Hello! Hope you've all had a lovely bank/ half term holiday. Sorry for not posting much, I do have plans to start posting more frequently, and have much to share with you, but as soon as I sit down here in front of the computer, Clay tried to get my attention and the disappointment in his tone is making me feel a bit guilty! So I'll just do a quick post about 2 really exciting LEGO City launches for now, which I should have posted a week ago but the flu virus has taken me down and I ended with sinus infection as well. I have to admit that I'm getting old!

Image combined with logos and lego.com photo

First exciting announcement is LEGO City's Deep Sea launch! Clay's favourite is The Octonauts show, he'll absolutely love this set!

To celebrate the new launch, LEGO has partnered with UK Sea Life centres this Summer, where visitors can take part in activities to become an official LEGO City Deep Sea Explorer!

Event: LEGO City Deep Sea Explorer Experience
When: 1st June to 30th August, 2015
Activities include: building a LEGO sea creature, treasure hunt and activity pack
Website for more information:www.visitsealife.com

Competition:Toys R Us UK Facebook page to win some LEGO City Deep Sea Sets and an amazing family trip to the Sea Life centre in Sydney, Australia to snorkel with sharks

Kids Go Free Ticket to Sea Life Centre UK: Buy any LEGO City Deep Sea set from Toys R Us (in store only). One ticket per transaction

LEGO stock photo

Another exciting launch, or re-launch? Is the LEGO City Space range! I bet my brothers and hubby will be really excited about this! It was once their favourite LEGO range and my brother has even passed down his LEGO Space set from the 80s to my nephew too. Like all the other new LEGO City vehicle designs, the new spaceship shape is definitely more refined (rounded?) and realistic. I can't wait to post this picture in our group chat (hang on let me just snap a pic...)!

So 2 amazing LEGO City launches within this month! We are so excited because LEGO City is hubby and both kids' favourite LEGO range, but it means that we have more to save up for now, and we haven't even gotten over the fantastic LEGO Pirates and LEGO Marvel Super Heroes range yet! I'm not complaining though, keep them coming please LEGO!

During this time of the year, a lot of kids has started showing signs of being tired from a year full of learning, and it's only a matter of a few days before someone started to become snappy (according to the teachers in the past 2 years, there were definitely more arguments in the class weeks before the holidays). No matter how competitive the World has become and how important our children's future is, a well deserved rest is definitely needed so that they can continue learning without getting depressed or become resentful.

Summer holidays is around the corner but not here just yet. However, we can still wind the kids down gradually with some family day out fun to keep the steam from building up!

Companies seem to know the need for Summer fun to start earlier than the holidays, and many are already launching their Summer specials, such as Chill Factore's Mini Moose Land with the new theme Arctic Adventure Playground starting this Saturday! What better than cooling down from the Summer heat (it will come back!) in real snow?

Details:

Chill Factore Mini Moose Land - New Arctic Adventure Playground
Starting from Saturday 20th June, 2015
For Toddlers 4 years old or under (£5 offpeak/ £6 peak for an hour's play)

Tiddly Skis for little ones to try
Play in Mini Moose's house on the snow
Sit on one of the Inflatable Donut Rings and slide down the mini slope
NEW - Hidden tunnels under the snow
NEW - Snow Maze with surprises around each corner

We had lots of fun last time we visited, and can't wait to go again! The hidden tunnels and maze sounds like a fantastic addition to the already fun playground!

I love the Jurassic Park movie series and was really excited to hear that a 4th movie was going to be (and now has been) released. It's about time! However, I was a bit sad that, although kids were featured in the shows (first 3 anyway), it's a pegi 13 movie and hence our kids shouldn't be watching it (I understand why of course). It is a shame because the dialogues were funny and the scenes with the dinosaurs (especially in the first movie) were amazing. Abby has learned about dinosaurs (she recognises some and can even tell their species name!) too so it would have been a great movie to watch together.

Luckily! LEGO has launched  a LEGO Jurassic World game that covers all 4 movies' story, and it's only pegi 7 (debating whether I should get the Nintendo 3DS or Wii U version)! They've also launched a range of LEGO Jurassic World construction sets, and our favourite from the range is definitely the LEGO Jurassic World: Dilophosaurus Ambush set!




We really like the LEGO Jurassic World: Dilophosaurus set (rrp £29.99 with 248 construction pieces) because it's one of the 2 sets that comes with the gyrosphere. How awesome is the gyrosphere in the movie (trailer)? And the LEGO gyrosphere pieces will be great to add to our LEGO (transparent) pieces collection (it will make a great fish bowl!).

The set also comes with a Dilophosaurus, which was featured in one of the earlier movies too, Gray (no idea who that is yet) and ACU trooper minifigures, and a fab Jurassic World 4 x 4.

LEGO crowbar used to make the side of the 4 x 4 windscreen, master builders indeed!

We are so glad that we've received the set with a gyrosphere, it really is a very cool and well designed item! The dinosaur is fairly unique as well as the jaws actually snaps! We have a LEGO dragon (the big red one from the Castle range), sharks and crocodiles, but their jaws closes without a snap. The snap makes it special!

While building the 4 x 4 with Abby, we noticed how solid the base is (joining many flat LEGO pieces together). It's brilliant as Clay hasn't managed to break the 4 x 4 yet, but for those who'd like to break it apart, it might take you a bit longer to do so! We love it though. And we also had a chat about how different each LEGO vehicle designs are. You can have similar looking vehicles, but they are all built in a different way!

Overall, we are very happy with the set. Now we just need to get the LEGO Jurassic World game so the kids can enjoy more of Jurassic Park!

For those who also like LEGO and Jurassic Park, Macro LEGO universe has recreated the T-Rex breakout scene using stop motion technique. It's brilliant!

When I was asked if I was interested in reviewing the latest Nintendo 3DS game Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, my body went bolt upright. I have mentioned a while ago in our Nintendo 3DS Animal Crossing: New Leaf review that Harvest Moon games are me and Abby's favourite out of all the Nintendo games. We have played at least 3 games from the Harvest Moon series, and of course would love to review the latest addition!

While I was waiting for the review copy to come, I did a little search online about the game, and was surprised by some of the comments I've read. After playing the game for 3 weeks though, I think that people who have commented at that time haven't really given the game a good try, and some have also jumped into conclusion just because a new feature of the game looked familiar. I can assure Harvest Moon fans that Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley is still a Harvest Moon game, and it's not trying to be some other game. Read on for more details.

