The Cure For Summer Boredom {sponsored}

This is a sponsored post. I am currently serving as a blog ambassador for The Jones Center, who has compensated me for such. The photos and opinions are real, and are my own. This is a reflection of my family's personal experience as members of the facility.

Here we are now, about a month into summer vacation. If your kids are like mine, you've gotten to the point where the excitement is starting to die down. I'm starting to hear grumblings of "I'm bored," and I'm having to work a little harder to keep them entertained. 

Lucky for us, The Jones Center has a few ideas to help us out. In case you missed it, The Jones Center has been hosting Free Movie Nights for a while, but the June schedule is particularly strong. I'm sure a new schedule will be coming out soon, but here's the one that runs this week, Thursday through Saturday. All movies are free and suitable for all ages. Call ahead or check their website if you have questions.

The Jones Center has just recently announced a new activity that is sure to get parents and kids alike excited. I know we are! We've been spending a lot of time this summer at The Jones Center at gymnastics and swimming in the pool. Now, we have a new option just for the kids!

First Friday Kids Night is a new addition to the activities at The Jones Center. This sounds like like every kid's dream: games, inflatables, pizza and a movie! For a family with three kids, I'm thrilled that it's so affordable to us. It's $15 per kid for the first kid and only $10 each additional kid (price is slightly higher for non-members). What a great way for mama and daddy to enjoy a date night! The bonus is that my kids already love The Jones Center and will have no reservations about hanging out there without us for a while. Speaking of reservations, make sure you make yours in time to save a spot for your kids. Here's all the info you need below, or click the link:

Remember, if you aren't a member of The Jones Center yet, I highly recommend you check it out. It's a great value and they have a ton of activities and amenities available for all ages.

My Kids are Flipping Out {sponsored post}

This is a sponsored post. I am currently serving as a blog ambassador for The Jones Center, who has compensated me for such. The photos and opinions are real, and are my own. This is a reflection of my family's personal experience as members of the facility.

My girls have decided that they would like to give gymnastics a try. This makes me happy for several reasons, one being that I waited until I was 12 or 13 to start gymnastics and it was too late for me to be successful. I was always sorry that I never learned basic tumbling skills; I never even learned to do a cartwheel. Boo!

As we've discussed the possibility over the last few weeks, I told the girls that we'd go check out the gymnastics class at The Jones Center. Since we go there a lot already, I knew that they recently started offering both dance and gymnastics classes. 

I'm happy to report that we went to visit a class last week and the girls loved it! There are about a dozen kids in a class and it's beginner level, right where my girls need to be. The kids were all welcoming to my girls and the instructor was very patient and kind. After one night of testing the waters, I came right home to sign them up online. For the record, Boy Twin chose to stick with soccer this spring, so he won't have time for gymnastics, too.

We are going to be in the Thursday evening classes. Girl Twin is in the age 5-7 class, which meets first, and Big Sis will be in the age 8+ class afterward. The classes are very affordable for anyone--especially for families with multiple kids. The cost is only $25/month per kid, which I can totally justify. I sat with another mom who was watching her 10-year-old twins practice. She said the same thing---The Jones Center really is a blessing to mamas who need to enroll more than one kid in class. Yes!

Another cool feature of the gymnastics class at The Jones Center? They offer multiple nights for convenience (even some daytime classes for younger kids) and you sign up online. You enroll each month. This means if you get busy during the summer and need to take off a  month, then you aren't stuck paying. Or, some kids want to play spring sports and take off gymnastics--no harm done! Just come back and sign up for the month that you want to participate. I love this convenience! 

Here's the link for more information about gymnastics classes at The Jones Center in Springdale. Check it out if you are interested. 

#ad It's Funday Sunday Time! {sponsored post}

This is a sponsored post. I am currently serving as a blog ambassador for The Jones Center, who has compensated me for such. The photos and opinions are real, and are my own. This is a reflection of my family's personal experience as members of the facility.

