Christina, Author at A Mommy Story

Jun 27, 2014

That Time We Visited Metropolis, Illinois for Superman

June 27, 2014 By Christina

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?

Ever have those times when you have a lot going on, and your head is just full of things to say, but you have no ability to get it all out? That’s been most of June for me. The last two weeks have been so busy that whenever I found time to sit down and write, I didn’t have the mental energy to form coherent sentences.

I started the month with a horrible sore throat and cough, spending almost two weeks very sick and miserable. Strangely, no one else in the family shared in this illness, which really puzzled me. How was my immune system the only one that failed?

Luckily, I did get better just in time for Aaron’s birthday. This year, he wanted to go to the Superman Celebration weekend in Metropolis, IL for his birthday. Neither of us had ever been to this event, and he had several online friends who would be there. So I arranged to have the kids stay at Camp Grandma and we made the six hour drive to southern Illinois to find the town with the giant 15ft Superman statue in front of the county courthouse.

Things I learned on this trip:

1. The Superman Celebration event is not quite the large, international event that we thought it would be. When the main hotel was booked full for the event, we thought that this would be a HUGE event. We worried about parking and how much it would cost.

Turns out, there’s only one hotel IN the town (not counting the casino’s hotel on the river), and parking most definitely wasn’t a problem. We stayed at the other hotel about three miles outside of the town and drove in each day. No one charged for parking, and there was plenty of it available on any street. This is a small town, with a downtown area spanning only a few blocks each direction. There were empty storefronts next to small businesses trying to stay alive.

And just before you get there, the scariest bridge over the Ohio river. The road is metal grates, and it’s barely wide enough for two cars.

As for the event itself, it did have some notable celebrities as guests (Dean Cain, Billy Dee Williams), but the overall feel of the celebration was more “small town street fair” instead of what we expected. It was just as easy to buy a funnel cake or a snow cone as it was to buy a Superman t-shirt. There were few vendors from outside the area, and artist booths were located right near the BMX stunt bike show and mechanical bull.

Hi, Dean Cain!

2. Southern Illinois is a lot more southern than I would have guessed. This is the same state where Chicago is located, right? I wasn’t expecting Metropolis to feel like a small southern town, although I probably should have considering it’s just across the river from Kentucky.

And when talking to people there, Aaron and I were definitely the outsiders…I mean, beyond the costumes and all. More than once, someone would smile and say to us (in a fairly thick southern accent), “You’re not from around here, are ya? I can tell by your accent.” I never knew a Columbus, Ohio “accent” could be so distinctive, but it let the others in town know that we had traveled far to be there.

Despite being different than expectations, we still had a good time that weekend and the town was welcoming. Aaron enjoyed meeting up with friends he knew from online groups and cosplaying as various superheroes. Of course, there was a Superman everywhere you looked.

Including all varieties of Superman!

He even talked me into dressing up in costume one evening, too.

The guy in the middle makes art using spray paint – how cool is that?

Metropolis does have a couple of really interesting museums, too. One is the Superman museum, with an unheard of amount of Superman memorabilia, art, props and costumes from movies and TV shows, autographed photos, and so much more. One of the capes that Christopher Reeves used was there, along with his flying harness and wig. (I had no idea he wore a wig as Superman.) It was an amazing collection crowded into every possible corner of the small space, and I was really impressed at how many one-of-a-kind items they had on display.

I have no photos of the really cool stuff. I’m sorry to say that I was so busy looking at all of it that I forgot to take any pictures. You’ll just have to trust me that it was amazing.

The other museum (owned by the same person, I believe) is the Americana Hollywood museum. It was probably four times as large, and had memorabilia for nearly every genre movie type out there, including sci-fi, horror, westerns, superheroes and special sections for Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Tarzan, and the “classics” like Gone With the Wind and Casablanca. This museum had few original pieces from movies, but rather had a massive amount of collectibles and replicas. (Although I did see some original costumes from a few movies.) The superhero room was basically a giant tribute to all of the superhero toys – I couldn’t believe how many they had!

And a replica of Maria from the silent film, Metropolis!

It was fun, it was a little silly, and it was a nice escape from reality for a few days. I don’t know if we’ll ever go back again, but it was definitely worth going once.

