Welcome to another edition of “Good Gossip,” the only guilt-free celebrity column in Northwest Arkansas. We scour your favorite magazines for interesting celebrity news, but we filter out all those nasty, negative rumors so you can enjoy your gossip entirely guilt-free.

As always, this feature is sponsored by Great Day Farms, a national brand based right here in NWA. Look for their products at the Walmart Supercenter. Click HERE to like them and get coupons on their Facebook page.

Thank you to Great Day Farms for being the presenting sponsor for the NWA Mom Prom, held earlier this month. With more than 300 women in attendance, the first Mom Prom was a huge hit and we thank Great Day for helping to make it all happen. Click HERE to see photos from the Mom Prom.

Attention Sue Sylvester fans: Our favorite tracksuit-wearing coach from Glee will be hitting Broadway soon, starring as Miss Hannigan in Annie. Jane Lynch said she never thought she’d be on Broadway and was scared to death when she was first offered the role. She said while growing up, her family was very into musical theater. Her parents would sit at the table drinking Manhattans and harmonizing together.

Are you a beauty product addict? So is Miranda Lambert, country star and one of the members of the Pistol Annies band. Miranda’s bandmates, Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe said that Miranda goes to Walgreen’s in every town she plays in. When asked whether or not they share all those beauty products, Ashley said “We share everything except for our men.”

Today show co–anchor Savannah Guthrie just got engaged. The 41-year-old journalist got engaged to Michael Feldman on Mother’s Day weekend. Feldman is a political consultant and has been dating Guthrie for four years. When asked about her big news, Guthrie said “He’s the best person. He knows me inside and out, and we just adore each other.”

Some of our favorite animated celebrities will be back on the big screen this summer with new movies. Here’s a list of upcoming kids’ films: Epic on May 24th; Monsters University on June 21st; Despicable Me 2 on July 3rd; Turbo on July 17th; and The Smurfs 2 on July 31st.

Last month, Mariah Carey and husband Nick Cannon renewed their wedding vows at the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland. The couple, along with their two-year-old twins, arrived in a horse-drawn carriage. After the ceremony, there was a reception in Fantasyland for 250 guests, complete with fireworks and rides.

Julia Roberts has signed on to support Chime for Change, a Gucci-sponsored campaign to raise money and awareness to empower young girls and women. Roberts said her 8-year-old daughter Hazel is her inspiration. “She hasn’t allowed herself to be shaped by popular opinion. She is her own person in every way — loving, tenancious and hilarious. The world is full of joy, wonder and openness to her.”

Have you seen the new female Wiggle? Emma Watkins is the first girl Wiggle and has joined the guys to sing about hot potatoes and cold spaghetti.

Sitcom star and fellow mother Sarah Chalke, who stars in “How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of  Your Life)”, said that she and her friends went out recently and had old-school sundaes that had everything on them. “I believe dessert is a very necessary part of life and guilt is a useless emotion, so combining the two would be wrong.” We couldn’t agree more, Sarah!

Source: People magazine May 20 and May 27, 2013 editions

Good Gossip is sponsored by CCF Brands, a Northwest Arkansas company which makes Great Day All Natural Eggs. These eggs are produced by happy hens who are fed premium vegetarian diets with no animal fats, animal by-products, or antibiotics. Great Day Farms also offers hard-boiled eggs, which you can find in the deli section of the Walmart Supercenter. (Love the hard-boiled eggs because they’re peeled and ready to eat! Perfect in salads.)

Soon enough all your kids are going to be out of school for the summer. You don’t want them glued to the TV, so why not go for a walk, get some family time, and enjoy the great outdoors?

Our friends over at Uncle Sam’s Outfitters rounded up information on some family friendly local hikes, grouped by age, just for us!

Hikes for Children in Strollers or with Limited Mobility

If you’ve got a little one in a stroller, you’ll want a hike no longer than around two miles total, even if you’re pretty enthusiastic about it.

