Life with Dylan

Category: kids

  • Dylan’s Animal Adventures are now available – Come join the fun!

    What could be better than hosting your very own summer camp and teaching kids about saving endangered species? Well, for a 10-year-old boy who loves animals, not much … unless you ask him if he wants to start his own business so that he can teach more kids.

    For Dylan, this was exactly what happened. For the last few months we have been busy planning, researching, writing, and creating. The result of our combined efforts … Dylan’s Animal Adventures. 

    Dylan chooses the topic for each new booklet and then does the research so that only the most current information is shared. Michelle writes all the content and designs the adventure guides with kids in mind. Thanks to an amazing graphic artist, Steph Calvert of Hearts and Laserbeams, each adventure has new animal friends that you won’t find anywhere else.

    Dylan’s Animal Adventure Guides are a fun way to explore and learn more about endangered species, conservation, and making a difference.

    All adventure guides come with a set of coordinating coloring pages. Perfect for parents, grandparents, homeschooling parents, teachers, and anyone who just loves learning more about animals!

    So what are you waiting for? 

    Support Dylan’s passion and get your Original Adventure Guide today at

  • I ignited a spark and now I want more

    After almost a year of talking about conservation and writing about how we can all make a difference, I finally saw that spark in someone’s eye. You know, that spark you see when something you said or did made another person think hey, I can do this too.

    The best part about this story – the spark I saw was in a child’s eye.

    A few weeks before Christmas a friend of mine told me that her son Riley (5 yrs old) saw a World Wildlife Commercial about saving the tigers and that he wanted to help save them, but he didn’t want to have to touch them. When I heard this I knew what I had to do.

    I would adopt Riley a tiger from the San Diego Zoo and give it to him as a Christmas gift. This way he could help save the tigers.

    Riley was so excited when we gave him his tiger. We told him that his name was Christopher from the San Diego Zoo and by adopting Christopher he was helping to save the tigers.

    Now Riley has a very special friend named Bear. Bear has been with Riley since the day he was born. Bear goes everywhere with Riley and there was a day not too long ago that Riley thought he had lost Bear. His Dad captured this beautiful image filled with emotion and a child’s love for an animal. So you are probably thinking what does Bear have to do with the tiger? Well, I had to let you know just how special Bear was for you to understand how special it was when I found out that Christopher (tiger) was traveling alongside Bear.

    Not only was Christopher hanging out with Riley and Bear, but Riley was telling people about his Mommy’s friend who adopted the tiger for him so that he could help save the tigers. A 5 year old boy creating awareness about the plight of the tigers as a result of something I did … you bet I’m on cloud nine!

    Oh, and he sleeps with Riley too.

    I’ve said before that educating children will change the world and when a child starts telling his friends and family about saving the tigers, well that just makes me more confident that I am doing something right. Riley brought Christopher to school today for share day. This, this is what it’s all about.

    iPhone pictures from today

    When I shared the news about Riley and his newly adopted tiger with a friend of mine he said, “Be careful … That feeling, the one you got when you saw that spark ignite because of you, it’s addictive.”

    Man was he right – I love it and want more! Every time Riley’s parents post a new picture and I see Christopher right there with him I get that feeling all over again. Riley is making a difference for the tigers by telling his friends about his adopted tiger and I am so proud of him.

    This is what I want from life – I want to make a difference and inspire others to do the same.

    Thank you Desi and Tammy for providing the pictures.

  • New Aniballs App teaches kids about physics and endangered animals

    Imagine if you could make learning about physics fun for your children. Now add some colorful puzzles, animals, and a game that can be played anywhere you are. Sounds almost too go to be true right? Well, let me introduce you to a new app called Aniballs.

    I first heard about Aniballs on twitter and then found their Facebook page. After a few clicks I had downloaded the game for a mere 99 cents and was in a heated competition with my son to rescue the endangered Aniballs.

    What exactly is an Aniball? Well, an Aniball is an animal with the physics of ball.
    What will happen when the ball drops?

    Traveling through the lush Rain Forest, the open Savannah, and the frozen Arctic you have one mission – to rescue the Aniballs and relocate them to a protected reserve. However, it is not as simple as it sounds. The puzzles require you to think. Aniballs is not a game of speed, it is a game of skill. With over 60 puzzles that include rotating platforms and various obstacles to overcome, you must choose the best Aniball for the puzzle. Will the game of physics require your Aniball to be fast, heavy, or have a little bounce? Choose carefully or your Aniball will die.

    Besides learning about physics and having fun, your children will also learn some fun “Feral Facts” about endangered species.  Aniballs has over 200 “Feral Facts” about real endangered species that you can read between levels. This game teaches you new things and you don’t even realize it because you are having so much fun!

    Aside from the physics and the “Feral Facts”, what drew me to Aniballs was that the app was created by a family with many of the decisions (including the design and artwork) made by the children. You can read about how Aniballs came to be and meet the creators here.