Harvest Goddess and Harvest Sprites

Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley (HM:LV) is a Nintendo 3DS pegi 3 game retailed at £34.99.

As mentioned above, HM:LV is still very much Harvest Moon, where the games normally begin with your character arriving in a new place, and through farming, you help the Harvest Goddess to bring back something that went missing. You will make friends with villagers and animals, help villagers with their requests, have fun fishing and mining, attend festivals, competing in competitions etc. Eventually you'll (you don't have to of course) choose someone you like, work on your friendship level, get married and have a baby.

In HM:LV, the game begins with your character getting caught in a snowstorm up in the mountain. A voice lead you to a house, and when you woke up, you found and helped a Harvest Sprite who was buried under the snow. He told you that the 4 seasons except Winter has vanished from the valley, and your mission in the game is to help him rescue the Harvest Goddess and bring back the 4 seasons.

Left: Untamed valley before Winter sets in (Screenshot from the official trailer) Was too caught up with the game and didn't take my own pictures! Right: In-game 3D wide shot after rebuilding the valley

In-game 3D wide shot after rebuilding the valley - Spring

Questing

The main mission is to bring back 4 seasons, and depending on how you play the game (it's very flexible unlike other mission/ campaign games), it can take time. If you go through the days as normal (farming, landscaping, socialising and doing other fun stuff), you'll be spending quite a lot of time in Winter. If you skip days like Abby did (and still is) but do work on the main quests, you'll see Spring much sooner.

Spending a long time in Winter, even in the game, can feel gloomy. I did have a few different opinions (not really bad of course, I do love the game, just thought it could be better) about the game in the first few days I was playing too like many others. But it is part of the story after all, so the long Winter totally make sense. If you hang on, you'll see that your in-game year (at least a year of Winter depending on whether you have found Spring in time) spent in Winter will pay off. The moment I saw my valley unveil in Spring it was like, WoW! (Was this what it was like for human who rebuilt their home at the end of ice age?)



At the beginning, other than the tutorial on how to use things, there wasn't too many clues about what you need to do. I think that's the game giving us time to explore and slowly discover things, as well as getting used to the new controls (more about this later). It also gave me time to think about how I want to rebuild the valley (the need of staircases!), while Abby just went on and dug herself into holes she can't get out of *chuckle* (you can be rescued of course).

When more nearby villagers started visiting the valley, and more days you play, clues started coming in through requests and dreams.

What I love about HM:LV requests is that some of the clues aren't too obvious. It gets boring if everything is straight to "collect these materials for so and so" (most quests are like that, but there are at least some creativity to the quests before you get to the collect part). For example: there was one where I had to look at the image of the dream (not just reading the text) to find out the next step and I felt a sense of achievement when I finally cracked the "code" (after days in the game)!

You don't have to worry about missing a clue either as it will be repeated. Abby skipped an important day for a good whole season before she realised, but it was still there for her to complete.



Landscaping
There isn't much advise about how you should rebuild your valley, which I wasn't very happy with at the beginning as I'm someone who like a bit of a guidance. So when I saw the vast snow covered valley full of trees, I was a bit lost and unsure where to start (do I want to chop all the trees down?!). It isn't really a bad thing as I know that there are players out there who love that kind of freedom, just a personal preference I guess.

I then discovered odd places that can be used as markers for my design, which are scattered out wide enough so that I still have plenty of freedom to design the whole land, and rebuilding the valley becomes much easier.

From the pictures above, you can see that I have a lot of staircases in my valley. Abby has been asking me why I'm all about the staircases as it takes much longer to get to where I need (instead of digging straight down to a cave right next to the door shown on the map and get rescued). I told her that I will want to go back there again, and I can't jump into the hole, so I will be wasting more time in the long run digging my way down to reach it again. Of course I could make one row staircases instead but that's not very pretty is it?






Farming (Crops and Animals)

It is called Harvest Moon after all, so farming is definitely the main part of the game, especially growing crops (which is part of the main story line for HM:LV).

Initially I wasn't going to keep animals, because from my experience in playing other Harvest Moon games, I ended up feeling like I'm doing chores (I feel obliged to look after the animals and water the crops even though it's just a game and it won't be the end of the World if I didn't do them) and spent too much time in the game doing them. But I needed to unlock the Animal Harvest Sprite (they each look after something different in the valley) for the story to continue so I started off with one cow.

I then realised that farming has been simplified in HM:LV, making it much easier to do. I still have to till land, plant seeds, water, fertilise and harvest crops square by square (I'm hoping that I can upgrade the watering can in the near future), and feed, brush, pet, clean barn/ coop and gather materials from the animals, but I don't have to change tools anymore to do so, which sounds like nothing but it really saves a lot of time (I just have to keep clicking on the same cow until everything is done)! I have also limited the number of crops I'm growing at one time (after everything died when Spring arrived!).

So now I have all the animals on offer (they do give things that villagers will ask for), including a pet dog who helps with animal grazing and a horse I'm currently training so that it will take me to places faster to save time.

Of course, it's less realistic that you don't have to change tools to do different things, but you need the time to do other things (especially when you have to do landscaping) and it's a minor detail that I think is ok to be simplified.

HM:LV's farming system is still as impressive as ever, because details such as the location where you plant the crops (is there a good drainage system in place?), what season you are planting in and the weather of each day affects the growth and water evaporation rate directly. There are things that can help them grow better and faster too of course, including magical ones!




Trading and Social

Because of the new landscaping feature making it difficult to set up permanent shops in the valley, some nearby trading villagers (all visitors came from somewhere else as the valley in the story was "lost" and being rebuilt) will offer trading opportunities in front of the player's house instead, unlike other Harvest Moon games. Others that offers requests and other kind of trade can be found in other areas including the Moon Valley nearby.

On non-trading days, you can find some of these villagers wandering around the valley as well, and you can talk to them during these times to increase friendship level. They can be found easily by scrolling the bottom screen map around.

I can understand the difficulty for placing permanent spots for traders inside the valley, but I do agree with many that it's quite amusing to see them wandering in front of my house. However, it is not unusual to have travelling traders walking from one place to another for trades without setting up a proper shop in the past, and I do recall seeing them in another game (World of Warcraft) too. And! It saves me so much time from running around to get trading done.