If you need some fun entertainment for your family this weekend, I have the perfect suggestion for you! This Sunday, September 20th, is Funday Sunday at The Jones Center in Springdale. This is the day that the community can visit and use selected amenities for FREE!

 

Funday Sunday is a monthly event at The Jones Center, and activities vary from month to month. The designated activities for September are FREE skating at the ice rink and FREE access to the swimming pool. As you know, my family has spent a lot of time doing both of these activities over the past year.

 

I can't say enough good things about The Jones Center and all of the fun family activities that they provide for our community. If you've never been, I encourage you to visit on a Funday Sunday, or any other time when you only have to pay a small access fee. The membership fee is really reasonable, too. Fitness classes are even included in the cost!

 

If you can't make it this weekend, there are two more chances to attend Funday Sunday this year.

#ad Big Birthday Fun {sponsored post}

This is a sponsored post. I am currently serving as a blog ambassador for The Jones Center, who has compensated me for such. The photos and opinions are real, and are my own. This is a reflection of my family's personal experience as members of the facility.

Well, Big Sis has now officially been an 8-year-old for a whole week. It's hard for me to believe that my first tiny baby is now such a big kid.

 

As her birthday approached, we started discussing ideas for a birthday party. We looked at options and cost for several different locations. Finally, she settled on just inviting the girls from her class and a few other family friends. Girls Only! (I guess we are at that age now).  Poor brother and dad...

 

One of our favorite places in town is The Jones Center, so I got online to check out their birthday party options. Immediately, I thought she would choose an ice skating party since she'd just finished a session of ice skating lessons there this winter.  I thought it was a very fun, affordable choice--you can have a party room, a skate lesson with a teacher and skate passes for 15 kids included in the package. But, Big Sis said she wanted something different.

 

 

 

The Jones Center also has a huge indoor pool and pool party packages--either during public swim time or private rental--that are also easy on the budget. Since we've had our membership at The Jones Center, we've spent A LOT of time in this pool. The kids absolutely love the giant slide and I love that we can keep them entertained and busy all year long in the pool. As for a party, Big Sis decided that she swims there so much that she wanted to try the other choice we looked at.

 

 

 

She chose a birthday party in the Gymnastics Studio, and it was perfect for us. We were able to rent the room for 1.5 hours and have access to tumbling mats, balls, ramps and other tumbling "tools." We had about 12 kids at the party and they had a blast! It was non-stomp romping, with only a small break for the Frozen-themed cupcakes that left everyone with bright blue tongues. Instead of birthday gifts, our friends helped us collect more than 10 pair of children's pajamas to donate to the local women's shelter.

 

 

Here are some photos of the kids enjoying the Gymnastics Studio party. I totally recommend this for a party space for my local friends.

  

 

  

To see all of the birthday party options offered by The Jones Center, click the link here. Make sure you tell them I sent you!

Frozen Fun {#sponsored}

This is a sponsored post. I am currently serving as a blog ambassador for The Jones Center, who has compensated me for such. The photos and opinions are real, and are my own. This is a reflection of my family's personal experience as members of the facility.

 

 

 

 

Because we are such excellent parents, we surprised Big Sis for Christmas by enrolling her in Ice Skating School at The Jones Center. She has just finished her third lesson, and is loving every minute of it. Her lessons are every Saturday morning for six weeks; she gets half an hour with her class and another half hour of free skating.

 

I love that she's making new friends and that her confidence grows with each week on the ice. I am particularly proud that she is enjoying this because we've tried a couple of other extra-curricular activities that have not held her interest at all. She's already told us that she wants to continue on to the next level of lessons after this!

 

The instructors are doing a great job with the kids; they split them up by age first, then by ability. Big Sis is in a small group of about 15 kids. It's fun to watch how they can split the ice rink into about 10 different groups and give the kids such great individual attention.

 

If you live in the area, I highly recommend the Skate School at The Jones Center in Springdale. We were able to score a fantastic deal during their Black Friday sale, but the regular price on enrollment is a very affordable $50 per session. Lessons are for all ages, even for adults! Make sure you check it out!