    Aniballs is available for iOS and Android devices in the Apple App Store, Amazon App Store, and Google Play marketplace. Aniballs also announced this week that they are awaiting publication on the Barnes & Noble Nook.

    Warning: Aniballs is a highly addictive game. According to Todd Cowden, the game was designed to encourage self-motivation and minimize failure. Progressing through the levels is not difficult, but mastering them to get a perfect score takes both skill and patience.

    I have listened to my son talk aloud while he plays and I am thrilled with what I am hearing. No violent words, just good old-fashioned thinking. I hear things like if I use the heavy one then the platform will spin faster, but I need the bouncy one to get up to the other platform. Genius. My son is learning and he doesn’t think twice about it because he is playing a game – not to mention the game has him rescuing endangered animals.

    You can follow Aniballs on twitter and like their page on Facebook to find out about what is coming next. All updates are free once you download the app. I personally am looking forward to the new environment that is scheduled to be released by the end of the year … the Wetlands.
    Now, if only they would make an Outback environment, that would be awesome.

    Download Aniballs for just 99 cents and let me know what you think in the comments below.

  • Planning a birthday party? Who doesn’t love cotton candy?

    Cookies, cake, ice cream, candy … sure these all make wonderful treats for a birthday party, but are they ordinary? Dylan’s birthday is coming up in July and once again, I have the daunting task pleasure of planning a party. Something that will wow my child and make him feel like the most special kid in the world. That’s what we do right? As parents we tend to spend obscene amounts of time and money to make a child’s birthday party better than the one we threw the year before. Right? You know this sounds familiar to you. 

    Last month I attended a Birthday Party Bootcamp – How to Plan and Host the Perfect Birthday Party at the OC Mart Mix and was pleasantly surprised at what I discovered. Pink, fluffy, sugary cotton candy – 
    Yes, that’s what I remembered from my childhood. What child wouldn’t love cotton candy at their birthday party? So although my son is still undecided on where his party will take place, I have finalized the sweet sugary goodness that will fill the kids tummies. 
    Dolly’s Sweet Dreams Cotton Candy is the cutest concept for any party or special event when you want to make people smile. The owner, Krista Thompson, is as sweet as can be and just look at the pink cart – adorable!
    Dolly’s Sweet Dreams Cotton Candy offers nine classic cotton candy flavors and seven organic flavors, surely I can find a color/flavor to match the theme of Dylan’s party. Plus, Krista will create custom labels for my event if I choose to have to-go tubs.  
    There is something about cotton candy that simply makes me giddy – like a kid again. I think I need to come up with a reason to have a party before my son’s birthday in July just so I can have more of Dolly’s Sweet Dream Cotton Candy!
    Be sure to visit DollysCottonCandy.com for more details on how you can book an event and “like” Dolly’s on Facebook to see the latest pictures from parties where fluffy cotton candy has created smiles on the faces of children (and adults too). 

  • Is it a phone or another toy?

    Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone as much as everybody else does, but sometimes I wonder whose phone it is. It seems like I am constantly telling my son “It’s a phone – Not a toy”

    Yes, I play games on my phone, who doesn’t? And if you say you don’t then you are probably in denial. However, the majority of the time I am making an actual phone call or checking my emails from my phone. OK, I might be texting, tweeting, instagraming, or checking in … but it’s my phone. I paid for it. I’m the adult.

    The other day I was looking for a picture that I took for a blog post and stumbled across something that caught my attention.

    An alligator on ice skates pushing another alligator in a shopping cart? What is this?

    Did I take a picture of something and not remember?

    Oh wait, this looks like a game my son was playing the other day. So I ask him if he took a picture on the phone? Nope. I said, “really – because there is a picture of an alligator on ice skates” … Oh, yeah that’s from my game Where’s My Water?

    This is just a brief account of the conversation because in reality this went on for about 5 minutes before he admitted taking a picture. Although he didn’t really take a picture – he just saved the reward he got in the game. I don’t care that he plays games, nor do I care that he saved a picture of the game. What I do care about is that he realizes it’s a phone!

    You know that thing we use to call people? If he keeps playing games and draining the battery, then what happens when we actually need to use the phone to call someone?

    Do your kids take over your iPhone? What age is the appropriate age to get a kid their own iPhone?

  • Do Your Kids Eat Vegetables?

    I don’t know about you, but I have the hardest time getting my son to eat vegetables. When he was younger he loved vegetables. Squash, sweet potatoes, yams, green beans, peas, carrots … you name it, if it came in a glass jar with a Gerber label – he devoured it. He loved vegetables so much that his skin actually turned orange! He was like Rudolph, only he had an orange nose.

    Don’t believe me … check out this picture.

    Did I overload the vegetables wen he was little? Could that be why he doesn’t like them now?