I especially like the addition of an easy to access (daily) businessman who is a businessman through and through. The prices he offered to buy out your produce is ridiculously low compared to the proper traders who only visits on certain day, so it's down to how desperate you are for money (I normally keep things inside the house for freshness before the proper traders visit). He did make me chuckle though, and he does buy and sell everything (you won't be able to sell the stones you've excavated from the valley to other traders for example).

Friendship and Marriage

Like other Harvest Moon games, players can increase (and unfortunately but logically, decrease) friendship level with all characters (including the Harvest Goddess, Harvest Sprites and wild animals that will start appearing in Spring), which in turn will change the way they interact with the player. The things villagers say to you will be different for example, and there are potential bachelors (if your character is a girl) and bachelorettes (if your character is a boy) around too that you might want to go after and have a future with (wedding and baby!), which requires high level of friendship level ("Chemistry" in the game) before things will move on.

It's not really a major part of the game I think, at least not really related to the story, but it's a great addition to a farm simulation game (more things to do = it gets less boring and the game will last longer = value for money). Besides farmers are human too so they will encounter friends and have a life other than farming just like anyone else. Hence why Harvest Moon series is so different than other similar games and why they have been so popular.

For me I'd like to focus on bringing back 4 seasons to the valley first, as socialising takes time (you have to run to them to talk frequently. Hard work!). But once the seasons are back (if that's the end of the main story), I'll be able to work on this area, and do exactly the things I did in other Harvest Moon games.



Other Things to Do

Fishing
- to sell, cook, create nutritious animal feed and for requests. New species and size adds to your record too

Cooking
- for eating, cooking competition, selling for better money and requests

Mining
- excavate mines and dig for valuable ores to sell, create buildings and for requests

Competitions and Festivals

Achievements
- Have over 5 animals, for example

Catch bugs?
- It is a question mark at the moment as I haven't discovered whether I can do this yet. It is a possibility as it can be done in other Harvest Moon games and there are lots of butterflies and bees flying around in my game.



The Technicals/ Game Play

Controls:

For both growing crops and landscaping, you will need to access a separate control panel by clicking on the "Y" button. The "A", "B", "Y" and "X" buttons will then be used differently. For example, "B" is normally jump, but within the landscaping control panel, "B" means dig soil or excavate stone. By digging, filling and tilling, you can create plots for growing crops, opening water paths, building staircases and paths leading to important places.

I have to admit that it took both me and Abby some time before we got used to the new control panel. I'm still occasionally pressing the wrong button after 3 weeks of playing, and it can be a hassle (though small) when you need to chop a tree down or break a rock that's in the way (you have to stop landscaping and get out of the panel first to do so, so I chop/ break them all before I started landscaping).

I do however see the need for the additional control panel, and after you got used to it, you'll find that it is very handy (opening the panel also lights up the floor tiles to show you which plot you can work on), and when you don't need it, the options won't be in your way.

Graphics:

We love the adorable 3D graphics! The buildable valley does look boxy, because every single square can be changed, but it's 3D enough for me and I don't even like retro pixels style at all (we've come a long way from that to hi-definition, surely it's not like fashion, where you can just go backwards and pretend that it's the next best thing when in truth, it's just people running out of ideas?).

You can tell that the developers have put a lot of thought in the details. Take the waterfall for example, when you dig the soil that's right next to the falling water too deep, it will create a square of water but with a little fence next to it, as logically that would have made the water spill over land without the fence.

Players can also look at their creation in wide view using binoculars, and take a screen shot of it. Again it's very realistic in terms of what the character can see when using the binoculars (height and angle), although I would have liked to see more of the valley, which can only be done by adjusting where the character is standing.

Music:

Each season will have a different background music (slower at night), and there are music for other areas too. As Winter lasted a whole year for me, I did think that it was a bit repetitive at first. Then Spring came and things have changed! I'm now looking forward to the arrival of Summer!

Camera:

Like many close up 3D games, the camera readjust itself when your character moves. It is ok when you are running around (you can always change the camera angle using the L and R buttons). But the problem appears when you need to do more detailed things like watering crops and landscaping. When I'm only moving one square at a time to water my crops for example, I don't want the camera angle to change, and I find myself constantly having to adjust the angle so I can water the crops that has gone out of sight. I guess it affects me more because I have OCD!

Data:

It is a single player game, so technically 2 data saving slots are more than enough. But because me and Abby are sharing and we each took over 1 data slot, poor Clay had to apologise to Abby after saving over her data (3 seasons of achievement gone, but she's surprisingly forgiving and even said:"it's okay, now I know what to do, it'll take me less time to do them all again". Love her so much!). We found out afterwards that you can do an additional backup and save the data inside the 3 (or 2)DS (option available on the DS' Home menu once the HM:LV icon is clicked on once)

I also love it that you can save the game any time you want, instead of saving and ending the day by going to bed, like in the other Harvest Moon games we've played. I had to remind Abby to make sure to save her game though!

In-game Time:

At the beginning of the game, when there was a lot of landscaping to do, I thought that the time in game went by too quickly (1 second of real life time is about 1 minute of in game time). It takes me about 1 minute in game time to dig a square of soil, and all the camera adjusting, walking here and there (and staircase building) means that there isn't enough time each game day to do things (I want that staircase done by 12am!). You kind of have to go to bed by 12am, because if you continue playing, your character will wake up late the next day, and stamina drops faster too, so basically it will take even longer to finish building.

However. When there was no landscaping to do, I found that I finish everything by 3pm game time, and ended up in bed by 4:30pm (so I planted more crops until Spring came and all the crops wilted).

So I guess the in game time speed is about right. Time management and consequences are important skills everyone (adults and children alike) should master, so I do welcome the challenge.


Apart from time management and consequences, the game also teaches planning (for example: when to plant crops and how to rebuilt the valley to make everywhere accessible in the long run), financial management (how to maximise profit, and whether you should sell cheap or wait for a few more days), logic (if you skip days and not look after your animals, they will die "RIP Daisy"), patience (for that fish to bite and crop to grow), science (what makes glass or how is flour made), as well as what a farmer's life is like, and the effort you need to put into friendship. Oh and not everyone can be trusted (that businessman)!

