Love to Swim and Tumble School Review

For the past year Abby had been taking gymnastics at a gym near us and nearly every week Micah would get jealous and want to go to gymnastics with Abby. Of course Abby didn't help this because when they moved to their new location they added a little kid section for mommy and me classes. When the US Family Guide bloggers contacted me about a promotion offering mommy bloggers Love to Swim and Tumble trial gymnastics classes we of course said we'd love to try it.  Needless to say Micah is loving it!

Abby is improving too and loving it. She'd switch in a heart beat because they do more and varied activities than her current gymnastics gym. I'd consider switching her as well if her current gym wasn't so much closer and she wasn't moving up into the next level class which will solve the boredom of her in the beginner class. Plus she's close to aging out of the Love to Swim and Tumble classes meaning we'd have to switch back in a year if she wanted to continue. 

Each day had a theme that they centered the warm-up activity around. Then they move onto floor exercises and work on tumbling, balance, strength exercises. 

 I could tell Abby's improvement over when she first started gymnastics up until now by how pointed and pretty her donkey kicks looked. She loved doing the circuits through all the different exercise during the floor time. Micah did as well but it took him time to understand the circuit and not just run from one activity to the next. His teachers were sweet and patient with him redirecting him to where he needed to go.

Each class had two to three teachers and helpers to monitor and assist with the skills so the children were always carefully watched to prevent injuries.

The second half of the class consisted of the bars and rings. Rings excited Micah the most! Abby has excellent upper body strength and she enjoyed doing the rings as well.

 Look at those pointed toes!

 Micah's favorite was the rings but he also enjoyed the bar and the slide that they used in his class (a beginner introduction to the pommel horse.)

His teachers were even fabulous when I brought him in with a cast on his wrist/thumb after his dislocation in finding ways he could still participate in the class. 

If you are looking for a place to start out with tumbling with your little one, or a non-competitive way to learn the gymnastics skills while your little one starts out, Love to Swim and Tumble school would be a great fit. 

They also offer a Lunch Bunch, where you can drop your child off for a Friday morning from 9:30-1 while you run errands, have a quiet lunch with friends (or at least one where you can get your food hot!) and a Date night. For the date night, the littles have a chance to not only do gymnastics but also to swim. 

There are currently two locations in the San Antonio area. The first is located at 15502 Huebner Rd.

and the second location is in Schertz at 044 FM 3009. 

My littles loved it. Alexis would have joined right in if she could have but classes started at age 2. I hope your littles will love it as well if you try it out. 

What I learned about taking littles to Schlitterbahn

For Abby's 7th birthday we planned a fun day full of water park fun! It was a Thursday so it would be less crowded than a weekend and Gigi and Pops could join us (extra baby sitters so we could head down more slides ha!) 

We arrived at the park shortly after it opened. Parking was a breeze (free!) and they had parking attendants to guide you into a spot. We unloaded, sunscreened up and headed to the gates. Thanks to the US Family Guide bloggers and Schlitterbahn we already had tickets for us and just needed two more since we brought Gigi and Pops along. There were plenty of lines opened and we barley had any wait at all to get our wristbands to get into the park. 

We were able to get all set up at a picnic table with our ice chest. It was handy to have a couple strong guys with us because the park is not totally stroller friendly. We asked the best way to get down to the picnic tables and was told the way to the least amount of stairs or a life guard could guide us out and back in to the ramp. Not totally easy to find or navigate with a stroller but they were happy to direct us. 

Have the ice chest filled with lunch, snacks and drinks was awesome because the kids though it was a great time for a snack once we got set up. So a snack it was before heading to ride some rides. We went and rounded up our tubes (fyi the ones with the mesh to create a bottom for the little guys can be found at guest services) We found them little tubes but I didn't realize you had to go and ask for the ones with the bottoms in the Original Schlitterbahn West section of the park until we were leaving. 

 After this park I put the camera in the locker and we were off to have some fun.

We started off at the Hillside ride while Gigi and Lexie explored some kids areas. While there was no height requirement she would have had to have been in her own tube which she wasn't big enough to do that.

We then headed to the Cliffhanger another tube ride. This one was another river like tube slide. Micah was done with this ride about half way through - my little guy doesn't have any meat on his bones so the river water that feels nice and cool when you are in the sun chilled him while we went through shady areas and he was getting cold! (Hard to believe on a 100 degree day!)

After a picnic lunch we headed to Surfenburg and Blastenoff. The tram/bus between Schlitterbahn East and West was easy peasy to get on - it was waiting when we went out, we got right on and headed over. (It was the same when we headed back as well)

The first thing the kids wanted to do was the Kiddie Cove with the Pirate Ship and the Kristal River with the alligators (go figure with my kids and their love of alligators!) The Kristal River was nice and one of the best 'lazy' rivers I've been on. This one had the kids tubes right in and waiting. Lexie loved being able to sit in her own tube.

At this point Beau and I headed off to ride the Dragon Blaster. I was afraid it might be too much for Abby (and Micah wasn't tall enough) but after the ride I think she could have handle it if she would have been patient enough to wait because their was a bit of a wait for this ride.