Hobbs Conservation Area Trails

Historic Van Winkle Trail: At a turn off on the highway with restrooms and picnic tables, this trail goes under the highway through a tunnel, the echoes of which will amuse your family. This trail starts down a hill and goes down on a slight slope into a gulley between two hills and describes the site with signs where the Van Winkle family lived at their mill. The path is graveled and appropriate for strollers.

Ozark Plateau Trail: This trail has both a paved surface and a outer loop that’s crushed gravel and is fully ADA accessible and perfect for strollers. It’s three-quarters of a mile long and goes through pine and oak trees with panels about the ecological and geological examples in the area.

Lake Fort Smith

Warren Hollow Trail: This trail isn’t a loop so round trip it’s 1.2 miles but it is accessible for strollers. It’s a new trail in a new park that starts behind the visitor’s center and ends up at the group lodge. It has beautiful views over the lake, crosses multiple bridges, and goes through the woods and along a road.

Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park

Battlefield Driving Tour: If you’re looking for something where you don’t even have to get out of the car, this tour will still get you and your family involved with the outdoors. The tour is available with a brochure or CD program that guides you through the area and teaches you about the history of the Civil War.

Battlefield Trail: This paved, one mile trail is over the area most contested during the battle and explains the history of the battle. It’s fully ADA accessible.

Erble Area of the Buffalo River

Koen Interpretive Nature Trail: If you’re looking to go further afield in Arkansas, head out to this trail north of Jasper in the Buffalo River area. This trail is ADA accessible so it’s ideal for families who want to explore Arkansas more than just their backyard. The trail goes through the Koen experimental forest and explains the different plant life along the trail. You can watch an AETN video about the trail to get ready.

Ponds Trail: This trail is also ADA accessible from Highway 7 and navigates through wooded areas and around the pond. Bring your bird book and binoculars to take full advantage of this hike.

Hikes for School-Aged Children and Young Adults

Once your children are a little older, easy trails through wooded areas are completely appropriate, even if they have obstacles strollers can’t get over. You can bring along a bird, plant, or insect guidebook and take the time together to explore nature and stop along the path to investigate what’s going on. Uncle Sam’s, located in the Evelyn Hills Shopping Plaza, has a lot of  resources just for Arkansas that you might find useful when planning trips, including a book about hikes with children in Arkansas. Make sure to bring along water and a snack so everyone’s happy and hydrated and use bug repellent in wooded and swampy areas.

Devil’s Den

Lake Trail: Perfect for a short jaunt in the woods, this trail crosses over the lake with a beautiful suspension bridge. The trail is rocky and has roots that cross the trail so this trail is recommended for children who are sure of their footing. The look over the dam area is beautiful with a deep blue color, especially after a rain. This trail is one-mile round-trip and is not a loop.

Woody Plant Trail: Grab the chart of plants at the Visitor’s Center and be on the look out for numbered markers on this trail to learn about local plant life. This quarter mile trail meanders through the park.

CCC Interpretive Trail: Self-guided tour brochures are available at the Visitor’s Center and explore this easy quarter mile trail that’s suitable for children. There are buildings left from the CCC camps to explore and signs that explain the history of the site. The trail is made almost entirely out of rocks and you’ll find some stairs made of these rocks.

Lake Fort Smith

Ozark Highlands Trail: The western terminus of the Ozarks Highlands Trail, a 127 mile trail, is a great way to start in on longer hikes. Since it goes for such a long way, you can go as far as you’d like and then turn around. As your children grow, their experience of this trail can grow with them. Maybe someday they might set out on a multi-day hike and do the whole thing!

Pedestal Rock Scenic Area

King’s Bluff Loop Trail: This trail meanders through bluffs and wooded areas and goes by one of the tallest waterfalls in Arkansas. Views are spectacular on this 2 mile long trail and it is perfect for middle school aged children.

