Legoland Discovery Center at Great Lakes Crossing Michigan

Bella celebrated her 6th birthday at Legoland Discovery Center at Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills, Michigan! Great Lakes Crossing is a large outlet mall in our area that has a large number of stores, great restaurants, AMC theatre and also two new entertainment options - a SeaLife Aquarium and newly opened Legoland Discovery Center! We had tried out the SeaLife Aquarium right after moving here, but since the Legoland Discovery Center opened during Spring Break, life had been so crazy for us that we hadn't had a chance to go.

I decided that it would be a great surprise to take the girls there for Bella's 6th birthday! She woke up that morning and opened the presents waiting for her...

Then later that morning we headed to Legoland! I think the picture says it all... they were definitely... EXCITED!!

The Legoland Discovery Center is a smaller type of entertainment center than a full theme park, like the Legoland Theme Park in Orlando - but our Discovery Center in Michigan does have two smaller rides, which the girls both enjoyed, a number of building areas, a 4D theater, and a large play structure. (Probably their favorite part!)

The girls were aged 4 and 6 on this trip, and I would say that the Discovery Center is most applicable for ages 4 through 10, although they did have a Duplo Farm area for the little ones and we did see children older than 10 having a great time. That would be my target age range to visit.

One of my favorite parts was the replica Lego version of the city of Detroit! Since we are transplants to the area, I haven't been downtown Detroit a TON, but the Lego version was truly breathtaking. Even not knowing what I was looking at. (Okay, okay... I've lived here long enough I know a fair number of the landmarks. I knew this was the Renaissance Center! Points??) The detail was amazing - and we even got a kick out them including the Metro Airport (including the giant tire you drive past on the way there!!), and a Lego version of the Great Lakes Crossing mall that we were standing inside.

We ate lunch at the Discovery Center and the girls got the kids meals that came with the mini Lego boxes to take home. They are working GREAT as Lego storage containers now a month later! (Natalie has quite the collection of the Disney Lego Minifigures going on!)

All in all, it was a great time and this is definitely something I would take the kids to do at least once a year! We the thought was in line with what you're getting, we had about 4 hours of play time inside and lunch was an additional $45.

Check out our VLOG of our day at the Legoland Discover Center in Michigan HERE:

Also, if you're interested - see what we thought about SeaLife Aquarium also located in Great Lakes Crossing HERE:

Moving Playlist & We're almost there!!

We've almost made it to the finish line... today is the day!

As I reflect on our (long) move, I definitely have gain an appreciation for DOORS that can be shut between rooms and also I believe have insights into helpful lists of things to have when staying in an extended stay and moving with children. I will have upcoming posts on those.

For now... today is the day, and I will soon be able to wrap up my MOVING PLAYLIST! (Yay!) So I wanted to leave it here since it will slowly drop its way off of the front of BeingMommywithStyle. I'm looking forward to the adventure ahead - and all of the renovation & decoration projects headed our way too!!

Check out the moving playlist here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiFP1-yFEAllJjT-EqsHnRSjHmC29rKVg

Sea Life Aquarium - Great Lakes Crossing Michigan

We visited Sea Life Aquarium at Great Lakes Crossing for the first time. I honestly may do a separate video on our thoughts on it, because I know I was asked a number of times on my Instagram pictures whether it is "worth it" or not... My husband was really not thrilled with the value to experience ratio. It held Bella's attention (5 years old) and she enjoyed it - however Natalie (3 years old) lost interest mid way through in the "darker" areas.

Bella enjoyed completing the stamp book.

Here's a comparison of just the numbers, without getting into any sort of critique of how the exhibits were...

For 2 Adults, 2 Children (over age 3):
1 Day at Sea Life Aquarium... $84
1 YEAR Membership at Detroit Zoo... $79

Detroit Zoo is obviously a great value and I spend an additional few hundred dollars a year there to continue supporting them as well, making a point to go to special events, purchase food and merchandise there. (Sea Life Yearly membership is $260.) However, for the content available - I'm not sure I would recommend Sea Life unless you are just wanting to try it out and especially like fish.

A General Admission to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, a short 5 hour drive away and MUCH larger aquarium, with a wider variety of animals - what I would consider to be an "actual" aquarium is $8 per adult and $6 for children... a total admission of $28 for the same family of four.

I would be inclined to suggest you drive to Chicago and spend the night there, applying the additional purchase price towards a hotel to visit Shedd Aquarium. Parking does cost additional in Chicago if you're going to park a vehicle, so there are additional expenses (parking is free at Great Lakes Crossing)... however having had both experiences, I can say the Shedd Aquarium experience is a much grander experience and would be my recommendation.

My local recommendation would be Detroit Zoo.

All of that being said, if you don't mind spending $84 and want to just try it out, it is nice that metro Detroit now has an "aquarium"... although it would be great if it were a bit bigger.

Check out a video our experience here:


Here are links with all of the info on the three places I listed above:
Shedd Aquarium - http://www.sheddaquarium.org/plan-a-visit/advance-ticket-options-tickets/
Detroit Zoo - www.detroitzoo.org
Sea Life - https://www.visitsealife.com/michigan/

** This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

We're in Michigan!

Well... we made it to Michigan! We're currently enjoying a few weeks stay in an extended stay - that I'm sure will make us that much more appreciative to be in our new house! For now, we're keeping busy enjoying the new sights, trying new activities, and catching up with old friends!

I will be vlogging as much as possible while we are in the extended stay, and then near daily after we get into the house to document our relocation and renovation experience! After we get into the house, we will have a number of renovation and redecoration projects that I will want to get started on, which I will detail in a future post and video. I hope you enjoy following along!

See what we've been up to since we arrived in Michigan...

Welcome to Michigan!

Getting the girls enrolled in school!

First Michigan grocery haul! 

Splash Pad Fun at KLR Splash Pad in Oxford, MI!

We become Detroit Zoo Members again!

Stay tuned for more MI fun!

www.youtube.com/beingmommywithstyle

Goodbye May, Hello June!

It's been a busy time at our house. We are preparing for our move from Illinois to Michigan, and everything that goes along with getting a house on the market! We had been looking for a new home in Michigan while simultaneously getting things done around our IL house to list it - however, even after we thought we had found "the one" it ended up not quite working out!

I will be updating along the way on YouTube all about our moving journey!

I'm also hoping to BLOG some more now going forwards... I will do a post about my thoughts on it, but after migrating BACK to Blogger from Word Press, I feel like I'm going to be more inclined to check in a bit more!