Filed Under: Aaron, geek paradise, travel

Jun 5, 2014

Box of Rocks

June 5, 2014 By Christina

On the last day of school, the kids cleaned out their desks and put everything into their backpacks to bring home. This is always the fun time of the year when I get to see all of the supplies I bought at the start of the year, some of them barely touched, and others trashed.

As we were walking into the house, Mira was visibly having trouble carrying her backpack. “Do you need some help with that?” I asked.

“Um, yeah, maybe,” she replied.

I smiled at my youngest daughter, expecting that it was mostly an act to get my help. It’s possible her backpack was a little heavy, but probably not that much. Mira likes to exaggerate.

I reached out and grabbed one of the backpack straps, and then she let go.

Thud.

The backpack hit the ground. It was much heavier than I expected!

I applied a little more effort and lifted it again. “Wow, Mira, what are you carrying in this thing? A box of rocks?”

Mira went wide-eyed and said in her most exasperated tone, “Whaaaat? We had to clean out our desks! It’s everything from my desk!”

I was imagining that she’d been hoarding books and art projects in her desk all year long to produce a backpack that weighed this much. But I set it aside and didn’t think about it for a little while.

And then I cleaned it out.

OMG.

After pulling out a few things, I grabbed a box to contain the contents of her backpack. This was everything that was in it:

this photo doesn’t do the depth of papers and notebooks justice

Papers, supplies, notebooks, her school yearbook (I wondered why we only received one!), her art shirt, etc. It’s no wonder it was so heavy. She had papers from as far back as October in there.

But wait, it gets better. That little pink box that was supposed to hold her pencils? Here’s what it held:

Rocks. Seriously.

She really did have a box of rocks in her backpack. Apparently it was her rock collection from school.

Next year’s rule: school rocks will stay at school.

Filed Under: Mira, school

May 30, 2014

Disney’s Maleficent: Another Side to Sleeping Beauty

May 30, 2014 By Christina

Last month at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we were given a sneak peek at Disney’s newest movie, Maleficent. All phones and recording devices had to be put away in order to watch the exclusive extended clip from the film, which we all happily complied with in order to see a little bit more of this movie. At the time, I remember being in awe of the beautiful scene, from the costumes, to the set and scenery, and the commanding presence of Angelina Jolie as the evil fairy. I was already looking forward to this film, but after that nine minute scene, I couldn’t wait for the end of May to arrive.

And then? Maleficent herself made an appearance, dominating the room with her presence and ensuring we all understood her power. It’s rare anymore to see a Disney Villain in person if it isn’t Halloween, so this was lots of fun.

After she left the room, we had the chance to meet her out in the lobby. I can’t believe how nervous I felt as I waited to have my one-on-one with her.

(She touched me, and I lived to tell about it!)

What did we talk about? Magic, mostly. I asked her if you could learn magic or if it was something you were born with – of course she reminded me that only fairies have magic and therefore a person had to be born with it. That’s what happens when you’re nervous to meet someone – you think up dumb questions to ask them.

Anyway…the wait is finally over and Maleficent opens today! I went to a local preview screening on Wednesday night, still a little unsure of how it would compare to the well-loved story of Sleeping Beauty. How could a villain be the protagonist, and what new backstory would we learn about Maleficent?

Warning: some mild spoilers ahead, mostly about early parts of the film. But I’m not spoiling the ending at all.

Synopsis

(From the website) Maleficent explores the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the classic Sleeping Beauty and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king’s newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take dramatic actions that will change both worlds forever.

The film stars Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville.

The Feature

The film starts with a young Maleficent, a fairy child who doesn’t seem to have parents and is the protector of the moors – a fairy kingdom which has an uneasy relationship with their human neighbors. Enter the similarly parent-less Stefan, who enters the moors as a thief, but who strikes up a friendship – and ultimately, a romance, with the fairy. As time passes and the years move on, we learn that the human king wishes to take control of the moors, but Maleficent leads the charge in defending her land. Meanwhile, Stefan’s ambition takes him away from his first love, and into the service of the king.

Maleficent when she still had wings

When the king is injured in battle by Maleficent, his dying wish is to destroy her and reclaim the moors as a part of his kingdom, offering the crown to anyone who will fulfill his wish. Stefan’s ambition ultimately wins out over his loyalty to his lover, and as the old king dies, Stefan takes his place as the new King – while a betrayed Maleficent turns cold and bitter.

