How to Train Your Dragon Live is Truly Spectacular

Flying and fire breathing dragons, break dancing Vikings and awesome special effects were some of the things that my eight-year-old son Sean and I loved about going to see Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular last night at the United Center here in Chicago.

There was a packed house on opening night and you could feel the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd. The audience was very engaged, clapping and cheering throughout the show.

The performers were talented and funny, at times even speaking directly to the audience and we were happy to reply. They seemed fearless as they were suspended from wires climbing and flying around the set and even riding on top of the dragons. There was Cirque du Soliel type acrobatics throughout the show, which was fun to watch.

The dragons were incredible and so life like. From the moment Sean got a glimpse of "Toothless," one of the first life size dragons to enter the stage, he proclaimed,"okay, that is awesome!"

It all seemed very real from actually being able to feel the heat from the fire to feeling like we were a part of the story.

I can't say enough about the special effects and how truly spectacular they were. Sean kept saying, "that's just so cool!"

One of my favorite parts of the show, besides the dragons and special effects were the break dancing Vikings. I certainly wasn't expecting to see that last night! Sean described that part of the show as "futuristic meets the oldies!"

Since my son had read the book and seen the movie version of How to Train Your Drain, he was constantly comparing the story lines of  both during the show last night. He concluded that what we saw was a combination of both, since there were parts in the show that were in the book, but not the movie and vice versa. However he said that all the characters in the show were also in the movie, though not necessarily the book.

One final note, though the show was amazing, we were seated behind a family of four, three of which had big Viking helmets with horns that lit up and blinked off and on rapidly, alternating between red and blue. These were one of the souvenirs that you could purchase there.

Having this group sitting in front of  us was kind of like trying to watch the show with three sets of multicolored strobe lights in the way! I get why they make them, because they are fun for those who buy them and a big money maker, but it was very distracting.

Other than that, I highly recommend How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular if you get the chance to see it here in Chicago or somewhere else on the nationwide tour.

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If you want to get tickets to see the show here in Chicago (or anywhere nationwide), you can save 25% off select seats to weekday shows (including Friday nights) on Ticketmaster with the promo code: MOM.

Here are the details:

Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular at the United Center

Friday, July 27 at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 28 at 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 29 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

All performances include free parking at official United Center parking lots. Tickets are on sale now and start at $26.50 plus applicable facility fees and service charges. They may be purchased through Ticketmaster or by going to www.unitedcenter.com. A limited number of special premium Dragon Hot Seats, VIP and family packages are available.

Check out this sneak peek of Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular which aired May 11 on the Today Show.

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Fun Facts about Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular:
• Produced over a two-year period in Melbourne, Australia
• 23 Dragons (including 12 different dragon species)
• Dragon wings span up to 46ft
• Each large dragon weighs over 2.6 tons (the size of a family car)
• Over 2 miles of “Dragon Skin” was created
• The production has the largest number of animatronics ever to tour the globe.
• The Red Death Dragon is the largest animatronic ever built by Creature Technology Company at over 40 feet high and 60 feet wide.
• Travels in over 30 18-Wheeler Trucks (52’ each) with a touring cast & crew of 85.
• Together the show weighs over 200,000 pounds.
• It would take one person over a year to load in the production.
• Takes over 160 people to set up the production in each city (the equivalent of one person working 24 hours over 70 days).
• If all the cables in the production were laid out end to end, they would stretch from Los Angeles to New York City.
• The production created the first-ever touring flight track system that weighs over 28 tons.
• The flight track uses a proprietary barcode system. The creatures scan a barcode strip as they fly around the track which tells them (and us) where they are at all times.
• Toothless weighs over 7,500 pounds and flies over 1.2 miles throughout the performance which is equivalent to a Range Rover soaring through the arena.
• There are more automation cues in the opening sequence alone than a Broadway musical has in a night.
• The first-ever fully immersive live experience with projection spanning more than 20,000 square feet throughout the entire arena. The back projection wall is equivalent to 9 movie screens combined.

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Disclaimer: I received two free tickets to Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular to write and share this review, as well as this previous blog entry, but the words and opinions in this post are my own.

How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular

Flying Hiccup (Rarmian Newton) and Toothless.
Photo credit: Lisa Tomasetti

Awhile back my parents gave my eight-year-old son Sean the book and movie versions of How to Train Your Dragon. My mom had heard what a great story it was and since she is a retired reading specialist, I especially appreciate her opinions when it comes to book recommendations for my children.

