Thank you to everyone who participated in the Day Out with Thomas sweepstakes. The winners, chosen by random number generator, are:

Comment #126 – Chelsea Vander Schaaf who said “We love going to the beach”

and

Comment #83 – Melissa who said “We love visiting different parks every weekend and being outdoors”

Please email me at jennifer at pensacolawithkids dot com within 48 hours to claim your tickets.

Wales West is offering a small discount on tickets purchased for the Mother’s Day dates. Head to the website for more details and to order tickets.

Would you like to provide a giveaway for Pensacola with Kids?  Send me an email using the Contact Form.  No giveaway is too big or too small!

Day Out with Thomas Mystery on the Rails Tour 2012 is coming to Wales West Railways located at the Wales West RV Park in Silverhill, Alabama on May 5-6 and May 12-13.

Day Out with Thomas is a yearly event where you get to take a ride on Thomas the Train when he visits depots all around the US and Canada. There is a 20 minute ride with a Narrow Gauge Thomas the Tank Engine, a chance to meet Sir Topham Hatt, storytelling, live music, building with blocks and more.

Last year, Wales West also offered train rides on their smaller train and a look at the model trains. There are concession stands where you can purchase treats and drinks.

We visited with Thomas and his friends last year and my kids had a blast. I am so excited to announce that I have TWO family four packs to give away to two different people. There will be two winners and each winner will receive one family four pack.

Both family four pack sets of tickets are GOOD FOR THE 2:15pm TRAIN on SUNDAY, MAY 6, 2012. Please make sure that you are able to attend before you enter!

How to Enter

Leave one comment in the post about your favorite Pensacola summer activity with your kids. Don’t worry about being creative with your comment because the winners will be chosen by random number generator. Leave your comment by Saturday, April 28 12midnight CST.

Terms and Conditions

No purchase necessary to enter or win. Sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and who are 18 years of age at time of entry. For this giveaway, entrants can enter 1 time. We will disqualify any entries that we believe are generated by scripts and other automated technology and Pensacola with Kids assumes no responsibility for late or misdirected entries due to SPAM, technological issues or for prizes lost in transit.

Prize is only good for 2:15pm train ride on Sunday, May 6, 2012 at Wales West RV Park Day Out with Thomas 2012. No substitutions including for cash are permitted, except that Pensacola with Kids reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater monetary value for any prize. Void where prohibited by law. Winners shall be responsible and liable for all federal, state, and local taxes on the value of their prize. Relatives of Pensacola with Kids are not eligible to win.

Winners

A randomly selected winner will be notified by email. Odds of winning depend upon the number of entries received. Winners must claim prize within 48 hours or the prize will be forfeited. Prizes will be shipped via mail shortly after the prizes have been claimed. Winner grants Pensacola with Kids the right to use his/her name in promotion without compensation or permission. Winner releases Pensacola with Kids from any liability arising out of participation in this Sweepstakes or the acceptance, use, or misuse of the prize.

Because this is a family site and we get a lot of spam comments, all comments on this site are moderated.  If your comment doesn’t show up right away, don’t worry!

Please allow me to introduce Pensacola with Kid’s newest sponsor, Paul Portillo Photo.  Paul Portillo Photo specializes in unique on-location children and family photography. He will come to your home or a location which you choose and he will customize your session to fit your needs.  The sessions are relaxed and Paul captures your family’s personality. They are in the business of capturing emotions, spirits, & phases of life of your family. Paul Portillo Photo also offers newborn and maternity photography.

Visit Paul’s galleries to see the beautiful family photographs.  His pictures capture so much love and happiness.  Paul Portillo Photo offers different print sizes and packages and there is also the Cutie Patootie Club, which can help save you money in the long run.

Once you have looked at all the family portraits,be sure to take a look at his photographs from Japan.  I spent a few weeks in Japan when I was in middle school and seeing his pictures make me want to book a plane ticket to return.

If you are interested in booking Paul Portillo Photo for your next portrait session, please contact Paul!  You reach his website or you can click on the ad in the sidebar.  You can also email Paul at Paul (at) paulportillophoto (dot) com or call him at 850.501.7908.