Incidentally, anyone who witnesses the moment where Jolie plays out Maleficent’s reaction to the betrayal and doesn’t feel their heart break, has no soul. It’s a masterful scene, and puts you completely on Maleficent’s side for the remainder of the film – if you weren’t there already.

This leads us to the throne room scene from Sleeping Beauty that we all know and love, where baby Aurora is showered with gifts and one nagging curse. Although Maleficent plays with a few details from the animated version, this is easily one of the best scenes in the entire film. Even though we already know what will happen, the tension and anticipation is palpable as the scene plays out.

enacting the curse

From there, the story follows the one we know, only this time Maleficent is not hunting for the missing princess for nearly sixteen years, but in fact watches her grow from infant to child to young woman. Aurora becomes aware of her “fairy godmother,” never knowing the truth about her until near the end. The relationship between Aurora and Maleficent, almost one of child and mother, is fascinating to watch.

The film’s climax follows the similar broad path of Sleeping Beauty, but the details are different enough to make you feel either relieved or betrayed from how it varies, with saviors found in unexpected places, and villains found in others.

the big moment with the spinning wheel

My thoughts

I knew a little bit about this film going into it. I was already aware of the history between Maleficent and Stefan and how it was his betrayal that led to the evil fairy in black we all know and love. For Maleficent to be sympathetic in any way, we had to have a backstory that humanized her, and even made her vengeance seem righteous, if misguided in who she targeted.

The romance between Maleficent and Stefan was rushed in the story. I’m sure cuts had to be made to keep the movie short enough for kids, but we didn’t get the chance to know Stefan enough before he turned against her. This left his character feeling flat: a one-dimensional ambitious, vengeful, and mad villain, willing to remove nearly anyone or anything in his way to winning against Maleficent. I had to wonder what she ever saw in him when they were younger.

But I wasn’t prepared for the amount of contact between Maleficent and Aurora as she grew up. Instead of Aurora relying on the nurture of the three fairies, Flittle, Thistletwit and Knotgrass are silly, useless creatures who manage to do nothing effective throughout the course of the film. They are Aurora’s appointed caregivers, but they’re unable to do even the most basic tasks, like know what to feed a baby, or keep the little girl out of danger.

WHO IS WATCHING THIS CHILD?

Instead, it’s Maleficent hiding in the shadows, protecting the young girl so that Aurora has a chance at reaching sixteen in order to see the curse enacted. The reasons behind her protection change as the girl grows and Maleficent develops an affection for her.

The real highlight of this movie is Angelina Jolie as Maleficent. This role was intended for her, and she so completely becomes the character that it’s easy for the audience to join her in this magical world. She is a magnificent, striking presence on screen, beautiful and grand, and every word she speaks has just the right amount of weight and significance. Even through the makeup and effects, her emotions are both delicate and powerful.

Perhaps my favorite interactions are those between Maleficent and Diaval, the crow (and sometimes human). He is her loyal servant, and yet as the film progresses you can see a deeper relationship develop between them – not in a romantic way, but a deep trust in each other. In her lonely world, he is her constant, and unlike other magical creatures, he’s the one who is often unafraid to say what he thinks is right. In a way, his difference of opinion has him often serving as her conscience, and there is definitely a shared tenderness between them by the end.

Diaval and Maleficent

Aurora (played by Elle Fanning) is delightfully innocent, and with that innocence is utterly fearless. Young girls will admire her ability to see beyond the facade and find the good inside. The animated Sleeping Beauty is somewhat of a dull character (partially due to the source material, since she’s asleep through much of the action), but with this Aurora we’re given more time to see her growing up, and learn more about the person under the pretty blonde hair.

I also appreciated that Aurora was played by an actress who is still a teen herself. Elle didn’t turn sixteen until after the film was done – we sang Happy Birthday to her at Disney Social Media Moms because it was just a couple of days after her sixteenth birthday!

and we all had cupcakes!

The ending is handled a little differently from the animated film. I expect there will be debates on if this is a better ending or not, but because many haven’t seen the film yet, I won’t discuss the details here. I’ll say that I liked the ending and thought it was an interesting way to resolve the story. (Aaron did not like the ending as much, and we’ve debated it at length already.)