    Or maybe it’s a texture thing. I know I don’t like certain foods simply because of the texture.

    Well, I tried sneaking vegetables into his food, I even pureed them. No luck. Then I thought let’s just put them in the foods he already likes. I started simple by adding tomatoes into the pasta sauce. Ok, he is eating them. He loves all Italian food, so I thought I would try putting vegetables in the lasagna. Thinly sliced zucchini and spinach. Yeah, that didn’t go over to well. “What’s the green stuff?”

    Recently he started asking for soup and to my surprise he loves vegetable soup! So if he loves the soup in a can, surely he will love homemade soup even more. After a shopping trip together and learning about all the vegetables his class in growing in the school garden, we made our own vegetable soup.

    I tried to choose vegetables that I knew he liked – green beans and peas, added some little pasta stars for fun, and then tried to sneak in some other vegetables that I wasn’t to sure about. The red bell pepper was diced small enough that he really didn’t notice it. The yellow squash was questionable, he ate a few pieces. The zucchini, yeah, not so much. Even though I chopped up the squash and zucchini in small quarters, he didn’t care for the texture.

    This meal may not have been a total success, but it wasn’t a complete failure either.

    Don’t get me wrong, he does eat some vegetables, but I know he’s not getting all the nutrients his growing body needs from peas, green beans, corn on the cob, potatoes, and spinach tortellini.

    Do you have suggestions for ways to get children to eat more vegetables? What do you cook with vegetables that your children love?

    Leave a comment below and share your ideas. I’m always looking for new recipes to try.

  • Do Your Kids Play?

    A new school year has begun and we are finally getting back in the swing of things. Homework, packing lunches, nightly reading, and so on. And as this school year begins, I once again find myself contemplating how I can make this year better than last year.

    The emails and papers coming home from Dylan’s school about various after-school clubs and sports are well … to be honest, a little overwhelming.

    They all sound wonderful, but come with a price. Yes, the clubs and sports programs will cost me money – money that isn’t really in my budget – but the other cost is much greater in my opinion.

    The cost of my son’s childhood.

    He loves Cub Scouts and the after-school science program. He joined the science program last year and really got something out of it. I don’t mind paying for this. The program meets right after school one day a week and lasts only one hour. It ends just in time for me to pick him up after I get off work.

    So what about soccer, tennis, Spanish, keyboard, chess, art, music, and swimming? These are all excellent programs for children, but do children really need to participate in all of them? Many parents will sign their children up for multiple after-school programs. Who makes this decision?

    (more…)

  • Summer Vacation – Day 1 at @SanDiegoZoo

    A few weeks ago Dylan and I packed our bags for a fun-filled vacation in San Diego. The goal was to leave all computers and work at home and just have fun! Three parks in three days – World Famous San Diego Zoo, Sea World San Diego, and Legoland California – can we do it? Of course we can, we have annual passes to all three! Nothing was going to stand in our way.

    We left home early on a Tuesday morning and drove straight to the San Diego Zoo. Yes, we were just there last month, but this time we were on a mission … to see the baby tiger cubs!

    We walked right to the Lost Forest, but sadly, the tiger cubs were not out on exhibit this morning. However, there is always something to learn when you are at the San Diego Zoo!

    Did you know that you can find parts of the Rain Forest in your Cupboard? All of the products in this display come from some sort of plant found in the Amazon Rain Forest.

    From Tiger Trail, we headed to Hippo Trail and we got to watch the Momma and Baby Hippo play for about 20 minutes!

    We even managed to get his cute video of the Momma Hippo teaching the Baby a thing or two.

    Dylan loves the area by the Hippo exhibit. He always wants to climb in the tree and pose for pictures on the bronze hippo sculpture. I think I have about 20 pictures on this hippo (spanning over 6 years) Yes, I guess you can say we go to the zoo often … but it’s always worth it to see the look on Dylan’s face when he is near animals.

    Now off to the Discovery Outpost Children’s Zoo to see all sorts of cute and furry animals.

    Black Marmoset

    Playful Meerkats
    Scarlet Macaw Parrot
    Now as much as Dylan loves our next stop, I normally choose to wait outside … but he begged me to come inside the Insect House. The least I could do was take some pictures for him.
    And if this wasn’t enough to show how much I love my child, we headed over to the Reptile House next! However, this time I stayed on the outer edge and handed the camera over to Dylan. These are a few of the pictures he took.

    There was one little guy that I thought was kinda cool though … well, maybe not so little.

    Green Tree Frog

    Feeling a little hungry after the long drive and walking around the zoo for 3 hours we stopped at the Safari Kitchen for lunch. They have the best burgers! Not to mention some brightly colored neighbors.

    Dylan was so excited about staying in a hotel (it’s the little things you know) that we decided to drive over to the hotel and check-in, give our feet a rest, and maybe hit Sea World for some night time fireworks!

    But that’s for another post …