The Harvest Moon series is just brilliant and suitable for young children too, so we highly recommend it! Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley is the Harvest Moon game we have played longest so far (handheld versions are easier to access, and I didn't overwork my character this time so it's definitely more fun), and we are intending to finish the game this time (then dig out the old ones and change my way of playing)!

You can find more information about the game, the official trailer and more images at Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley's official website

We were excited to hear that Chill Factore's Mini Moose Land had a make over, and the kids couldn't wait to try it out, especially when the days were getting hotter (the weather was enjoyable on the day we went, not so much now though!). As hubby has been working hard these days, we turned the day into a treat day for the kids (it was followed by a surprise visit to the cinema for The Minions movie, and McD happy meal that comes with a Minion toy after). Although we were a bit frustrated with waiting in a warm room at the beginning, we had a fantastic day overall.

Follow the numbered station to collect jacket and pants (small hiring charge), and boots and helmet (free)

Happy and excited kids

22 minutes waiting time before our turn when this picture was taken

Bored, sweaty and starting to make a fuss (can't see the fuss here as they were posing for the camera)

Before I review Mini Moose Land's Arctic Adventure, I'd like to talk about the preparation first as this was the moment when our plan for the day was a bit spoiled.

We were advised to arrive 45 minutes to an hour before our allocated fun time at Chill Factore for checking in and getting changed. As the first time we went, we arrived 5 minutes before our allocated time, and ended up going into the Mini Moose Land approximately 15 minutes late, we arrived exactly an hour earlier (website's advise). It was a warm day after all and it could be busy.

But there weren't as many people as expected during our allocated time, so there was no queue at the check in desk, nor at the jackets and pants, and boots and helmet sections. We took our time to change and the kids had time to go to the toilet too. And after dressing and re-dressing (note to self: put the kiddy pants on first before the jackets because of the straps) we still had half an hour spare. There was nothing else to do but wait. We waited near the entrance to the Mini Moose Land and Snow Park, and caught the occasional fresh cool air from inside when the doors opened, but it was so warm inside the changing room, the kids ended up drenched in their sweat. We removed their helmets and unzipped their jackets, but it felt silly to remove all the gear we just put on, seeing that there was about 20 minutes left.

5 minutes before our time to go in, I thought, well it's only 5 minutes, maybe they wouldn't mind letting us in a bit earlier to cool the kids down. The staff were really friendly last time we visited and especially sympathetic to younger kids. I wasn't expecting a definite yes, nor was I going to force my way in, because I know that there must be some guideline in place (hence we endured until the last 5 minutes), but it was still worth a try (especially when your kids kept saying "when can we go innn?!""I'm soooo hooott" plus a *sad puppy face*).

The staff I spoke to told us that we had to wait for someone to take us inside, even if we've been before as the Mini Moose Land had a make over (I was assuming here that the collegue he's talking about was going to show us Mini Moose Land only). From what I can make out of what he said (he wasn't very clear), the person we were waiting for required time to change into his gear so we will have to wait for that 5 minutes. After that, when we go in, he will spend time talking us through the activities.

When the time came, the person we were waiting for was not in any specific gear at all. He was in exactly the clothing he was wearing already, plus a jacket. I'm not really sure what gear the staff who spoke to me was talking about. This guy lead us and a big group of others inside, but instead of going to the Mini Moose Land, he took us to the Snow Park next to the Mini Moose Land and started explaining about the activities there that does not concern us (it's exactly the same as when we last visited anyway).

By then I was extremely annoyed. I can understand a company's policy regarding going in on time (crowd control etc), but don't tell me something that isn't really a reason because that just sounded like you couldn't be bothered and just wanted us gone. I know that's definitely not in the staff's guideline because the other 2 staff I spoke to last time would have been kind even if they couldn't let us in.

Did I mentioned that he told us to just remove all the gears after I told him that my young children were getting fussy and really sweaty ("I know it's a bit early than our allocated time but I was wondering whether it is possible to let them in a bit earlier please?") 5 minutes before we were due to go in?

Thing is, we weren't the only ones complaining about the wait. There was a big group of kids, going as a party I guess after we finished our hour and went back to change, and we overheard them complaining about the wait and heat as well.


The only thing I can say is that, the reason why Chill Factore advise people to arrive an hour earlier, is because there is a chance that you are going during a really busy day and time, and all the queuing will take up time. You might require more equipment if you are skiing too.

But if you don't require Chill Factore's jackets and pants, nor boots (helmets are required especially for young children and in the Snow park area), you are doing the minimal (Mini Moose Land only, or Snow Park as well but no skiing), and there isn't any queues, then I would advise you to get the gear you need but do not change until the last 10 to 15 minutes. Or hang around outside the changing room where the shops are, while keeping an eye on possible queues and then judge what time you should go in and start collecting gears.



As soon as we got in, we went straight for Mini Moose Land (it is what we were here for after all). It was still empty (majority of the people are at the Snow Park and Skii slope, although this indoor snow playground is still very much appreciated for those who have young children, to make it possible to go out as a family) but more parents and toddlers started coming in about half an hour later.

Most of the equipment and activities in Mini Moose Land is the same, apart from the new tunnels and mini ice maze connected to it. The "donut go 'round" is gone though.







Like last time, Mini Moose Land is still much darker (I only upped the brightness a little so you can have a feel for it) than the Snow Park on its left and Skii slope on its right. I made a comment in my post last time we visited that it was too dark and a bit of light would be appreciated. But this time, it occurred to me that Chill Factore are being considerate and are protecting young children's developing eyes. There are times that children will be lying down on the snow on their back and looking directly up at the switched off spot lights. So I appreciated that the lights were switched off, even though I was tempted to "go into the light"! (It's a bit like how adults think that baby food are bland and they try to add more flavour to it, when it's actually perfect for the babies).

Anyway, the kids (including over aged Abby, who we told to move on when there were more toddlers arriving at the Mini Moose Land) had absolute fun especially in the tunnels. They were very slippery and it was quite funny watching the kids struggle to crawl in and out of the tunnels (they were laughing all the time). The maze was impressive because it was made with compact snow. Chill Factore's snow is made to remain powdery (no snowmen building I'm afraid) so I was wondering how they did it!

There are signs telling children not to climb on/ over the ice walls, which should be covered in a staff's tour I think, but parents should always keep an eye on their children anyway.

We think that the new additions to the Mini Moose Land are fantastic and hope that they are here to stay. It definitely gives children more things to do and explore.