Hikes for Older Children and Adults

When your children are old enough to go on longer hikes and can carry their own supplies, you can plan much longer day hikes and pack along a lunch.

Buffalo River Area

Tyler Bend Trails System: The Tyler Bend area is perfect for an overnight camping trip, with access to campgrounds, picnic tables, and a visitor’s center. There are four trails, all easy, that can be connected together for more than one day of different excursions. This is a perfect area for a first camping trip away from home because there’s plenty to explore and access to the Buffalo River.

Ozark National Forest

Hawksbill Crag Trail: This trail includes the iconic rock bluff that we think of when we picture Arkansas wilderness. This is a moderate 3-mile hike but is something every Arkansan should do at some point in their life. It makes a great day hike in the spring or fall when the trees give their best show.

Lake Wedington

If you’re looking for a long hike closer to home, Lake Wedington offers a campsite and a 15.4-mile trail. You’ll have to double back to return back home so it’s a perfect trail for an overnight hiking trip.

Looking for more? Take a look at Uncle Sam’s blog for some more kid-approved Northwest Arkansas hikes.

Click the links below to hear each day’s radio segment with ideas and tips for how to make the most out of this year’s summer vacation, including fun ideas for local “staycations.”

Monday, May 20, 2013 radio segment

Tuesday, May 21, 2013 radio segment

Our friend, Lisa Mac of Lisa Mac Photography, is hosting a HUGE giveaway over on her website right now, and you should check it out — but only if you like shopping, free stuff and beautiful photos of your family. Everybody on board? Good.

Lisa is celebrating her 10th year in business and she is, in our humble opinion, one of the very BEST photographers in Arkansas. That’s why we asked her to do the photos for the very first NWA Mom Prom earlier this month, and the pictures she took of people on the red carpet, on the dance floor and in the photo booth are SO good and SO much fun. (Click HERE to see the Mom Prom photos.)

Lisa has also photographed my babies many times over the past five years, and I’m always blown away when I see the shots she gets. (Some of Lisa’s favorite shots of clients are shown here.)

To help make this 10-year Anniversary Giveaway extra special, Lisa has joined with 10 other local business owners to assemble some amazing prize packages for the two winners of this giveaway. Each business is donating either a $100 gift card or two $50 gift cards. Each prize package is worth $1,000!

And here’s the main reason I rushed right over to Lisa’s website to enter the giveaway — Lisa is giving away two sessions that include a $500 print credit for photos. That portion of the prize alone is more than worth spending two minutes to enter the giveaway.

To throw your name in the online hat for this giveaway, click HERE to visit Lisa’s website and use the app there to “like” each of the participating businesses Facebook pages.

(No worries. You won’t need to cruise all over Facebook to get this done. The app on Lisa’s website made the whole process super easy and it only took me 2 minutes to get it all done.)

Here’s a list of the goodies in each of the two thousand-dollar prize packages.

Prize 1:

1. Session and $500 print credit to Lisa Mac Photography
2. $100 gift card to Dearly Boutique
3. $100 gift card to Meridienne Dessert Salon & Cafe
4. $100 gift card to Scott Frame & Art
5. $50 gift card to Perfect Choice
6. $50 gift card to Bloom
7. $50 gift card to Baby’s Room
8. $50 gift card to District Salon

Prize 2:

1. Session and $500 print credit to Lisa Mac Photography
2. $100 Visa gift card from Redman & Associates
3. $100 gift card to Wellquest Spa
4. $100 gift card to Ropa
5. $50 gift card to Perfect Choice
6. $50 gift card to Bloom
7. $50 gift card to Baby’s Room
8. $50 gift card to District Salon

To read more about the participating businesses in the 10-Year Anniversary Giveaway, click HERE to go to Lisa’s blog where you’ll also see great photos of each business’ offerings.