The biggest question is probably: is this movie for kids? Yes, I think it is. Cordy and Mira haven’t seen it yet, but I now have no worries about them seeing it. The preview trailers make the movie seem a lot darker than it actually is, both in tone and in actual darkness. I remember seeing the images of Maleficent meeting a young Aurora in a preview, and it looked almost like nighttime when they met. In the film, it’s a much brighter and cheery location.

There are a couple of scary scenes peppered through the film. These are mostly large battle scenes, with primarily nameless extras in danger. The dragon is present in the final battle, and looks just as fierce as the animated one, but knowing who the dragon is may make it seem less scary for kids. The overwhelming majority of the film isn’t frightening, though, and it provides so much beautiful visual stimulation that any of the short scary moments should soon be forgotten by the next scene.

You know your own child better than I do, so I can’t say yes, it’ll totally be fine. But other than one scene in the last 15 minutes that might upset more sensitive kids, I think it’s totally a kid-friendly film. (And I’ll update this if Cordy gets scared when she sees it.)

Speaking of the backdrop…Maleficent is SO pretty. There was so much enchanting scenery filling every edge of the screen, with the characters blending into this world seamlessly. It’s not a musical, so you won’t find characters breaking into song in the movie, but the haunting version of “Once Upon A Dream” at the start of the credits is worth sticking around for. (There’s nothing at the end of the credits, FYI.)

Overall, I’m glad I had the chance to see Maleficent and look forward to the second viewing with my kids. Your feelings on the ending will determine your ultimate love of the film, but even if you dislike the way the ending unfolds, you will still have plenty to praise in the acting, the stunning cinematography and CGI, and the touching emotional moments of the film. Personally, I loved this take on Maleficent, including the exploration of what drives someone to ultimate evil, and also what could possibly make someone reconsider their past actions and seek redemption.

No matter what, I think there’s going to be a new demand for the movie version of Maleficent to appear more often in the Disney Parks, in all of her evil glory. And that’s not a bad thing at all.

Disclosure: I received a pair of tickets to attend the preview screening of this film. Also, I was invited to attend the #DisneySMMoms Celebration. I paid my own conference and travel fees and received gifts during the conference from conference sponsors. All opinions, experiences and thoughts are my own.

Filed Under: Disney, reviews, sponsored

May 27, 2014

Mira’s Cedar Point Birthday Extravaganza

May 27, 2014 By Christina

Today, Mira woke up as a seven year old.

SEVEN.

Wait. Wasn’t she just a curly-headed toddler not that long ago?

Last year, Mira insisted on the big party with all of her friends from school there. This year, she traded in the big party for the chance to spend two days at Cedar Point over Memorial Day weekend. We were already going up on Saturday for Blogger Day (disclosure: Cedar Point furnished our park tickets and provided lunch on Saturday), but Mira was interested in making it a two-day long trip, and willing to give up a chance at having a big party in favor of an amusement park adventure.

So, we did. We spent two days at Cedar Point, staying at the Sandcastle Suites resort on-site. Even though Cordy was firmly against the idea of riding anything other than the Tilt-o-Whirl, she agreed to come along, too, just because it was Mira’s birthday weekend.

We arrived shortly after opening on Saturday. Mira was a little disappointed that she was half an inch too short to meet the 52″ height requirement. She was still tall enough for most of the rides, which only require 48″, but it still meant the GateKeeper – quite possibly MY favorite roller coaster – was still off-limits for her.

GateKeeper over the main entrance (photo credit: Stephen Blanzaco)

Our first ride of the day was the Cedar Downs racing carousel, which at this point is a tradition for us. It’s a carousel, so it’s a gentle enough first ride of the day for Cordy, but it also goes faster than a typical carousel, and the horses in each row go back and forth as well as up and down, so there’s a winner in each row by the end of the ride.

Cordy’s many trips on Cedar Downs over the years

After our first ride, we stopped for our sponsored lunch. Cedar Point, having been tipped off by me that we were celebrating Mira’s birthday, had a little surprise for Mira.

Thank you, Bryan, for the fantastic surprise for Mira!