Have you seen The Minions movie yet? We absolutely adore the Minions when we first watched Despicable Me, and Clay has been calling them "Baa Baa Naa Naa" ever since (can't beat the Banana song). We loved them most in Despicable Me 1, and they were still a treat in Despicable Me 2. So it's only logical that we would love The Minions movie, right? To be honest, we think that they were still the best in Despicable Me 1, but a full load of Baa Baa Naa Naa have apparently made our day to the cinema "The Best Day Ever!" so I'm not complaining!

Having seen the movie, the merchandise made much more sense to us (and spoilers were safely avoided), and we have been getting our hands on several of them. For example, Tesco's free colouring books, The Minions Monopoly and McDonald's Happy Meal Minion toys.

But we were also lucky to be given another 2 awesome The Minions merchandise to review! As Baa Baa Naa Naa fans, how can we say no?

First up is Top Trumps Minions cards!

When I was doing my research for last year's Christmas Gifts Guide, I came across Endless Jewelry's bracelets, and I had to recommend them. They are absolutely stunning, and would make a perfect gift for the sophisticated ones who also like something different from the usual metal charm bracelets.

Last month, the lovely people from Endless Jewelry, who have found my Christmas Gifts Guide, offered me a starter bracelet to review, and I was obviously really happy! After all, we all have a wish list that we can't always fulfil, but they have given me the opportunity to start on one in mine!

Colour changes a bit under different light, and can look like beige (mostly) or sandy Leather a bit squished after sliding in the charm, but can be adjusted. I just didn't notice at the time

Each Endless Jewelry Endless Starter Bracelet are currently selling at £55, and comes with a double starter leather bracelet (worth £45 on its own; made from genuine calf leather and folds into 2 loops. You also have a choice of 3 sizes and 12 colours) and 1 of 10 of their sterling silver charms (worth between £15 to £20 each).

I chose Nude for my bracelet with a dangling star charm, which is called Endless "Star of the Night" Silver on their Charms page.

The bracelet comes with a stainless steel magnetic lock, which I really really like, and it matches the design perfectly (I don't think a clasp will look as good as the magnetic lock). The leather bracelet is very lightweight and cushiony, and the length I chose, based on their website's guideline, is perfect and really comfortable.

Unlike chain bracelets, which are also heavier, it doesn't roll everywhere so you can style it with a particular charm staying on top of the back of your hand, and another one, perhaps a dangly one, under your wrist.

The charm I chose is very pretty (love how the star points twist a bit in an angle to make it look like a swirl) and dainty. The hoop fits the bracelet just right, so you'll need to guide it into the bracelet, but you can be sure that it will not run away and will stay exactly where you want it to be (this used to annoy me a lot with other charm bracelets, especially when there isn't enough charms at the beginning of a collection and they all fall to one side).

I must say that my Star of the Night looks a bit lonely on my double loop bracelet, and I'm really tempted to finish my bracelet with many more charms in one go! I must resist though, after all they are 925 sterling silver charms (some are gold or rose-gold plated, but still 925 sterling silver inside), and some comes with gorgeous jewels too. So I have created a wishlist on Endless Jewelry's website, and will gradually add them to my bracelet:

Can you tell that I'm a silver/ white gold kinda girl (or woman...)?

The leather bracelet itself is stylish enough anyway, and many of the colours will suit perfectly for a beachy, sporty look (like my Nude one). So I'll still be able to wear it without it looking awkward.

The stand goes into the rectangle box of the charm holder

While I'm not using the charm, I can place it in My Endless holder the really kind Endless Jewelry people sent me as well (it was a lovely surprise!). You can get it for free on orders of £100 or above, or buy it on its own for £19.90 from their site too.


I really like Endless Jewelry's bracelets, and after the review, I know I have done the right thing by adding it to my Christmas Gifts Guide.

Image from bit.ly/1MdNO5n

Three weeks to go and it'll be Summer holiday, hurray! Don't get me wrong, having the kids with me 24/7 for 6 weeks will drive me crazy, but it's obvious that the kids are getting tired (especially Abby. She won't even do homework that is too easy for her to do without putting up a fight!), and they are desperate for a good break. 

Left: Magic Marker effect Right: 4D play

Clay absolutely love LEGO vehicles, so when I took out the LEGO DUPLO Rally Car from the parcel, his eyes lit up and he went: "Waaaaoow....". I just love it when the kids have this kind of reaction as it means that they really really like what they were seeing!

You would have thought that, since we stopped watching Fireman Sam (we don't have Cartoonito channel anymore), Clay would have lost interest in the show, but we always find him walking around with his rescue helicopter and Jupiter (the fire engine), and he will always ask me to read his Fireman Sam books to him.

When I showed him the newly launched Fireman Sam Diecast Vehicles 3 Pack set, I almost missed the chance to take the above shot!

Another Marvel Cinametic Universe movie is coming out this week! This time they are introducing another Marvel Super Hero - Ant-Man into the film series, and I heard that it will be another mini series like Iron Man and Captain America. Ant-Man will also appear in other Marvel films too.

We've just seen the Ant-Man trailer yesterday and Abby absolutely adores the tiny man. I'm still more in favour of the Avengers gang that has already appeared so far (mind you, we haven't seen Avengers: Age of Ultron yet, so I'm still talking about the first Avengers movie), but I'm sure it'll be another fantastic movie.

To celebrate its launch, LEGO has released a LEGO Ant-Man set to add to the already brilliant LEGO Marvel Super Heroes range! It is looking really good (look at those ant wings and LEGO ants!) and will certainly appeal to those who enjoy the Marvel Cinametic Universe range! Ant-Man Final Battle is retailed at £19.99 and you can buy it online or in stores now.

I absolutely love the LEGO Creator range (my favourite, actually), but I think this is one for the super car lovers hehe. The newly released and exclusive to LEGO store LEGO Ferrari F40(RRP £69.99, contains 1158 pieces) is looking really hot with amazing details!

I do spot some LEGO Technic pieces, but like all LEGO Creator sets, you don't get big pieces (although judging from the pictures, the windscreen and tyres are specially made for this set) to take away your satisfaction of building a LEGO construction from absolute scratch! Just look at the bonnet and v8 engine and you'll know what I mean.

The LEGO Ferrari F40 will be a good 27cm long, I think that spells value for money and an amazing gift!

