From the Sidelines

Beat the Heat with Cool Summer Fun

      As we reach the hottest months, it is a challenge to keep our kids active and outside.  With a little bit of creativity, you can keep summertime safe and fun, even in this heat. 

Here are a few ideas to help keep your kids cool in the heat.

• High Quality H2O!  Drink lots of water!  Don’t wait until you’re thirsty.  By that time, you are already dehydrated.
• Freeze it!  Keep frozen treats on hand.  These may be as simple as throwing some grapes into the freezer and as easy as filling an ice cube tray with fruit juice and Popsicle sticks.  No matter what you make, if it’s frozen, your kids will love it!  Just Kids Recipes has 49 Frozen Treat Recipes if you need some new ideas.

• Plan for the heat!  Wear light and loose-fitting clothing.  Natural fabrics such as cotton and linen as well as light colors help keep the heat off your body.  You can always check out the tees and tanks at Red 21 Boys and Pink 21 Girls for some great summer tops and shorts.
• Just add water!  Frequent trips to a water park, pool, or lake can be a fun experience for kids.  Not only will they get some great exercise, and have loads of fun, but they will stay cool in the process.  If you can’t get to the pool or beach regularly, kids love the sprinkler!  I get my kids into their swimsuits, add some water balloons or water guns and they are happy for hours!  I love the crazy games they make up while they are out in the wading pool.

 

Feel free to share any summertime activities that your family enjoys!  Pictures, stories, fun games...we love to hear from you!

What, there’s more than the CWS in Omaha?

I seem to recall that there was something going on in college sports this weekend…Reshuffling conferences and divisions? No that already happened. The World Cup…yes it’s soccer…true not many watch it in the U.S.  Oh yeah, the College World Series. If you or your kids follow college baseball or are from Omaha, this is one of the biggest events of the year.

Thousands and thousands of fans will descend upon Rosenblatt for its last year of the CWS to see their team play in this historical series.  As I mentioned in the last post, it is the last year the CWS is held at Rosenblatt.  Next year, it moves to its new venue to start new traditions and memories.  If you are a fan trekking to Omaha to watch the series, there are a few other activities, many kid friendly, to do away from the stadium.

It may come as a surprise to many, but Omaha offers a lot on a regular basis.  From museums to shopping, to arts, music, and movies, there are many local places to take your kids. Just next to the stadium is another huge Omaha attraction, the Henry Doorly Zoo.  One of the best in the country, your family can spend several days at the Henry Doorly seeing all the exhibits they have to offer including the Wildlife Safari. If your child has never been on a safari drive like this, it is a great opportunity to see their reactions to a buffalo licking your window.  My kids’ experiences are sure to bring up some embarrassment when we re-live them in front of their friends.

Without animals and slobbering, you can find quite a few other things. Make sure you hit one of the many Farmer’s Markets in the area.  Last count we have six across the Omaha area on varying days of the week.  You can, also, always escape the heat by taking in a movie.  Visit the iMax at the zoo, the Film Streams for their Forever Young series, or the Marcus Midtown Crossing Theater where you can have a full dinner and adult beverage during the show.

Take a walk in Omaha’s Old Market, Heartland Park, Lewis and Clark Landing, and the new pedestrian bridge if you want to just get outside for a while.  Or you might try and grab a pizza from one of several local pizzerias such as Mama’s or Zio’s.  Regardless of what you do away from the stadium, while you are there, make sure you stop by the Fan Fest Area and leave your fondest memories of Rosenblatt and don’t forget to stop by Zesto’s for a cone.  And, as always, if you are looking for the coolest sports gear Red21Boys is online and available wherever you are.

You can find all of these activities and more at http://www.visitomaha.com/. If there’s a memory of the CWS you’d like to share or something to do that I missed, fell free to post it here.

 

What's Your Game?

One playoff over, one under way, and two ready to begin! No matter what your favorite game is, there is a lot going on in sports this week.  You can choose from baseball, soccer, football, or hockey - it’s all happening right now.