She was thrilled to have a chocolate Dairy Queen ice cream cake. She had asked us for cake and ice cream for her birthday, and was stunned to realize she could get both all at once.

After lunch, it was time to get back to the rides. Mira had asked her sister to ride just one roller coaster with her for her birthday. Cordy has only ever been on one, the Cedar Creek Mine Ride, and used to love it, but then last year became scared of it and refused to ride it anymore.

We still use it to track how big she’s getting.

Cordy wanted to ride the Mine Ride as quickly as possible to get her obligation to her sister over with, but then something amazing happened. We all rode it…and Cordy loved it. Then asked to ride it again with her sister.

second and third rows (photo credit: Stephen Blanzaco)

We then went to Camp Snoopy to allow the kids some time to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl a few times. (That ride never gets old.) Right next to Camp Snoopy is the redesigned Midway area, where we couldn’t pass up the Monster and the new Pipe Scream.

At that point, Mira was ready for her next roller coaster. She went for another favorite of hers (and mine): the Iron Dragon. Cordy had never been on this suspended coaster before, but we talked her into it. And? She loved it! Score! Two for two!

Cordy’s smiling at the end of the ride! (photo credit: Stephen Blanzaco)

At this point it was getting really warm, so Aaron convinced Mira to go on Thunder Canyon to cool off. It’s a water ride where you will get wet on the ride. Mira was the unlucky one on their raft to pass under every waterfall. She was drenched.

While they enjoyed having water dumped on them, Cordy and I made friends with the petting zoo animals in Frontiertown. Cordy met her hair-twin, an alpaca she named Andrew.

It was late in the day at that point. Before we could have dinner, though, the kids insisted we visit the dinosaurs in Dinosaurs Alive. It’s a cool area to learn about lots of dinosaurs, with full-size dinosaurs that move and roar and generally look menacing. All of us love reading about the dinosaurs. But we also love being goofy around them, too.

What do you mean don’t turn around? (photo credit: Stephen Blanzaco)

Mira finished the night with the Corkscrew roller coaster, and then we called it a night.

The next morning, though, we were up bright and early to take advantage of the one hour early entry for guests staying at the Cedar Point resorts. Our first stop: GateKeeper. (Well, for those of us who could ride it.) It’s definitely my favorite – it’s a winged coaster, and probably the smoothest roller coaster in existence.

Meanwhile, Cordy and Mira went on the Iron Dragon again…all by themselves. I’ll admit that freaked me out a little, because I’m not ready to consider them standing in lines and riding rides without us, but they were fine. They ended up riding it twice together, because Aaron and I had another roller coaster to conquer: Millennium Force.

Over 300 feet tall, 93 miles per hour top speed, and voted the best steel coaster. It’s intense. I’ll just leave it at that.

At that point, Mira had yet to ride any new roller coasters. Millennium Force was a little outside of her comfort zone, so we offered to take her on the Mean Streak, Cedar Point’s big wooden roller coaster. I was sure she’d be scared of it, but apparently turning seven years old gives you a lot of courage. As soon as it was over, her first words were, “Can we ride it again?” (Cordy decided she was done with coasters for this trip and refused to ride. She drove me around on the antique cars while Aaron and Mira took a second turn on the Mean Streak.)

After two trips on the Mean Streak, we then suggested Magnum XL-200. It’s only 200 feet tall instead of the 300 of Millennium Force, and not quite as fast. Mira trusted our opinion of it, and we stood in line again. I was concerned Mira was going to change her mind on this one. It’s tall. But she decided to be brave and go through with it.

As we were going up the first hill, I could see the worry on her face. I held her hand and told her it would be fun. And then by the end of the ride: “That was awesome! Can we ride it again?” We did ride it again, and even tried to be cheesy for the ride camera.

We forgot to tell Mira to give a thumbs up. She was having too much fun, anyway.

Before we left Cedar Point on Sunday, we bought Mira her first Ride Warrior t-shirt. She had earned it. As we started the drive home, I asked her what she thought of our trip to Cedar Point as her birthday present. “Best. Birthday. Ever!” And then she promptly fell asleep, holding tight to her pink polar bear and her newly purchased stuffed blue dinosaur.

She may be a ride warrior, but she’s still only seven. Happy birthday, Mira!

