CES 2018 brought the Whoa! {2018 CES recap and trends}

DTYOb8IXcAAp-9DI can officially announce that I survived my first ever CES. I’ve been wanting to attend CES and see all the newest technology as it debuts ever since I started blogging, but it just never worked out since it always takes place in early January just before Sundance. Scheduling so much time away each January gets harder and harder as the kids get older, so having one big event on the calendar was enough for me each January. Thus I settled for consuming all of the articles and info I could from afar each CES season.

But, this year I was invited by CTA to take part in their Key Online Influencer program and I couldn’t refuse. So, I embarked on my first CES journey to conferences unknown and braved heavy rains, leaking roofs, never-ending show floors, and power outages.

What is CES? It’s the largest consumer electronics show in the world, put on each year by CTA. It takes place in Las Vegas in multiple different convention centers and halls, spreading out to the parking lots and into multiple hotel conference rooms. More than 3,900 exhibitors showcased this year in 2.75 million net square feet of exhibit space across Las Vegas – the largest show floor in CES’ 51 year history. New at #CES2018 this year was the Design & Source located in the LVCC, South Plaza featuring global design, sourcing and packaging companies.

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Disney Social Media Moms Seattle Event

During every school break, my Facebook stream is full of friends taking their kids to Disney parks.  I can’t help but be a teeny bit jealous because it really hasn’t been possible for us to do a Disney vacation.  Of course, I know I will eventually make it there with the kiddos, it just might not be as soon as I would like. 

And, then I saw a little blurb on one of my friend’s Facebook feed who was at the Disney Social Media Moms event last year.  It was something to the effect of how you only have 18 summers to take your kids to Disney, and it made me panic a bit.   

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Picture taken from DisneyParksBlog.com

My parents took all of us kids to Disneyland when I was 6 months old.  I’m sure it was a blast, but I don’t remember a single thing from the trip.  My husband has a similar story as first his family was waiting for him and his sister to be able to ride on the rides, and then their younger cousins.  Long story short, they never made it to any of the Disney parks.

In 1999, we finally made it to Walt Disney World together, and we still talk about how magical the trip was.  We went on every rollercoaster together, indulged in all the Disney treats and goodies, and spent our evenings at Pleasure Island doing what we could since I was underage at the time. 


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Circa 1999 in Disney World. I'm second from the left and hubby is on the right. Those two beautiful girls with us are my sisters.  Aren't we adorable?

But, it’s been 14 years since that Disney trip and I’m very ready to go again, this time with our kiddos. I am so excited to be able to share that magic with the kids and experience it again through their eyes, as well as all the new attractions that have gone in since 1999 {which, apparently, is A LOT}. 

While I can appreciate the idea of waiting until the kids are older and can go on all the rides, I also think there's something really special about a kid growing up Disney.  It's like they say, "there's something for everyone" and I don't want to miss taking them in the stage of awe and wonder just because they might not be able to do every single thing at the parks. 

And, I’m looking forward to it all: pictures with the princesses, the obligatory Mickey/Minnie ears, kid’s rides and grownup coasters and the magic that happens when the sun goes down and the castle comes alive for the evening.  Every. Single. Thing.  I don't want to try and find that magical "perfect age" for Disney parks that you hear so much about and instead want to see it as a great excuse to go as many times as we can while the kids are still under our roof.


Kerri, Cristi and me
Last week I got a chance to get in on the Disney action, albeit briefly, when Disney Social Media Moms came to the Seattle area as part of their Disney on the Road tour and now I’m even more excited to get to the Disney parks… any of them… all of them… or even a Disney cruise.  I'm not picky. 

Disney Seattle

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Roku Digital Video Player – Top Pick for Father’s Day

"For On-Demand Movies at Plan-Ahead Prices" We might have been the last family in our town to get a Netflix account. For years we were harassed by well-meaning friends and family members touting how great the Netflix service was. And, I’ll admit it sounded great, but I just couldn’t get past the monthly invoice whether … Read more