We tried to go to the Wolfpack but the line was again long (the sign said it would have been a 90 minute wait - while I don't think it would have been that long it was still longer than they wanted to wait since they saw the Han's Hideout slides down below) So we hung out at the Han's Hideout and went around the wave pool river The Torrent which was one of Beau's favorites. (And Han's Hideout was high on the list of the kids favorite as well.)

Then it was back to pack up our stuff and head home.  The littles made it from opening at 10 am until after 4 pm. It helped that Lexie snuck in a nap on our way there because since she stroller was hard to navigate with the stairs in the Schlitterbahn West we did not bring it over to Schlitterbahn East. She almost feel asleep twice but woke back up.

There were tons of places for the littles to play with slide their size and Schlitterbahn made it easy to find tubes for them. Every area of the park we went to had at least one little kid area that they could play in so they were not excluded from the fun in any way. We did learn we would have needed another day (or two!) to see and ride all the rides. Beau and I already want to go back sans kids one day just so to go down all the bigger rides that they wouldn't want to wait in line to ride.

It was an awesome day and a fun way to spend Abby's birthday. Thank you Schlitterbahn!

Disclosure: I received 4 tickets for my family to visit Schlitterbahn through a partnership between Schlitterbahn and the US Family Guide bloggers. All opinions are my own.  

Hitting the water park without breaking the bank

I'm getting excited! My oldest's birthday is next week and to celebrate we are going to have a family day waterpark day thanks to Schlitterbahn! Ever since we moved to San Antonio, I've been excited about how close we are to Schlitterbahn. Yet I've spent many of those years either pregnant (who wants to hit the waterpark but not be able to enjoy the rides?) or with an itty bitty so we hadn't made it there yet. This year it's on! Abby is tall enough that she can go down ALL the slides and Micah can do all but 4 - that's pretty impressive! 

We still have to make the visit budget friendly though as this will be our family day and Abby still wants to celebrate with friends (aka have a party) and of course presents. So here are a few ways you can enjoy your day without a high price tag. 

1. Free parking! 

That's right no parking costs for Schlitterbahn. If the park you choose has free parking that's a quick way to save some money! 

2. Free tubes and life jackets! 

I remember heading to a water park with my parents when I was younger and we had to wait in line to rent a tube(s) deciding how many, having to keep up with our own at all times and carrying it around the park wasn't that fun. Schlitterbahn solves this by offering free tubes! 

For the littles and for anyone who feels more comfortable in the water with an extra safety net there are also free life jackets. You don't have to worry about bringing your own or renting one. 

3. Bring your own cooler! 

This is my favorite - you can bring in your own lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks. Wheel in your cooler - it doesn't even have to be a tiny 6 pack sized one, set it up in a shady picnic spot and lunch is ready when you are! You can skip the food line and have saved money to splurge on a tasty treat if you want. No glass bottles or alcohol is allowed but other than that you can pack what you want to eat. 

4. Free refills! 

If you purchase a souvenir cup, you get free refills all day long! After that you can bring the cup in for .99 cent refills. (Don't forget to hydrate with water too though!) 

5. Discounted admission after 3 pm 

You can purchase discounted tickets after 3pm and stay until close (they are open until 8pm every day until August 17th) Totally your choice here but Schlitterbahn is huge so in my mind it's worth it to go for the full day and not just the afternoon to be able to ride everything you want to ride. 

If you are planning a trip to any of the Schlitterbahn parks you can save  $5 off regular admission or a discount on a 2 day admission (and that second day can be used any later day in the same season) by going here and using these promo codes: 

The promo code for the 2 day $7 Off discount is 299000334 

The promo code for the $5 off discount is 299000335

Valid at ALL Texas Schlitterbahn Parks!

disclosure: I received free tickets for our family for sharing this deal with ya'll but all opinions are my own. 

Waterpark Survival Tips

*This is a post sponsored by Schlitterbahn

1. Put your best foot forward  

Or in this case - wear the right type of shoe. Flip flops or water shoes are best. Waterparks, especially Schlitterbahn are large and not all areas are shaded. Your feet will thank you for not burning them walking between slides and your tennis shoes will thank you for not being soaking wet by the time you leave! 

2. Suncreen

Don't forget to apply sunscreen, even if you think it's overcast because the sun will get through. You'll want to make sure it's waterproof and reapply often! I prefer to use a mineral sunscreen with zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide, especially on my kids. Every summer (since companies often reformulate their sunscreens) I check here for the safety of the sunscreen I put on my kids. I am really liking the Honest Company sunscreen this year for my kids. 

3. Pack food

Swimming leaves my kids starving! Seriously you'd think I hadn't fed them in days so I always pack tons of snacks. Schlitterbahn is fantastic in that you can bring in your own ice chest filled with the food you want so you can save money and your kids will thank you when you have snacks ready and available to them right when they are hungry. You might want to save some room for a funnel cake though! 