*All photographs in this post are courtesy of Paul Portillo Photo.  All photographs are property of Paul Portillo Photo.

Take the Pensacola with Kids survey!

Here are links to our reviews of some of the family friendly spots listed in the newspaper article:

Bayou Marcus Water Reclamation Facility Boardwalk

Aviation Discovery Park

Friday Family Flicks

Sunsets at Plaza de Luna (see 2011 schedule)

Blue Angels Practices (see 2011 schedule )

Geocaching

Arcadia Mill

Is this your first visit to Pensacola with Kids?  Be sure to stop by the Index of Activities for ideas and activity reviews.  There is also a calendar of events that we update with family friendly activities.  Every Friday I post a weekend roundup and in the summertime we turn those weekend roundups into weekly roundups to keep your family busy all summer long!

We have an amazing community of families on our Pensacola with Kids Facebook page where I post links to articles, announcements and reader questions.  Please join us!

I couldn’t keep this site updated without the help of readers!  If you know of a family friendly activity or event that we should check out, please send me an email at jennifer at pensacolawithkids dot com or use the Contact Form.

Don’t miss any of our Pensacola with Kids adventures by subscribing to get daily updates via email or your favorite reader.

I am so honored to have my first published article in Southern Child Magazine!  I love their mission of helping to place foster children in their forever homes and it is so awesome to be a tiny part of that. 

If you are stopping by for the first time, please let me tell you a little bit about our site.  We are a resource to families of all kinds living in or visiting the Pensacola area.  We have been helping parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, friends, babysitters and more find family friendly activities in and around Pensacola for over two years.  We share our day trips and weekend trips to cities nearby as well.  On almost every Friday, we share a weekend roundup with family friendly events to attend.  We give park, restaurant, and activity reviews as well as share upcoming events.  We love to have guest posters join us as well!  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me and enjoy your visit!

If you are a regular Pensacola with Kids reader, I thank you for your loyal support.  I highly recommend you check out this month’s issue of Southern Child Magazine.  My article is in the Seeing the South section on pages 113-115 titled Pensacola with Kids.  There are some great articles in this issue!  If you are in the market for a stroller, see the Savvy Stroller guide where they reviewed a whole lot of strollers so you don’t have to!  There are Easter crafts and treats and a great article on teaching your children about sustainability. 

Welcome to the new and improved Pensacola with Kids!  You will find several new things as well as old favorites. 

Here are a couple of new features!

• An Index of Activities - There is an alphabetized list of all things we have reviewed so far or you can search by topic (Amusement Parks and Attractions, Bowling Alleys, Day Trips and Overnighters, Family Friendly Events, Farms, Zoos and Gardens, Hiking and Walking, Museums and Monuments, National and State Parks, Parks and Playplaces, Places to Eat, Storytimes)
• The ability to continuously scroll through the posts with the latest post first
• Advertising space to advertise your business (Introductory rates are inexpensive!  For more information, please email me at jennifer (at) pensacolawithkids (dot) com.
• A list of the last ten posts for quick access

Things to look for in the future:

• Calendar – One of our New Year’s Resolutions is to get the Calendar back up and running with family friendly events around town.  It is extremely time consuming but we are going to try to be consistent with it.
• Continuous updating of the index – As we add a new review, we will be sure to add it to the index. 
• More guest posts – If you are interested in writing a guest post, let us know!
• Category Clean Up – We are going to spend January cleaning up the categories so they match the index of activities and makes it easier to find what you are looking for.

Thanks so much for your support!  It is because of you all that Pensacola with Kids continue to grow.  We hope you stick around for another fantastic year of exploring Pensacola in 2011!

Here are some examples of past guest posts:

Summer Road Trip Celebration – Shark Tooth Creek, Aliceville, Alabama

Sunday Show and Tell – Sunsets at the Plaza and Olde Seville Square

Sunday Show and Tell – First Friday Nights in Downtown Milton

Sunday Show and Tell – Evenings in Olde Seville Square, Concerts in the Park

Sunday Show and Tell – Pensacola Naval Aviation Museum