Thank you to Cedar Point for the park tickets and lunch, and for helping to arrange for Mira’s surprise cake. Also, thanks to Wiccy and Steve for joining us on the trip, helping with the kids, and taking photos. Mira’s summer plans include growing half an inch so she can ride the GateKeeper when we’re back later this year!

Filed Under: family time, local fun, Mira, travel

May 19, 2014

Family Fitness Tracking with ibitz and Best Buy

May 19, 2014 By Christina

Thanks to Best Buy for providing the devices for this review!

I’ve shared in a few posts that I like using activity trackers to keep an eye on how many steps I take each day. I’ve tried several different trackers, and still go back and forth on which ones I use in a given week. This has left my collection open to a very curious Mira, of course, who has more than once asked me if she could wear one of them.

But my trackers aren’t really designed for a six year old. The bracelet style falls right off of her wrist. And the apps aren’t exactly all that exciting for her to look at.

Enter the ibitz by GeoPalz kid and adult wireless pedometers. These small clip-on devices track activity for adults and kids, and come with apps that help the device wirelessly sync to your iOS Bluetooth 4.0 phone or tablet. Different apps for adults and children gives each age group their own unique experience with a personalized approach.

The ibitz Unity for adults tracks steps, distance, weight (added manually), height, overall physical activity, and allows you to incorporate your family and friends. It also lets you form groups and post your progress on social media.

The ibitz for kids wireless pedometer syncs to a rewards platform app. Parents can set goals and rewards such as play time, screen time, or an adventure with a parent. You can earn coins and content on Disney’s Club Penguin, and they’ll soon be introducing Minecraft rewards. The app is a little space alien trying to power her rocket, with your child’s steps counting as fuel for the rocket. The more steps, the further the rocket goes.

Mira couldn’t wait to give hers a try. After I helped her create an account on the app, she picked out her spaceship and was ready to go. I’m pretty sure that first day she was more active than normal just to earn as many steps as possible to fuel her rocketship.

syncing the device, powering the spaceship

There’s a password protected parent area in the app that lets you set goals for your child’s activity. Each goal is shown as a planet that the rocket is trying to get to. So you could set a goal of 3500 steps, for example, and then add on a reward for reaching that goal. When the child meets the goal, the alien jumps around in celebration. (Mira loves to watch that part.)

goal-setting and reward screens

Over the weekend, we set a goal with a reward of going to see a movie. She easily cleared that goal and was thrilled to go see a movie on Saturday night. I think we’ll need to set smaller rewards or higher goals for this determined kid.

So far she loves her ibitz and has had it clipped on before I even noticed each morning. It’s motivating her to be more active, as she checks the app frequently to see how far her spaceship has traveled. I consider this product an absolute success for her.

The adult Unity ibitz works like many of the other activity trackers out there. It’s app isn’t nearly as exciting as the kid version, which after seeing the kid version myself, is a little disappointing.

view of the app

I almost wish it had fun graphics and goal setting like the kid version – I wouldn’t mind using my steps to power an animated character in a game! It does have the ability for you to create groups to support each other, but if your friends have different activity trackers, that isn’t as helpful.

I do like the ability to connect wirelessly. And the devices are powered with a 3V lithium battery, meaning no disappointment from forgetting to charge the device like other types of trackers.

Some features of the ibitz pedometer:

· available in 7 kid-friendly colors

· free iOS app* syncs device wirelessly

· syncs via Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE)

· tracks activity

· set goals and rewards

· water-resistant

· durable clip for hip and shoe

· stores 30 days of activity

· earn parent directed rewards

· earn coins and content on Disney’s Club Penguin

I’m not sure if the ibitz Unity will be the activity tracker I continue to use, but the ibitz for kids is definitely a hit in our house. Cordy is now asking when she can get one of her own, and starting to plan goals she wants to set for herself. If the ibitz can make exercise a little more fun for the kids, the hope is that they’ll form good habits to remain active, even after the novelty of powering alien spaceships has worn off.

You can find the ibitz adult and kid pedometers at Best Buy.

Disclosure: The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. In this case, I received only the pedometers to review. All opinions expressed here are my own, including my idea of an activity-tracker-based game for adults. No really, it would be a big hit.

Filed Under: Fitness, healthy living, reviews