With different LEGO minifigures and a colourful range of LEGO bricks, LEGO Friends has become another one of our favourite LEGO range since their first release. Fans can use the fantastic mini series in the range to create their perfect Heartlake City - peaceful and quiet with small shops and a horse riding ranch, or even a sun, sea and beach holiday place. With the new airport and grand hotel, tourists will certainly be visiting the city, and what better to entertain them with than a Summer Festival performed by the newly released LEGO Friends Pop Star?



One of the LEGO Friends Pop Star set - Show Stage (rrp £34.99, with 446 LEGO pieces) comes with LEGO Friends minifigure Andrea, as well as the new LEGO Friends character Livi Star. Fans will be building an interactive show stage that comes with a drums set, piano, guitar, microphones (so cute!), and a rebuildable stage.

The base of the stage, showing the mechanism inside

Rebuildable stage

With most LEGO sets that comes with 2 - 3 parts manuals, we will normally take a manual each and split the fun between us. Abby chose to build the additions to the stage (she really loved building them!) and I got to amuse myself with the stage mechanism.

When we reviewed the Nintendo Wii U game - Kirby and the Rainbow Brush, we were already aware that it wasn't the only new, crafty looking game Nintendo has developed. We were eagerly waiting for Yoshi's Woolly World to release as we love the refreshing graphics, and we wanted to see how it differs from the 3DS Yoshi's New Island game.

We are so glad that Yoshi's Woolly World has finally released, and it did not disappoint! In fact, it's all the kids can talk about at the moment, and I believe that we aren't the only ones that are extremely happy with it. The game has been receiving pretty high ratings overall!

To be honest I haven't really got a chance to play it properly because both Abby and Clay love it so much they kept taking over. But it's so fun (amusing) to watch them play, so I've written our review based on them playing it.

Beautiful creations as background

Eat the other player and turn them into a yarn ball. Handy when you've ran out of balls!

Bowser Yoshi, Princess Peach Yoshi and Poochy the dog (Power badge)

Yoshi's Woolly World (pegi 3, rrp £39.99, bundles available, exclusive to Nintendo Wii U) is a 1 to 2 player platform adventure game. Woolly Yoshis are living peacefully on Craft Island, until one day Kamek (baby Bowser's baby sitter. He was also the main antagonist in Yoshi's New Island) arrived on the island, turned all but 2 Yoshis into yarn and took them away! It is down to them to rescue their friends by going after Kamek and pick up the fallen yarns.

The game has surprised us right from the start. Usually Yoshi, or even Mario or Kirby, will have to follow a road on the World map to go from one stage to another. But in Yoshi's Woolly World, players can just run anywhere they want on the map! Normally I'd jump straight into the game but the kids spent some time running around exploring, which I think is great!

We noted that the game's graphics based on yarn, cloths and fabrics is absolutely attractive and cute, especially the woolly Yoshis of course! And players can turn walls into yarns too!


We were also sent into a fit of giggles when Abby's Yoshi accidentally licked Clay (he was blocking her way haha), gobbled him up and spat him out as a yarn ball (it was an eye popping moment!), which she can use to shoot at things! They have spent a good 10 minutes messing about and giggling away before they continued their adventure.

The 2 of them have also discovered that you can place any amiibo character on the Wii U gamepad and one of the Yoshi will take on the pattern of that character! Abby was very pleased with her Princess Peach look! I'm not really sure why they were glowing though, Abby wasn't entirely clear about that!

Amiibo disc hidden inside the adorable plush toy Little ribbon loop on top of Yoshi's head fits a chain to make it into a key/ bag chain

Have I mentioned that the lovely PR has also sent us a super cute blue woolly Yoshi amiibo to play with (you can buy them individually or with the game. It comes in green, blue or pink colours)? On its own it is an adorable Yoshi plush toy, but with Yoshi's Woolly World, it creates a double for the playing Yoshi when touched on the Gamepad (I'm not sure if this is limited to 1 player game though). It literally does everything that the playing Yoshi does at the same time, which can be very handy but it can also make things harder. It only takes one single tap on the amiibo sensor with the Yoshi amiibo to make the double disappear, so it can join you whenever you need it.




We also love that the game allows players to buy power badges (either for fun or when you really need the additional help. Kids were playing on Easy mode so it was really more for the fun factor), using gems collected in each stage, before a new stage starts. Clay's favourite power badge is the one that gives him Poochy the dog, which fights enemies and is ridable, where as Abby loves a big hammer one that allow her to wipe out all enemies on the screen (which isn't necessary a good thing as sometimes you need to jump on top of the enemies to get to higher places!).

The different type of enemies keeps the game interesting as well. Instead of just fighting off Shy Guys (there are many in this game as well, with some holding a knitting needle, and others a bomb etc), the Yoshis will also have to fight against enemies like chicks and dogs, making it more refreshing.


On 2 players mode, teamwork is the key. And teamwork isn't a skill well developed amongst young children! There were times when you can hear them shouting at each other from the other side of the house, simply because someone wasn't being a team player. Sometimes when Clay wasn't responding to Abby's request ("Come here! Over HERE!! CLAYYYYYY!"), she will run to the side of the screen and kill Clay off (you have to stay on the same screen). I was amused of course, and couldn't help laughing at what they were doing. I'd also use it as the perfect opportunity to teach them about teamwork, patience and communication, and there seem to be improvements. To be fair though, there were more giggling and LoL moments than frustrations ("I want the doggy!!!").

For times when only one of them is playing, the gamepad on its own is sufficient enough so I'd normally let them use it like a DS, while keeping the TV free. Seriously, the Gamepad is such a clever idea!


When I had a go, I didn't find it really that easy (I think you just get less enemies and bosses are easier to fight?), you still need the skills to get from one end to the other even on Easy mode (if you die, you have to start that stage and collect the yarns all over). But Abby and Clay, with their not so perfect teamwork, are already finishing World 3! They absolutely love the game, and I love it that the 2 of them can play together with a shared responsibility. They have learned to play well together, and Abby's kindness kept showing through by giving in to her little brother (being the observer instead of the player can be really rewarding. Although both me and hubby would like to play too!).

