April | 2013 | burpo banter

If you are the parent of a young girl, this post is for you.

Today I got an email from Fat Brain Toys – love them – informing me that “the hottest toy this spring is in”! Well my goodness. Far be it from me to miss out on the hottest toy this spring! Plus, if Fat Brain thinks it’s good, well it must be good.

Being the true consumer that I am, I clicked right through to find this: GoldieBlox and the Spinning Machine. From the picture, it’s hard to immediately figure out exactly what’s going on…some sort of pink dolphin in a tutu…ribbon spinning around a board…huh?
The second thing that caught my attention was the price: 30 smackers! Geez. I still didn’t know what GoldieBlox was, but I was feeling pretty certain it wasn’t worth $30.

Immediately, I’m on Amazon searching for “the hottest toy this spring” to see if there are reviews and, of course, to do a price comparison. (Because while I do love Fat Brain Toys, let’s just say that they aren’t always the cheapest store on the online block.) My Amazon findings: It’s the same price and there are no reviews because the product isn’t even quite available yet – due to be launched on April 28 – but conveniently available for pre-order.

Then, I watch this video where GoldieBlox founder Debbie, who is clearly beautiful and smart, tells me about her new toy company. Immediately, I’m hooked. I don’t know if I’ll buy Debbie’s new product yet because it seems it Elena may still be a little young for it – but I love the idea and I hope that she succeeds. Go Debbie and go GoldieBlox!

Last week we joined the gazillions of families who use their little ones’ spring break as an opportunity for some family togetherness. We feel lucky that we don’t have to venture far for great vacation options. We passed up the ever-popular Sunriver for Brasada Ranch in the Powell Butte area outside of Bend. Despite some bumps during the booking process and pre-arrival, I can’t think of many bad things to say about it once we were on the property. It was great.

After five(ish) days of R&R, we returned to gorgeous weather in Portland over the weekend. Our second Easter in our home with the gift of sunshine and perfect temperatures. It was a lovely week, and very appreciated time as we return to our day jobs, volunteer work for two upcoming schools events, and the start of Little League and swimming again this week. I think it’s going to be a busy spring.

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