"Together we can face any challenges as deep as the ocean and as high as the sky."

After visiting friends recently the boys came home with a drone that was very kindly given to them. I can't say that I've ever thought to myself that I'd love to have a go of one but Seth had shown a huge interest over the last year or so. I'm not sure if it was the thought of being a secret spy or just being able to film places that we physically struggle to get to, but he's been watching videos and talking about all the cool things he'd like to do with one. You could imagine the look on his face as he casually and kindly thanked our friend while desperately wanting to jump up and down squealing.

We got home from our trip and before even unpacking our bags, the drone was out and everything was being charged ready for our first flight. We were excited as the drone included a Gopro gimble and we had two GoPro's at home. Sadly neither of ours fit but as soon as batteries and controllers were charged we headed out looking for somewhere safe and fun to fly. I'm a huge fan of this sort of play with the boys because it always turns out to be a great bonding session for them both. They join forces to try and work out how to use a new gadget and when they finally execute what they have learnt there's a real sense of teamwork.

With Seth watching lots of Youtube videos and Opeie lapping up all of the information Seth was sending his way, we soon had the drone up in the sky. There is something so intense about flying them. As easy as it was to control, there is that fear of crashing them and completely destroying it.

Since acquiring this tasty bit of gadgetry I've picked up a GoPro to fit the gimbal, taking our drone flying fun to another level. I've a feeling that this summer holiday is going to be heavy on filming interesting places that the boys can come up with, so watch this space.

*Note to self: DO NOT attempt to fly the drone from the back garden! I wanted to show Mrs M last night as she had not been out with us. I thought a simple 'up above the house and back down' while she watches on the phone would be fine but the wind had other ideas and it disappeared out of site. I found said drone on the next street over casually hovering above the houses and landed it safely. I think we'll stick to large open areas from now on! 

 

Living with the Secret Service.

It's an exciting time for kids at the moment. For years I have had many conversations about how much better it seemed being a kid in the 80's and for many reasons I stand by that comment. When it comes to toys though I can't help but feel a little jealous at what is available for kids these days. When I was young I wanted nothing more than to be a spy/adventurer. The Goonies was my big inspiration and Data (being my favourite character) was my daily driving force for solo activities to fill my time. I was constantly setting up booby traps for my family and desperately trying to find ways to make those 'slick shoes'. If the Goonies wasn't enough inspiration, there was always the bank holiday showings of the Bond movies to wet my secret agent appetite. 


 
The movies and TV shows were there but the world of toys just couldn't keep up with all those imaginative young minds. with the help of Spynet though they are definitely making up for it now. We've reviewed a few Spynet products over the years and what I love about the products is that each one oozes intrigue. also selfishly they give me the best chance to relive a youth I would have loved through the boys.

For me, the RC Recon video bot that we had reviewed a couple of years ago was everything I wanted as a kid, but that product kick started a love of spyware for the boys and we were soon walking about with a bionic ear and night vision binoculars, adding to our arsenal. Things had died down a little this year in the spy world, or maybe the boys were deep under cover? but it wasn't until last week that their love of the secret service was reborn. With new Spynet products hitting the shelves, the boys have been sneaking about the house acting exactly how I would have of at their age.

The video watch is a cool bit of kit! the mischief I could have got into with one of these back in the 80's would have been amazing. I'd have most definitely taken this into school and caused some trouble and Seth has said exactly the same thing. Being the responsible parent I am though I have discouraged this kind of thing. If I am honest though I wouldn't be at all disappointed if he decided too anyway, he's a kid after all, it's all part of the fun. You can secretly capture 20 minutes of video, 3 hours of audio or 2000 images (without the need for an extra SD card), all from the tiny camera hidden in the watch. You can also download an app for downloading the images from your watch which is great and there are downloadable spy games to play too.

As soon as we turned on the Spyclops bionic eye, I knew which one of our family of wannabe spies was going to be in complete awe of this product and it wasn't me or the boys. For a woman who is obsessed with picking, prodding and poking our skin at every given chance and who is always vocal about how much she would have loved to have been a dermatologist, this product had her hooked from the minute I plugged it in and held the bionic eye against my skin. With the on-screen images magnified by 200x, when it comes to your skin it's fascinating what comes up, especially when investigating my beard.  The Spyclops Bionic eye is going to come in very handy over the coming months for Opeie's science lessons especially because of the petri dish also included in the package. I just need to work on focusing a little more to get the best results.

I can't wait to see what Spynet come up with next, these products have opened the boys up to a world of intrigue and intelligent creative imaginative play. 

"The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless."