So recently when I heard that there was a live show version of the story and that it is coming to Chicago later this month, I was excited to learn more about it and try to get tickets to take Sean.

Sean, like a lot of school age children, is really into electronics and special effects in movies and stage performances. The more Sean and I learn about Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular, the more impressed I think we will be when we get to go see it on opening night Thursday, July 26th.


If you want to get tickets to see the show here in Chicago (or anywhere nationwide), you can save 25% off select seats to weekday shows (including Friday nights) on Ticketmaster with the promo code: MOM.


Here are the details:

Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular at the United Center

Thursday, July 26 at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, July 27 at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 28 at 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 29 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

All performances include free parking at official United Center parking lots. Tickets are on sale now and start at $26.50 plus applicable facility fees and service charges. They may be purchased through Ticketmaster or by going to www.unitedcenter.com. A limited number of special premium Dragon Hot Seats, VIP and family packages are available.

Check out this sneak peek of Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular which aired May 11 on the Today Show.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fun Facts about Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular:
• Produced over a two-year period in Melbourne, Australia
• 23 Dragons (including 12 different dragon species)
• Dragon wings span up to 46ft 
• Each large dragon weighs over 2.6 tons (the size of a family car) 
• Over 2 miles of “Dragon Skin” was created
• The production has the largest number of animatronics ever to tour the globe. 
• The Red Death Dragon is the largest animatronic ever built by Creature Technology Company at over 40 feet high and 60 feet wide. 
• Travels in over 30 18-Wheeler Trucks (52’ each) with a touring cast & crew of 85. 
• Together the show weighs over 200,000 pounds. 
• It would take one person over a year to load in the production. 
• Takes over 160 people to set up the production in each city (the equivalent of one person working 24 hours over 70 days). 
• If all the cables in the production were laid out end to end, they would stretch from Los Angeles to New York City. 
• The production created the first-ever touring flight track system that weighs over 28 tons. 
• The flight track uses a proprietary barcode system. The creatures scan a barcode strip as they fly around the track which tells them (and us) where they are at all times. 
• Toothless weighs over 7,500 pounds and flies over 1.2 miles throughout the performance which is equivalent to a Range Rover soaring through the arena. 
• There are more automation cues in the opening sequence alone than a Broadway musical has in a night. 
• The first-ever fully immersive live experience with projection spanning more than 20,000 square feet throughout the entire arena. The back projection wall is equivalent to 9 movie screens combined. 

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Disclaimer: I received two free tickets to Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular to write and share this blog entry, but the words and opinions in this post are my own. I will write a follow up post/review after Sean and I see the show on opening night on July 26th.

Tiny Prints: Valentines

It's that time of year when we celebrate our loved ones by giving them Valentines. If you have children they may also be exchanging them with classmates at school.

I was invited to check out Tiny Prints 2012 Valentine Cards collection and then write about my experience here. Having ordered customized Valentines Day Greeting Cards in the past, I was interested to see what designs and options Tiny Prints has to offer.

As the mother of an eight year old boy in elementary school and a two year old girl who will be starting preschool next fall, I was especially curious and excited to see what their classroom card collection included. It didn't take me long to find cards that seemed to fit both my children's unique personalities, but also that would go well with photos of Sean and Abigail that I had in mind to use with them.

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This is the card that I chose and personalized for our eight year old son Sean, who is in second grade. I love that his classmates will get to do a fun maze when they receive their Valentine from him this year. I also like the clever "a-maze-ing" play on words used here. Finally, since Sean started doing Tae Kwon Do around this time last year and has worked his way up through the ranks, I thought it would be fun to feature him in his uniform in his Valentine's cards and like that the "high yellow" belt he happened to be wearing in this picture coordinates with the colors of this design:

Click here to try out this "A-MAZE-ING Valentine" card design for yourself.

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This is the card that I picked out and personalized for our daughter Abby who is two years old. The photo was taken last October by our friend and awesome photographer, Becky Healy from early bird photo and fine art. I love how this Valentine's Day card frames Abby's face and the colors compliment her features, especially her magical green eyes, that seem to twinkle in this picture.

