. We did turn the 3D off for him, and we suggest you turn it off for your kids as well.

Up next is a launch title. Meaning this was released at the same time as the 3DS, Pilotwings Resort. In this game you take your Mii avatar, which is created and paired with your 3DS, and fly around the island of Wuhu. The air crafts available are [Read more…]

Filed Under: gaming, review

Hop Around- 3 Hops in one! With NEW GOOGLE PLUS!

November 28, 2011 by Samantha 5 Comments

Welcome to 3 hops in one- At the bottom you will find 3 separate Links. One for Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

Make new friends & gain followers. Please follow host @lifesandcastle @Nightowlmama [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Zumba Fitness 2 for Wii- Review and W1N YOURS HERE

November 28, 2011 by Samantha 444 Comments

Zumba Fitness is the next biggest fitness/gaming craze to hit the digital world. People everywhere are going nuts for the new Numba fitness craze. Zumba is a dance based exercise program based on over 20 dance styles. Majesco are giving people what they want with the Zumba Fitness line of games. They have been wanting a way to workout in this innovative way at home. The most successful and most fun way to play has been on the Wii platform.

Not too long ago, Majesco released their newest Zumba Game, Zumba Fitness 2. This game is hosted by professional Zumba instructors, Beto, Tanya, and Gina. With the help of these wonderful instructors you can dance your way to a slimmer you before you know it and actually enjoy yourself. Included with the game is a Zumba fitness belt which makes it way easier to workout and the game to register your movement properly. Extra belts are available from Zumba fitness’s website as well as retailers so you and a friend can play/ workout together. Just make sure you give yourselves enough room to dance about without kicking each other or your furniture. In regard to registering your movement, this game does a great job of it, where instead off spending half your game/exercise time trying to calibrate your controller, you are actually working out as you would hope to.

As an added bonus, Zumba Fitness 2 also includes a 7 day Zumba live 24 hour fitness pass. So you can really find out if your moves are on par with the experts.

One of you can win this game here- Here is how to enter!
Mandatory entry
You must be a public follower on Google Friend Connect.
Leave me your email so I can contact you if you win.

Extra Entries
Leave a separate comment for each entry

– “Like” Wii on Facebook –

(This is not mandatory and Facebook is in no way sponsoring this contest)

– “Follow” Zumba on Twitter and tweet about this Giveaway
#WIN Video Game for Wii Zumba 2 http://tinyurl.com/79bpkrd @HaveSippy [Read more…]

Filed Under: fitness, gaming, giveaway, health, review

Re-Tweet Club! Come On Over and get Re-Tweeted!

November 27, 2011 by Samantha 1 Comment

Want help sharing your posts, reviews, and giveaways? Want to increase your Klout? Then you’ve come to the right place!

Let’s help each other out with retweets!

Join the Retweet Club!

With your hosts:

@Syrana, @Marirene74, and @HaveSippy

The Rules:

1 – The first rule about the Retweet Club is to talk about the Retweet Club.

2 – Tweet the last entry on the spreadsheet (copy and paste!) – The first spot will always be about the RT Club post!

3 – Choose any post you want that’s family friendly!

4 – Add your tweet to be retweeted – typed AS you want it tweeted (refer to the first spot for an example). Please make sure it is only 140 characters.

5 – Use bit.ly or tinyurl to shorten your post links.

6 – You can retweet more than one and post more than one request. We ask that you retweet one for each that you post. We will randomly tweet off the list too.

Optional – You can follow the hosts and send us a tweet telling us you are part of the #RTClub and we’ll follow you back!

If you’d like the code to post the listing on your blog, please contact me and I’ll send it to you.

**PLEASE NOTE** It takes about 5 minutes for the spreadsheet on this post to update with your submission. To see the spreadsheet and confirm your information [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Scandle Candles- Get Yours HERE!

November 27, 2011 by Samantha Leave a Comment

Scandle Candles are fun to use, and you don’t need to worry about them being hot to the touch when you use them- they come out the perfect, warm temperature 🙂 A candle plus a backrub? Hooray!
PLUS, these are cruelty free, hydrating, made from natural ingredients, and are made from FDA approved ingredients including shea butter, cosmetic grade soy butter, jojoba, vitamin E, & body safe fragrance or essential oils.

Are you fond of body massage oil and fragrant spa candles? What if you could combine them both into a massage oil candle that combined the potent scent of a candle with the comfort of a essential oil massage lotion? Our Scandle body candles do just that, beginning as a delightful soy candle that melts into a wonderful body lotion suitable for skin care or as a soothing massage lotion. There is nothing quite like a body candle massage, with the wonderful aroma of our massage oil aromatherapy candles working equally well as a room-enhancing scent and as a aromatherapy soy lotion for your skin. Consider a soy body candle [Read more…]

Filed Under: giveaway