A month or so ago me and Opeie were having one of our many LEGO sessions, which usually involve him coming up with something and us trying to build it together. This time though he wanted us to make a spy phone each, as he told me that he thought "there are baddies everywhere and they need to be defeated". I thought this was adorable so we began building right away. Usually when we build something together he breaks it up before we've even put the LEGO away, but this time was different.

The phones were finished and we instantly started receiving phone calls from a mysterious person known only as 'The Boss'. Each call comes with the most bizarre missions. When the Boss calls Opeie, no one knows where we will end up or what the day has in store for us. In London this week we captured an evil Owl, a villian named Tiny Joe (who can get in to buildings through the key hole), various London pigeons and an army of Taxidermy ducks. 

When the boss calls me I use the mission for exciting home schooling exercises. If we are at home one of Opeie's toys might get kidnapped and we are left with an activity sheet at the door of every room in the house. To search for his missing friend he must complete the activity to progress through the house. The phones have given us a never ending amount of entertainment.

The great things about these phones are you can get reception anywhere, we've not been conned into a rolling contract that keeps getting more expensive and there's no need for insurance, because if they break we just get more LEGO! (take note EE).

"RING RING....." Sorry guys adventure calls!!!

"No one ever approaches perfection except by stealth, and unknown to themselves."

The boys love playing spies and Seth is a huge James Bond fan, so gadgets always come into their play at some point. Spy net have released some amazing products over the last couple of years that I would have loved when I was a child, the RC Recon Video Bot especially. While we should have been playing spies with Spynets latest product we ended up playing a really interesting game which turned out to be a fun homeschooling exercise.

Opeie sat up stairs on the bunk bed armed with a SpyNet Vibrasonic Walkie Talkie, a clipboard with paper and a selection of coloured pens...

...and I sat down stairs with the other headset, paper and pens. We've had walkie talkies before but these are really interesting as they use vibrasonic technology. You can hear what your team mate is saying without the use of speakers or an ear piece but most importantly when wearing the headpiece you are the only person that can hear what the other person is saying. Great for more stealthy missions.

This time though was a less stealthy mission. As we sat at either end of the house (there is a 30m range) and gave each other commands and descriptions of what to draw for each other. Opeie asked for a Deathstar body and hockey stick legs with spikes on. This was a great home ed exercise for Opeie as it was great for communication, use of descriptive words and of course creative drawing.

The headsets are really clear, and although they were not a great fit on my big bold head they were definitely usable and I could hear perfectly. Size wise these were clearly made for children though. The Spynet Vibrasonic Walkie talkies have been a great addition to our arsenal of spyware and they will get some great use over the coming months. For more of Spynet's great products check out Spynet HQ.

 

"Not all those who wander are lost."

We were having our usual fun at the park today, it was cold and the sky was grey but we were wrapped up warm, scooting, chatting and as always enjoying each others company. It was a nice relaxing and lazy Sunday afternoon after a busy day yesterday. But then disaster! the smallest member of our family unit decided to run off and like a rocket he was gone... But where to?

The thing about our quick footed little three year old is he's pretty good at hiding and being that small he fits into spaces us fully grown humans just don't fit. After a brief scout around the area Seth decided it was time to bring in back up. 

The Spy Net RC Recon Video Bot is a serious bit of kit based on a military prototype and has even been featured in the tv show 24. It is perfect for any budding little super spy in the making but also comes in handy for us clumsy parents who misplace our loved ones.  I would have been so excited to have owned something like this when I was younger, I was a huge James Bond fan and inspector gadget was one of my heroes. The Goonies was my favourite movie and I was always trying to make cool gadgets like Data. I just wanted to be a secret agent where very item around me, no matter how insignificant could be used for something AWESOME!

The RC Recon Bot is a strong durable piece of tech and it's solid outer shell means that it can withstand a fair amount of banging about. The unit can be thrown over any wall of ahead of you around 30ft for obstacles blocking your vision and can be used as a robot roaming vehicle with built in camera and a video screen on the remote. You can manoeuvre the robot 360 degrees and the lens can be manually adjusted to suit your roaming needs. To start our afternoon child hunt we dropped our unit down a hole in the parks climbing frame and began our recon mission...

Seth was up first and went looking around the smaller climbing frame for his little brother. The RC Recon Video bot has been able to get over every terrain we have tried it on so far, the tooth like wheels even got over a raised door frame at nanny and grandads house which i thought was really impressive, so roaming around this smooth wooden structure was no problem. Mrs M looked a little concerned about the welfare of the unit when it approached the slide but because of the solid casing, bouncing down the slide wasn't an issue. Sadly still no sign of our missing boy though?

Mommy was up next taking the unit over a bench and off the other side to search underneath too. but the boy was nowhere to be found.I love it when Mrs M gets involved in our adventures. We set up an assault course at home to put the device through its paces and she got quite competitive.