We scored some serious “cool mom” points with our kids on Saturday because we, along with several other Northwest Arkansas bloggers, were invited to a special preview event at the brand spankin’ new Rogers Aquatic Center. The center is gearing up for its official opening day this Saturday, May 25, 2013. If you and your kids love the water, this is going to be one of your new favorite places to go this summer. As my 8-year-old son Jack put it, “It is AWE.SOME.”

Here’s what you need to know about the waterpark.

Price: We’ve heard there’s been some Facebook grumbling about the price of admission to the aquatic center, but with the option to buy discounted “punch cards,” we can’t imagine that there’s anything left to fuss about. If you get one of the discount admission “punch cards,” the cost for one visit to the Rogers Aquatic Center is about $4.20. And that gets you into the center for the whole day! That’s less than a movie ticket and many of the other kid-oriented activities in the area. Concession stand prices are more than fair.

NOTE: If you want the best admission price, be sure to get the discount punch card THIS WEEK before the offer expires. Each card gets you 10 visits, and one family can use a single card. (If there are four people in your family, your card will be punched four times during your visit.) Buy the punch cards at the Rogers Aquatic Center (located at 1707 S. 26th St. in Rogers between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.) or at the Rogers Park Department at 113 N. 4th Street in Rogers between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Prices vary according to height, with pricing tiers for kids under 36 inches tall, those under 48 inches tall and those over 48 inches tall. You have to be at least 48 inches tall to ride the slides.

Safety: Making sure we’re taking our kids to a safe place is the No. 1 priority for parents. During our tour of the center, we were SO impressed with the level of security built in to every aspect of the waterpark. The center boasts a state-of-the-art surveillance system that will help put parents’ minds at ease. The system is so advanced that it even features nighttime video surveillance with infrared technology. (A few teenagers who recently tried to sneak into the park for some late-night partying were caught and handcuffed within 10 minutes of entering the parking lot.)

There are also systems in place for helping parents find kids if they get separated while at the Aquatic Center.

With more than 80 trained lifeguards on staff, there will always be at least 30 of them on duty at any one time at the park. You are allowed to bring your own Coast Guard Approved life jackets into the park for your kids to wear, if needed.

There’s even a special cool room at the park designed to quickly help kids or adults who get overheated and need help to cool down.

Fun: While we were taking notes on admission prices and safety features, our kids were busy staring wide-eyed at all the slides and saying “WOW. Mom, look at that one!” There’s a lot to see and do, and our kids immediately made a beeline for the Hawk’s Nest slides that feature platforms 40-feet in the air and two twisting slides racing back down to ground level.

We also really liked the “Super Flush” slide that features a fast descent into a large funnel where you’ll slide around in circles before finally plunging through the hole at the bottom into the cool pool below.

The side-by-side Speed Slides were very popular last weekend, too. They feature a sharp drop that sends you sliding at high rates of speed. When you get to the bottom, the shallow water will quickly slow you to a stop.

Shannon and I spent most of our time cruising the Lazy River that meanders through the park, complete with a few whirpools and waterfalls. We love how the easy inner tube floating gives you time to chat with your friends as you enjoy the water.

Family-friendly features: As moms, we all know that some places are very difficult to navigate if you have babies, toddlers or preschoolers. But you’ll be happy to know that the Aquatic Center has thought of most of what we mamas need. There are FOUR large family dressing rooms so you won’t need to send your little boys into a separate bathroom/dressing area. There are baby-changing stations, swim diapers on sale, and a LARGE splash area that’s safe for the littlest members of your family.

There are also lots of covered spaces so you can find shade for your baby’s delicate skin (and yours, too) on the hottest of summer days.

Look for another post on the Rogers Aquatic Center this Friday — the day before opening day — and we’ll give you more details on how to book a birthday party at the Aquatic Center, how to get info on the new Swim Team at the park, swimming lessons, lap pool usage, concession stand offerings and prices, handicapped access, evening light shows and much more.

You can also get more info by visiting the Center’s Facebook page by clicking HERE.