Playing games is usually a sedentary activity, but games like Dance Dance Revolution, Eye Play, and even Guitar Hero are making games more active. Some teens have had success using DDR in their exercise regime. Sometimes weightloss can be a difficult struggle, so it’s great that games can help to make exercise more fun.

Sometimes games and a lone weightloss plan are not enough to shed those pounds. Camp La Jolla is not the fat camp of the past. Camp La Jolla is a summer weightloss camp for teens and adults alike. The program helps campers to lose weight by teaching better eating habits and a personal weightloss strategy for each person.

Camp La Jolla is a camp with all the modern conveniences. Teens have their own rooms and a gathering room to meet up with each other. State of the art workout rooms, a rock wall, and other great activities make me want to go to camp. I can definitely stand to shed a few pounds and who couldn’t use a lesson in nutrition and behavior modification.

Teens can stay for up to nine weeks at camp that includes many noncompetitive fitness activities, nutritional and behavior modification classes, and great food. You learn about a lifestyle based on fitness. This year one former camper who lost 50 pounds at camp then another 50 pounds at home will return to camp. Life stresses and anxiety caused her to turn to food for comfort, and she gained back 50 pounds. The camp’s director has asked her to return to camp for a new start. Camp La Jolla cares about the teens who come through their program.

They do have an adult program. Maybe I will finally make it to summer camp afterall.

Bust a Move for the Nintendo DS is true to the original game with some DS twists thrown in. Bust a Move is one of my favorite games. The arcade version is still the one I prefer.

The DS version is really fun. It makes use of the stylist to aim where you want to shoot the ball. I haven’t played too many rounds but so far I’ve enjoyed it. For Bust a Move on a handheld it’s probably the best I’ve played so far. I had Bust a Move for the Sega Game Gear, which was great fun at the time. It’s amazing to see the progress in handheld technology.

Bust a Move was a great deal at Toys R Us at $10.00. So one of my all-time favorite games at a great price, there was no way I could pass it up.

The local thrift store has a toy sale once a month. After the toy sale, there is a ton of stuff left over, so the days following the sale you can fill a bag for $5.00. These are nice size bags, so you can carry off a lot of stuff.

Rae and I went yesterday. I had forgotten the stroller, so I let her roam around the toys. She quickly caught on to stuffing toys in the bag. One of her finds was a Barbie Dance Party Mat. She loves the DDR mat, so I stuffed the dance mat into our bag.

It’s a plug and play game that connects to your TV. It takes four AA batteries. Since we have batteries all over the place, I was able to locate four with no problem. After a 30 minute search for the TV remote since you have to press the input button, we were ready to play.

The dance mat worked great. There are several songs to choose from. Barbie performs a move, then it’s your turn. There are four colored flowers on the mat that you move your feet on to complete the moves. It’s a little like the game Simon that Barbie performs the moves while saying the color of the flower, then it’s your turn. The flowers light up on screen when it is your time to do the move.

Not a bad find for the toy sale.

I took a day trip to New Orleans Saturday, which has me dreaming of a longer vacation. With the toddler, New Orleans wouldn’t be totally kid-friendly, but an Orlando vacation could be just the e-ticket.

When we go to Orlando, Disney World will be the itinerary. It’s never too early to start locating vacation homes near Disney. Finding somewhere convenient and close is paramount since it will be easier to find everything. Besides Disney, there is so much to do in Orlando. With several theme parks, we could fill up two or three vacations.

We really enjoyed visiting Florida last year. Anywhere in Florida would make a great vacation destination. Orlando is a great choice because it has the great theme parks as well as golf courses and is about an hour away from the beach.

Our Disney trip may be a while away, but it’s never too early to start planning. There is plenty for all age groups to do at Disney World. Even though Rae is still young, there is plenty to keep her entertained and for her to enjoy. Our Orlando vacation may become a reality sooner than we think.