Des Moines Families

REVIEW: Creations with a Twist

Have you seen this talented guy? OMG... you'll be wowed. He's not your average balloon animal maker. He's more like a balloon artist.

Here's a shot of my son with the monkey this genius with inflatables made at the Drake Relays Family Night at Boston's. This is only one of the outrageous creations he makes. Just check out his Web site to see some of the awesome little creatures he makes.

His name is Daniel Poe, and he's everywhere. As I was putting together the June calendar at DesMoinesFamilies.com, I noticed he'll be at several of the libraries in the coming weeks.

Also, he'll be at the East Village Books Family Fun Night. It starts at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, June 6.

THIS JUST IN: $6 Movies at Wynnsong, Southridge & Cobblestone

I was pleasantly surprised when the kid behind the ticket counter at Wynnsong 16 last night said, "That'll be $12." Never one to risk correcting a mistake that might cost me money, I just paid the boy and moved on.

Throughout the movie, I kept thinking about the $6 tickets and started to wonder if it had anything to do with the weird line I'd seen on my TiVo's Fandango screen. When I'd attempted to buy $9 tickets via TiVo, there had been a third line that said "Adult tues all, $6."

So, I asked the manager about it after the movie. And sure enough, all Tuesday movies are now $6. She says they plan to continue the promotion throughout the summer.

Also, Tuesdays are BYOB (Bring Your Own Bucket). You can literally bring any container up to a gallon in size to the movie and they'll fill it with popcorn for 50 cents up to three times.

A little poking around on the Carmike Cinemas Website revealed the same specials hold at Southridge 12 and Cobblestone 9 (according to the site, their Tuesday movies are $4!)

Take advantage now before school lets out and there are lots of bodies in there!

REVIEW: IMAX at the Science Center

I was thrilled to see several parents taking their young kids to the IMAX at the Science Center on Saturday. Why? Because I didn't want to be the only one with "talkers" in my row.

We took both my 3-year-old and my 1-year-old, and they loved it. The 3-year-old talked quite a bit, but no one seemed to mind.

His perception of the film was precious, as he thought we were actually moving. He said, "We're going up, Mom!" "We're tipping!" The best part was when he told me he wanted popcorn, and I said we'd eat at the cafe as soon as the 45-minute film was over. To which he responded, "Are we going back to Des Moines?" So cute.

I'd recommend taking your young kids... really. Even my baby was wide-eyed and loving it.

REVIEW: Friday Fest, Urbandale

Listen, I miss going to Clive After 5 just as much as the next mom. But thanks to a commenter on my Juice blog, I was introduced to the mom's version of CA5... Friday Fest.

At Friday Fest, you get virtually the same experience (live band, beer, social atmosphere) with one very large difference -- your kids are completely welcome. They're not just welcome, they're catered to with a faux tattoo parlor, bouncy house, softball game and a clown. And there's food!

Because we have an every-other-Friday babysitter, we're going to alternate between CA5 and FF. (But between you, me and the blogosphere, I'm kinda looking forward to the Friday Fest nights).

THIS JUST IN: New T-Shirts Are Here

The new SMASH-designed T-shirts promoting our fair city are here (I just need to get down to the East Village to pick them up). The design is below.

SMASH printed the T in baby blue on a hot, lemon-yellow shirt. Super cool. Sizes are 18 to 24 months (snap onesie), 2T, 4T and 6T (from what I can see, they run a little small, so order big), and they are available for $18 plus tax (and shipping if applicable).

We're anticipating a quick sell out (ala the Des Moines Baby onesie), so we're open for pre-orders. Just send an email with your size and quantity, and we'll make arrangements to get the T to the lucky kiddo in your life.

Heads Up: Jethro's May Not Be Toddler-Friendly

Just came from lunch with my husband at Jethro's BBQ on Forest near the Drake campus. The food was awesome... really awesome. But as I looked around, I couldn't help but notice there were no high chairs, and a quick scan of the menu showed no kids menu.

So, while I definitely recommend the place, you might want to make a call ahead of time to verify the above (if you've got little ones in your party).

THIS JUST IN: Brenton Skating Plaza Hosts Music & A Movie

Ice skating season is over, but Brenton Skating Plaza is still entertaining the DSM masses with family-friendly movies every Friday this June.

A band starts at 7 p.m. and the movie -- E.T., Ghostbusters, The Cutting Edge, and Evan Almighty -- starts at 9 p.m.

If anyone gets a chance to check it out, drop us a review.

THIS JUST IN: Kids Dance Party Back On

Just got an email update on the first-ever kids' dance party, which had been postponed to allow for a remodeled venue. The new date is Sunday, June 22, from 1 to 4 p.m.

I'm a little bummed about the naptime scheduling, but maybe I should look at the silver lining... they're likely to sleep like angels after an event like this.

Click the image below for details.

THIS JUST IN: Voting for Little Angels Calendar is Now Open

 

REVIEW: Phanfare.com, Family Photo Album Site

Submitted by Adam

The title in and of itself does not begin to give credit to the amount of things you can do on this website. Like your typical website, you are able to upload your photos to the website and display them while selecting different backgrounds (themes) to use for each album on your site.

It’s easy to get started... you just need to open an account. After that, it’s just a matter of setting up your albums in an edit mode. Then, you can select “View on the web” to see your finished product. It is easy to do and you can alter the albums anyway you like, whenever you like. You can also do minor alterations to the photos themselves (cropping, red eye reduction, etc.).

The fun part to this site is the actual sharing of your family photos, because in all honesty, that's why we display them in the first place. Phanfare used to allow anyone and everyone too view all photos and albums. Not so any more, and this new security feature is a nice one.

The album owner (you) would need to send an invite to a person to view your album. That person would then have to set up their own password, but after that, they are free to view all albums on your site. I like this in that only those people I want viewing my photos can do so. There is also a feature to be notified whenever new photos are added.  So when you're  done adding photos of your Saturday afternoon picnic with the kids here in Des Moines, Grandma in Denver would get an e-mail saying there are new photos on your site, and she could view them that day.

There are also many other features you or visitors can do. You can upload videos (baby’s first steps for example); visitors are also able to order photos directly from the site using many different vendors (Snapfish, Shutterfly, etc.). They can also order products with photos on them, if you like that sort of thing, as well as download music to accompany the albums to add to a specific theme.

There is 1GB of space available for free from the site to start and maintain, anything greater requires a fee of $54.95/year. In my opinion, it's well worth it for the ease of sharing, choices available and security provided.

If you are looking for a site to house your photos and make them accessible to family members while providing security, in my opinion, Phanfare is for you.