If NHL hockey is your sports de jour, then you’ve been on the edge of your seat for the last few weeks. The battle for the Stanley Cup between the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers has been worth the watch.  The 49 year drought for the Blackhawks finally ended last night with their 4-3 victory in game 6. 

If basketball is more to your taste, the NBA is in the middle of the Finals as well. The three  games so far have been a back and forth fight.  However, at the moment, the Lakers seem to have advantage over the Celtics.  But with teams lead by Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett it’s anybody’s game.  I watch the NBA more often, but I think I ruined my son’s basketball opinion by watching the Harlem Globetrotters.  Now he always asks why a Celtic player isn’t running into the audience to throw a bucket of water on his teammate.

Although it’s not the number one pastime in the U.S., soccer/football kicks off the World Cup this weekend in South Africa.  Plagued (or blessed depending on your view) with some the most fanatical followers, FIFA soccer is a must watch, especially if you have a child playing soccer like I do.  We’ve watched a few high school games this season, but over the next few weeks, he and I will be able to see professionals from around the world.  It’s interesting that he can sit and watch an hour and a half soccer game, but can’t wait five minutes for dinner because he’s “hungry and can’t take it anymore!”

Last, but not least, the NCAA Men’s College World Series starts next week and is a huge event in for baseball fans everywhere.  During the CWS you get to see the best college teams play for the CWS trophy.  This year is going to be particularly memorable, since it will be the last year the CWS is held at Johnny Rosenblatt stadium.  The series has been played at Rosenblatt for 61 years and all the teams and coaches will arrive with past memories and undoubtedly create more this year. So take some time to watch this historical event and take in a game either from the comfort of your own home or in Omaha if you are nearby.

So much to watch and so little time, especially if your kids like to play more than one sport.  I guess it is their way of keeping us busy.

How Do You Celebrate Memorial Day?

Fire up the grill and load up the family camper, Memorial Day kicks off summer.  Schools are out, businesses are closed, and the public parks, lakes, and pools are officially open. Everyone rushes to enjoy the first long weekend of the season beneath the summer sun.  Although, swimming, camping, and barbecues are the now the norm for Memorial Day, this celebration had a much more poignant beginning.

            After the Civil War ended in 1865, many communities during the reconstruction began to honor and establish memorials to those who had lost their lives during the war.  Charleston, South Carolina claims to have held the first event to remember the Civil War fallen.  In that “city of the dead”, freed slaves gathered at the old Washington Race Course.  Used as a prison camp by the Confederate Army, many Union soldiers were buried there in mass graves.  The freed slaves exhumed and reburied the bodies and on the following day held a somber procession to honor them. Up north, on May 5, 1866, Waterloo, NY observed the first Decoration Day with flowers and other decorations placed on the graves and memorials of Union soldiers.  Through the efforts of General John A. Logan, Decoration Day was celebrated nationally on May 30^th.  After World War I, the scope of Decoration Day was expanded to include the fallen of all wars. Finally, in 1968, Decoration Day name was officially changed and its date was solidified as the last Monday of May in the Uniform Holidays Bill.

            So while we enjoy picnics and bar-b-cues with our friends and families, we should all take a moment to remember those who have served and lost their lives protecting our freedoms.  Here are a few other ways that we can celebrate and commemorate Memorial Day.

• Visiting cemeteries and memorials.
• Observe the national moment of remembrance at 3:00 p.m.
• Fly the American Flag half staff in honor of the dead.
• Donate to the Veterans of Foreign Wars by purchasing poppies from them.
• Attend one of the many concerts and celebrations that are held in communities across the country.  (the most well known of these is at Arlington National Cemetery and televised by PBS)

Let us know how you plan to celebrate Memorial Day.  We want to hear about the barbecue disasters, the “fun” setting up the tent and of course, anything special you did to honor our fallen heroes.  We love to hear your stories!

Anthony Kiedis and Christina Aguilera have Wes and Willy fav!