Click here to experiment with this "Crafty Hearts" Valentine's Day card design.

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This will be my first card order from Tiny Prints and I am excited to see how they turn out. However, I know what high quality products Tiny Prints produces as our family has been receiving birth announcements, baptism invites and holiday cards from family and friends for years designed and produced by Tiny Prints.

If you are on Twitter you can follow Tiny Prints here: @TinyPrints

To get their news, updates and special offers on Facebook you can "like" Tiny Prints here: Tiny Prints Facebook Page

You can also follow Tiny Prints boards on Pinterest here: Tiny Prints on Pinterest

If you do decide to order some Tiny Prints Valentines for yourself, be sure to click here first to see what coupon codes are available and what promotions Tiny Prints is currently running. As a savvy internet shopper, I pride myself on rarely paying full price for anything I order online.

Thank you for reading my post about Tiny Prints Valentine's Card Collection. I had a lot of fun "researching" and preparing this blog entry. I look forward to receiving and giving out Sean and Abby's customized and personalized Valentines from Tiny Prints this year.

I wish you and yours a very Happy Valentine's Day filled with much of peace, love and joy!

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Disclaimer: I received 50 free Classroom Valentine's Day Cards from Tiny Prints to write and share this blog entry, but the words and opinions in this post are my own.

BlogHer Book Club: Why Women Need Fat

I'll admit it, the main reason I signed up to read and review Why Women Need Fat by Dr. William D. Lassek and Dr. Steven J.C. Gaulin, my fifth BlogHer Book Club selection, was because of a line in a summary about it which said something about "why those last five pounds seem impossible to lose." I think I was contemplating resolutions for 2012 at the time and knew one was to try to work on shedding those "last five pounds" in the New Year. I wanted to know their "secret" and got a lot more then I bargained for...

I didn't pay much attention to the subtitle: How "Healthy" Food Makes Us Gain Excess Weight and the Surprising Solution to Losing It Forever. Had I realized what I was getting myself into, I probably would have taken a pass. However this is not because I didn't enjoy or learn a lot from reading this book. It was very interesting and informative. I have just been purposely avoiding books, movies (such as Food Inc.) and anything else that could inform me about the details of why my family and my diet is unhealthy. I wasn't ready.

I knew if and when I were to take the time to find out what is wrong with what typical Americans, like my family, eat on a regular basis, that I would then have to make some serious changes to our grocery shopping, meal planning and consumption. I had a vague idea about some of the "bad things" that we have been eating before reading Why Women Need Fat. Now I know the truth. Ready or not, the Benson family will be making some adjustments to what we buy and eat in the near future. In fact I already made my first post-Why Women Need Fat trip to our neighborhood/family owned grocery store and was very impressed how well I was able to do following many of the recommendations the authors suggest in this book.

Dr. Lassek and Dr. Gaulin take about two-thirds of Why Women Need Fat to give readers background and make their very thorough case for why and how our American food processing and eating habits have gotten so out of whack over the past 40 years. Then they use the final third of the book to give practical suggestions as to how to shop for and introduce healthier alternatives into our meals. The authors also break down their theories and understanding of the most effective ways for us to reach our "natural and healthy weight," primarily without having to follow any formal weight loss diet.

There is a lot of comparison in this book of American food processing and eating routines versus Europeans, Asians and others around the World. They highlight what many of our overseas neighbors are doing better when it comes to healthy eating and how our country went astray. I also found the discussion of how our food choices and eating habits impact our fertility, ability to carry and nurse babies and then lose and/or gain postpartum weight fascinating.
 
I recommend this book, but caution if you choose to read it: be prepared to makes some changes to your own diet or at least know that you will not look at a food label or many of the things you eat in the same way ever again (especially if you currently buy and consume a lot of processed foods made with vegetable and/or soybean oil). Please join our discussion over on the BlogHer Book Club page where you can share your thoughts and find out what others are saying about Why Women Need Fat.

If you have already read Why Women Need Fat or decide to check it out in the future, I would love to know what you think of it.

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Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of this book to read for this review and to participate in the related BlogHer Book Club discussion. However, I was in no way encouraged to write a positive or negative review about Why Women Need Fat.

Note: This is a cross post with my main blog Four of a Kind, as I know that some of you who follow this review blog, may not also follow me over there and I thought you might be interested in reading what I thought about this book.