4. Safety first

Having worked as a lifeguard in high school, I am always concerned about water safety. I know things can happen in an instant and am always on guard watching my kids in the water. Schlitterbahn does have life jackets available for use and also kids tubes with bottoms! I always bring Micah his puddle jumper because I feel that gives him more control to swim in the water than a traditional life jacket does.

The fact that Schlitterbahn life guards are certified through Jeff Ellis & Associates gives me an extra degree of comfort. Having been certified through both Jeff Ellis & Associates and Red Cross in my life guard days I trust the Jeff Ellis & Associates certified guards a little more since they regularly audited the guards and required continuous practice on their skills. The Red Cross certification may have stepped it up since I was a life guard but that was my experience. However nothing will replace your (the parents) careful eyes on your own littles. 

 5. Hydrate 

Sure you are in the water and cool but being out in the sun for hours (or all day!) takes a lot out of you. Make sure you are replenishing your body by drinking lots of water! 

6.  Plan your day

Most parks, like Schlitterbahn have a map online you can access before you go. This can help you plan your day out and see what rides you might want to hit first and what you want to make sure not to miss. The map can also tell you the height requirements of rides (which at Schlitterbahn only 4 rides have a height requirement of over 42 inches. This will be perfect for us because it means Abby can go on all the rides she wants and there will be tons of rides Micah can go on. We've been other places where he can only do the small slides while Abby does others or only one or two rides. I know he'll be thrilled because he is my daredevil that wants to do rides!) 

7.  Set a check in spot

If you are going with a group, or especially if you have kids that are old enough to go ride the rides on their own then you might think about setting a meeting spot and time for snacks, lunch, sunscreen re-application. If you have littles, you'll want to prep them for what to do if they are separated from you. Teach them what the employees (and lifeguards) look like and also never to leave the park without you. You might want to also write your name and phone number in sharpie on their arms or a wrist band they won't take off. 

8.  Get their early

Arrive when they open if you can. The lines will be shortest at the beginning of the day and you can start your day with a few rides with less waiting. 

9.  Protect your gear 

Test out your waterproof case and make sure it's foolproof or leave your phone, camera, ect in a locker to prevent a disaster of a waterlogged phone during your day! You might consider investing in a waterproof camera if you really want to get some fun water shots of your day and are a family that spends lots of your summer in the water like mine. 

10. Have fun!  

If you are planning a trip to any of the Schlitterbahn parks you can save  $5 off regular admission or a discount on a 2 day admission (and that second day can be used any later day in the same season) by going here and using these promo codes: 

The promo code for the 2 day $7 Off discount is 299000334 

The promo code for the $5 off discount is 299000335

Valid at ALL Texas Schlitterbahn Parks!

Also don't miss your chance to win using the Rafflecopter below! Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Schlitterbahn and I received a family four pack of tickets but all opinions are my own 

Schlitterbahn ticket giveaway and discount codes

It's summer and the perfect time to play at the waterpark to stay cool! We can't wait to enjoy a visit to the park courtesy of Schlitterbahn and US Family Guide bloggers. One lucky follower will win a pair of tickets to use for their summer visit to any Schlitterbahn in Texas! 

If you are planning a trip to any of the Schlitterbahn parks you can save  $5 off regular admission or a discount on a 2 day admission (and that second day can be used any later day in the same season) by going here and using these promo codes: 

The promo code for the 2 day $7 Off discount is 299000334 

The promo code for the $5 off discount is 299000335

Valid at ALL Texas Schlitterbahn Parks!

Enter for your chance to win using the Rafflecopter below! Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tea Collection Sale

Huge savings alert! I'm so excited to share with you that beginning 6/23, Tea Collection is offering an additional 25% off sale items with promo code 25SAVE. Now's your chance to stock up on comfortable and stylish clothes from Tea! Hurry, don't miss your chance to take advantage of this great sale from Tea Collection because this sale ends on 6/29! 

I'm loving these sweet little girls dresses. 

And for little boys: 

Happy Shopping! 

Minted wedding invitations

*disclosure: This post was sponsored by Minted 

I'm happy to bring you this post today about Minted's fresh, indie-designed wedding invitations. There are so many beautiful yet different and new designs to choose from! They have many modern, youthful styles that I am really liking. Minted has such nice quality in all the cards I've ordered from them that I know they wouldn't let you down with invitations for your special day. Currently (until Monday!) they are offering 15% off wedding orders with the code SUMMERWED. 

They even have a some inspiration boards to browse and I could have kept going all night looking at them all.  Having gotten married in the pre-Pinterest age it totally makes me wonder if I would have gone in a different direction had I had all the inspiration that Pinterest brings. My inspiration board was a notebook with images torn out of wedding magazines which doesn't quite have the same impact these beautiful inspiration boards have. 

all things blush board by bridget. See more Minted

A More Perfect Union board by Jennifer Wick. See more wedding invitations

Ombre Stripes board by Jill Means. See more wedding invitations

Are you ready to start planning your big day now?

*disclosure: This post was sponsored by Minted and I received credit to Minted in exchange for my post. All opinions are of course and always are my own.