The game is fun, cute (both graphics and sound), colourful with beautiful patterns (scarfs, crochet/ knitted cloths, yarn decorations, etc) used for the designs, which makes a fantastic and super refreshing change from the usual bricks and grass, etc. Comparing to the equally cute and colourful Kirby and the Rainbow Brush, we love this even more. The knitted Yoshi amiibo was a really clever and perfect addition to the game, and I think that Nintendo should definitely consider making more plush toy amiibos (Clay takes our blue woolly Yoshi everywhere)!

Overall a super thumbs up from us, and I'll be hunting down for the green and pink woolly Yoshi amiibos!

While we were given the opportunity to review a Nintendo game that we were comfortable and familiar with (See our Nintendo Wii U Yoshi's Woolly World review here), we were also given the opportunity to review something from Nintendo that is suitable for kids, super fun with a new concept, but might take us out of our comfort zone a bit - Nintendo Wii U Splatoon.

Nintendo Splatoon (RRP £34.99, bundles available, pegi 7, exclusive to Wii U) is a 3D online multiple-player (1 to 8 players) shooting game. Like other online games, it also offer offline play (1 player vs environment/ storyline/ campaign, and 1 to 1 player vs player battle).

Player plays as an inkling from Inkopolis, who can transform from a kid to a squid. Their weapon is paint, which is used for covering the walls and floor for winning a Turf War game, allowing their squid form to glide up the walls and through fences, shooting at enemies and collecting currency/ money (to shop for weapons and gears).

Something worth noting, especially for parents like us who are worried about letting their children play online: Splatoon does not have a chatting (voice nor text) feature. Players can leave a note on their profile, which appears as a chat bubble in Inkopolis (see picture below), but that's all. So you don't have to worry about online bullying or privacy issues. Thumbs up from us!



At the start of the game, players are given a tutorial to get familiar with their controls. The main player plays with the Wii U Gamepad, which also shows the Inkopolis or battle map (see below), with each area explained upon arrival.

Players are then free to roam around Inkopolis, join offline/ online battles or play the story mode, and shop for weapon and gears (although it require players to be at least level 4 to buy something).

This is where our comfort zone is challenged. I was never a PvP (Player vs Player) person, so battling against another real, unknown player or team (kid or no kid!), even with colourful paint in a cute environment, is frightening! Abby seems to have taken it from me and no matter how I encouraged her, she refused to join any battles. We can play against each other, 1 vs 1, but we haven't got a Wii U Pro Controller, which is required for the second player to play, so that's a no as well *sad face*.

In my defense, I took the review opportunity because the trailer looked awesome, although I had no idea it was online PvP focused! I honestly thought that we can fight against each other offline, and we would have no problem shooting at each other's characters (even at my own children's characters), which would make the game crazy fun and hilarious for us.

However, not all is lost as we can still play the story mode, meaning that we can still practice and gear up offline as a single player, and who knows, we might be confident enough to finally join others online!

Top: Landing through the sewer Bottom: Landing at one of the scene to rescue a Zapfish

To start the story/ campaign mode, which is about fighting against Octarians who stole the Great Zapfish that powers the city, player need to find the Sewer Guy (location is explained to players upon arrival), who is actually Captain Cuttlefish. He will give players mission to combat against the Octarians. Our first mission was to rescue 3 Zapfish from 3 different maps.

To fight, simply shoot paint at enemies (boxes to collect hidden money and occasional weapons/ armor), and avoid their paint (you can't even walk in their paint without getting hurt). You can also cover walls with paint so that you can go up in squid form. Squid form also allow you to replenish paint.

The game is not just about shooting at enemies though. Strategies are required the further you go in the game, especially against enemies like an Octarian with a shield (you can only hit them when they turn around) or an Octarian fish that cleans your paint off the wall (we couldn't stop laughing at it!).



Although there is a lot of jumping from one building to another involved, there are arrows on screen and a map on the Gamepad to make sure that you won't be lost.

Zapfish

News announcing Splatfest results

Ever had the moment where you and/ or your child wished that a soap bubble wouldn't pop, or a ball could float in the air? A Wubble Bubble is like a giant version of both, and we were given the opportunity from the lovely Vivid Imaginations people to try one out!

Big batteries! (Not included)

Wubble Bubble (RRP £19.99, suitable for 6 years +) is sold in 3 colours, with the pink and blue coming with the electric pump (4 x D batteries excluded) and the purple sold on its own. We were sent the blue one to review, and it also comes with a nozzle, inflation guide and manual.

Note: although Wubble Bubble is strong, it's not indestructible. There are plenty of warnings on the box, packaging and manual regarding this, and it's not really recommended for children under 6 years old as playing with care is required.

Left: close up of the Wubble Bubble's texture Right: Design for nozzle has been improved

The Wubble Bubble feels really squishy, with a jelly-like inner lining. The outer lining is dusted with some sort of powder, reminding me of the Chinese/ Japanese sweet Mochi (sweet dumplings you can get at sushi bars or Chinese supermarket)! I was surprised that it didn't stink of strong plastic, like the smell you get from plastic blow up beach toys, and that's definitely a plus from me!

To pump it up, you have to push the nozzle, with the inflation guide attached on the edge of it, into the Wubble Bubble's hole, then attach the pump to the nozzle and pump until the end of the inflation guide is just touching the floor.

As I only followed the manual's guidance, I found it slightly confusing as I didn't realise that you should leave the deflated ball on the floor first (I did it mid air), so that you can see when the guide is just touching the floor. It did make more sense to leave it on the floor as it was really awkward holding it in mid air (I kept thinking that the ball is going to fall off the pump, even though it's actually sticking to the nozzle). For a clearer guide on how to inflate the Wubble Bubble, you can check the YouTube video here.

If you have a balloon popping phobia like me, you'll be worrying about the Wubble Bubble as soon as it has started to inflate! It look so transparent and thin after pumping it up! But there is no fear in the kids!

Right: *Boing*

Right: Me "Oh My God it's going to pop!"

Left: Look at the Wubble Bubble changing shape in the air, just like a soap bubble! That went too far though Right: Looked like a high throw but at least it stayed in the garden this time

Image from Getty Images

Two weeks until our trip to Holland! We are so excited because we are desperate for a holiday abroad. The kids are already bored on their second day of their Summer holiday too, which really isn't helping!

Mind you, it wouldn't be the Sun, Sea and Beach holiday that I was planning for since last year. After all, circumstances and priority changes, so last minute holiday plans are probably more suitable for us.