In between my busy day of online order fulfillment, ad creation, and chauffeuring my boys to their baseball practices, I troll the web stalking the celebrity pages to see what their kids are wearing.  Over the weekend, I was checking out the Wes & Willy website and Facebook page and saw that another celeb has dressed their child in Wes and Willy.  Christina Aguilera has her son Max in a black Rock Hoodie.   This is one of my favorite designs; even my oldest wears this when it is chilly.  Thinking that this was a great topic for a new blog entry, I was back on the Wes & Willy Facebook to grab the link to www.celebritybabyscoop.com where the article   and pics appeared.  To my surprise, the Wes and Willy crew not only found yet another celeb kid at www.celebritybabyscoop.com dressed in Wes and Willy, but the same Rock Hoodie!  Anthony Keidis of Red Hot Chili Peppers takes his son Everly Bear to the beach in the Hoodie. Now it’s not surprising that a celeb is spying on my oldest to get his fashion tips.  But to have two in the same week is starting to give my son an inflated ego…

            Well, since we know what the celebs favorite Wes and Willy style is, tell us yours.  Comment either on From the Sidelines... blog, on Facebook, or Twitter and let us know what Wes and Willy clothes you love to dress your kid in and post a pic if you like.  I know my kid’s fashionable, is yours?

A Busy Weekend

This weekend is sure to offer a flurry of events, assuming the flurries on the upper east coast aren’t keeping you in.  On Friday, the 2010 Winter Olympics opens in Vancouver.  While quite a bit smaller that its summer brethren, the winter games still has quite a few events that are exciting and a great time for your family to watch.  If your children love the slopes, the Olympics offer alpine and freestyle skiing and snowboarding.  If they prefer the ice rink, make sure you catch hockey and the various figure skating competitions. Us here in the western hemisphere we are fortunate this year because, with games being held in Vancouver BC, so we don’t have to watch re-runs or DVR many of the events and can watch them live from the pacific standard time zone.

            The Olympics however are not the only goings on this weekend.  Valentine’s Day is Sunday and it seems that everyone is gearing up for it.   This holiday has come a long way from its blurry origins and letter writing with an overwhelming number of gift options.  While the standard roses and candy are still available and are perfect for a significant other, I always like to get my children into the celebration and my boys are thankful for something beside roses.  There many local pizza chains offering a heart shape pizza.  My family has a tradition that we pick up a cheese topped heart shaped pie and eat in front of a good movie.

            Finally, here in the U.S., Monday is President’s Day.  While the Federal and local governments are closed for the celebration of Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays, the retailers are going mad with sales over the weekend.  You can find great savings in stores both on the web and in your area.  Red21Boys is no different in this case.  So make sure that you check your e-mail tomorrow or, if you are not on the mailing list, sign up so you can get in on the great savings this weekend.

21st Century in 3D

If anyone has been paying half attention to movies and TV in the last few years, you would have noticed that there is a new 3D movie coming out nearly every week. Most recently, Avatar, winner of two Golden Globes, appeared in iMax 3D.  On the home theater front, animated movies such as Monsters vs. Aliens and Coraline are available in 3D to purchase. Just recently, Samsung and other television manufacturers are producing 3D ready televisions.

        Although not as cutting edge as movie and television technology, Wes & Willy has manufactured 3D short sleeve tees for your tech happy boy this spring.  Best of all, Red21Boys has them for you to order today!  The crisp colors of the 3D Peace and the edgy print of the 3D Rock tee will make these the favorite t-shirts this season.  And to make sure that your chilled gets the full 3D experience, each shirt includes a pair of 3D glasses.  As with all of Wes & Willy’s products, these tees are pre-wash, 100% cotton to ensure the best fit for your boy.

        While you are checking out the 3D tees don’t pass up the chance to pick up some of the new spring swim wear, athletic pants, or jeans.  And, if you are unsure about the fit, don’t worry, we’ll ship any exchange to you for free.