My turn to continue our search and i had a feeling Opeie may have been across the wobbly balancing beam, i was sure our robotic rescue unit could also balance across the full length of the beam and i was right the controls can be crazy if you want it to spin around lots but on more delicate journeys it works well under the pressure and can be quite smooth to control.

Where was that child of ours hiding???

Almost running out of places to search we guided the RC Roamer towards the big climbing frame hoping to get some sort of lead as to where Opeie had got to.

Seth had to get the bot over a difficult bit of the park and we had a couple of issues with the wheels not being able to get over rope ladders (well you've got to try) but from a tactical view point the unit was tackling every task and obstacle with the greatest of ease.

Thinking we had combed the park area thoroughly we assumed the little secret agent had fooled us and we were ready to give up, when we spotted something in the distance and sent the RC unit to investigate our findings.

There he was that little angel of ours quietly reading a book. The spy Net RC Recon Video Bot completed its first full mission perfectly, finding the lost member of our party and returning him to the people that love him most. 

With the mission complete it was time to head home, all that was left to do was test the range on the remote, if you can see that little dot on the white line ahead then you can see it can go a fair distance with the video feed staying as clear throughout its journey.

Seth being the massive Bond fan that he is has gone Spy Net mad so this afternoon we headed up to our local toy store to spend Seths winnings that he had been saving from hustling Mrs M every week over who was going to be star baker on the bake off each episode, she'll never learn.

We came home with the Spy Net Laser Trip Wire ready for our next adventure and since the visit the big kid in me is pining after the Ultra Vision Goggles, I could have so much fun with those babies! Stay tuned for our next spy related caper.

"Uh-oh. Toxic levels are off the charts. We're talking class 1 sludge: Fatal if swallowed, poisonous if inhaled, corrosive to the eyes and extremely hazardous to skin"

New LEGO!!!! It's one of the few things that will never lose its appeal! The great thing about LEGO is the way they reinvent themselves, they are continuously releasing new themes and products. It seems like the LEGO movie is still fresh in peoples minds especially with the release of the DVD. Since it made its way onto the big screen there has been some new Themed ranges, the Simpsons characters have made their way to the LEGO world, Guardians of the galaxy movie kits have ended up in the boys room and yet they have still managed to design and release a completely new concept.

I spotted LEGO Ultra Agents in the shops a few weeks back and as with all kits i was firstly dragged in by the minifigures. Seth is a big James bond fan so this range was always going to be on his wish list. Secret agents and a great selection of villains throughout the six kits, whats not to like. To kick start our collection, Ultra Agents Riverside raid. What i love about the smaller LEGO kits is they are pocket money prices and great for a gift without going all out. A goodie, a baddie, a vehicle and something to knock over, all you need to start making up your own LEGO scenario's.

Opeie was desperate to open the box when it arrived so as the weather was lush we took it outside to build. As with all kits built Opeie is the Minifigure builder, So Agent Max Burns and Adam Acid was his job to build. Its great how the range has a back story and it seems that all the bad guys names are based around harmful disasters. Opeie loved the green toxic coloured face, i think the look oozed 'proper baddie'.

The first part of the build is a boat for your Ultra Agent to get around on. One of the things i love most about the newer kits coming out are the weapons on vehicles. When playing with the boys and having battles the new stud shooter blasters (like below) and the spring action darts that have been on the new Marvel kits have made roleplaying with our LEGO so much more fun and the boys find them a lot easier to use than the flick darts.

 The second part of the build is a wheeled base meaning the vehicle when playing can be used on land and in the water which is great as Seth is a stickler for the rules. I like to pretend that vehicles can go on any terrain but not Seth, if its a boat it stays in the water, but give it wheels and you add a little more fun to the game.

 The greatest thing about Lego is the versatility during play, being able to swap and change the design of your creation is such a big thing. Plus each Theme works perfectly side by side. What other toy range could have Abraham Lincoln kidnapped by new super villian Adam Acid?

Only to be rescued by an unexpected super team of Spider-man, Santa, Spongebob and William Shakespear, Only in the LEGO world.

To top of this great kit there is a supporting App than can be downloaded for free, a moving interactive comic with in story games to entertain you when you're not physically building. Its a perfect way to find out more information about the characters and the back stories behind each kit. The technology side of things shows just how far this classic and timeless toy has come and Opeie had lots of fun playing the game and then acted out the story by himself.

The other five kits available from the range as expected are fantastic with the Ultra Agents mission HQ being the set Seth keeps looking at. Opeie has informed me that he likes Toxikita's Toxic Meltdown (or the 'green lady baddie set'). 

Agent Max Burns protected the civilians today and Astor city is safe once more.

Bad guys lose again!!