Even though our plans has changed, there is no harm in browsing for the holiday we wished to go on, especially after seeing my family's pictures of their holiday in Spain (I'm totally jealous). I've put my wishlist together here to refer back to when we can finally go on one of them. Maybe it can spark up your interest as well to take a last minute holiday abroad?


Beach Holiday - Costa Calma, Fuerteventura SPAIN

bit.ly/1LAtMoM

We are, okay.. I am, pretty "city" in the core. The last time we went on a Sun, Sea and Beach holiday (back in 2006), we enjoyed spending some of our time inside the hotel that has its own facilities and entertainment, and I think that if we go on a pure beach holiday, me and the kids might get bored pretty quickly. Costa Calma in Fuerteventura sounds like the perfect beach holiday for us, as it has everything to keep us entertainment while being so close to the beach too! I think we can easily stay there for a 7 to 10 days holiday no problem!


Cruise Holiday - Colourful Coast Cruise Trip on Thomson Majesty

Images from Thomson's website

We have been talking about a Cruise holiday for years now, and what better than one that has a Kids Club as well to keep the kids entertained? Unfortunately there’s no way we can hop on a last-minute cruise this year, so I’ll have to remember this one! Their Colourful Coast is definitely our cup of tea, and it will stop by Lanzarote, the island I was looking at last year!


City Holiday - Dubai

Image from bit.ly/1RXac9O

We have done a lot of city breaks, but the top one we'd love to visit, and think that the kids might like too, is Dubai. We've passed by the airport plenty of times, and would really love to venture out to check out one of the richest city in the World! Maybe next time we will spend a night there during our transit to Hong Kong/ Taiwan (it would make a great stopover in the middle of a 22 hours flight!).


Just looking at the pictures makes me want to go to all of them. But Holland is waiting for us and I'm sure we'll have a fantastic time there! Just two more weeks!!

This one is for the LEGO Technic fans - the new LEGO Tecnic Mercedes-Benz Arocs!

Although we aren't really a LEGO Technic fan (the pieces just doesn't feel very LEGO to us), we can't deny that we have always been impressed by what you can build with LEGO Technic. The special LEGO pieces allow for more accurate designs to be built, hence resemble their real life counter parts much closer than those built by the original LEGO pieces.

This time LEGO Technic has partnered with Mercedes-Benz and recreated their Arocs trucks. The set comes with LEGO motor and battery box as well, so it moves! Talking about realistic! LEGO are now challenging fans to spot the difference between the real Arocs and the LEGO Technic Arocs:


Looks pretty good right? The LEGO Technic Mercedes-Benz Arocs will be available from this Saturday 1st August 2015 from all good toy stores, retailing at RRP £169.99 (2,793 pieces). Certainly one for the collectors this Christmas!

Haha yes! Although I'm not really a baking newbie, I'm not really good with my creations. There are so much that I don't know or am uncertain about, how could I let this amazing opportunity, to learn from the professionals at Kenwood's "Intro to Baking" class (brought to us byCurry's), go?

I was even more excited after the lovely PR told me that the class will cover Tart and Swiss Roll, because they were (not anymore!) one of my weaknesses. Plus a bonus tip for tempering chocolate that I couldn't get a consistent result, and an easy meringue that I can do with kids? It was like a tailor made course for me!

The day started with me panicking in the car because the traffic was really bad and I was half an hour late instead of 15 minutes early as planned! I was so glad that I didn't miss much, and just caught Sarah from Wilmslow Kitchen Cookery School making French Meringue in time *phew*

Sarah from Wilmslow Kitchen Cookery School demonstrating how to make French Meringue

Left: Sarah Making the Chocolate Tart base, using the famous Kenwood's K Beater Right: kMix featuring their glass bowl. It's so much easier to see what's going on inside the bowl!

Our work stations (our table is the one on the right of this)

My lovely partner Sarah working on the tart base!

French Meringue. Consistency is like a soft marshmallow, so needs drying out in the oven after Left is by Sarah, right is our team's

Little Raspberry Meringue men? Looks festive enough for Christmas!

Strawberry and Cream Swiss Roll *swoon*

Double Yolk Shots for the gorgeous Chocolate Tart filling

Basic chocolate knowledge and tempered chocolate decoration. Left: Immediately spotted Cacao Nibs (cup on the right) because I've been eating that with my breakfast almost every day! Cacao butter was new to me and I was fascinated by it!

I couldn't believe that I can make such a beautiful tart and Swiss roll! The insider tips Wilmslow Kitchen Cookery School has shared with us really make a difference, and now I'm not scared of making them anymore (It was good to know that I wasn't the only one! Everyone clapped when Sarah rolled her Swiss roll up, then we were told that the kids group never clapped and just got on with it haha! #NoFear).

I also love the French Meringue technique over the Italian one, which is what I always use, but boiling syrup to a certain degree, then pouring it over spinning egg white can be a messy business (you definitely need a stand mixer for that!). I wonder whether I can use the French Meringue technique for making Macarons? Haven't read about it. I must investigate further!

While we were waiting for the tarts to bake, Sarah showed us how to temper chocolate without the need of bringing the chocolate temperature up and down and up again (to get the chocolate crystals to its most stable form to make the chocolate shiny that breaks with a snap). It's so so easy! I'll be making more chocolate decorations from now on and get back to making moulded chocolates (chocolates with fillings)!

Surprise goodie bag! Isn't the kMix keyring adorable?!

Time to retire my old Kenwood mixer! Loving my new kMix handheld!

At the end of the class, Kenwood has surprised us with a goodie bag each! Thank you so much for everything, especially my handheld kMix (my old Kenwood handheld can finally retire)!

The kMix is so good looking! I absolutely love the design and the stand that hold the mixer, which has a slot for each whisk and hook! Oh and no more twisting cable snaking around, it is being kept neatly at the base of the mixer! If I don't have to get ready for our holiday trip, I'd have started on a few baking projects already to test this beauty out!

I want to thank the lovely Joe Blogs Network (thank you for inviting me, all your events are amazing and this is absolutely my favourite!), Kenwood, Curry's, and everyone from Wilmslow Kitchen Cookery School (you are all so nice, patient and helpful, thank you!) again for such a fantastic baking class. I can't believe how much I've learned in 4 hours!

My family will be sick of tarts soon haha!

You can find the recipes here on Curry's website!