Park-a-Palooza

I read this idea of a "park-a-palooza" in a magazine last summer and loved it! It entails mapping out playgrounds, in the same general area, and then "playground hopping" all day!!

Last year we mapped out playgrounds in Brookline, and played at 7 or 8 of them. We went with the kids' cousins, and fun was had by all. It was a cooler day, so we did not do any of the sprinkler parks, but played on the structures, rolled down a big hill and walked through a rose garden. We had a picnic lunch and enjoyed playgrounds in the beautiful weather of Labor Day weekend!

This year, we choose Labor Day weekend again for park-a-palooza and went to Cambridge! It was a much warmer day, so the kids wore their bathing suits and had fun at many of the sprinkler parks! We again visited about 7 parks, had a picnic and enjoyed many unusual pieces of equipment. One of the playgrounds had a huge climbing structure with a tunnel slide coming down. Another had a seesaw that was quite tall and had weights to balance the 2 people. : )

My sister-in-law has started a website with ratings on playgrounds, pictures, etc! www.playgroundpalooza.com

Washington DC for kids!

Our family recently took a trip to Washington, DC, what fun!! We broke up the trip both ways, which helped us all with the long ride! On the way down, we stayed overnight with friends in central Jersey. Then we all headed out the next day, our first stop in Philly to see the Liberty Bell. We then had a quick stop in Delaware and lunch in Baltimore at the Inner Harbor. We really enjoyed walking around there and touring the ships and submarine. : )

Once in DC, we did a lot of walking to see many places in 3 days! Since Frankie was still 4, we brought the umbrella stroller and he used it, a lot! The kids loved the Smithsonian museums, especially the Air and Space, American history and Natural history. We also did the Native American museum and a few art museums.

We had a tour of the capitol, which we arranged ahead of time through our senator. We were a bit late in requesting the White House tour, so we could only look at it from afar. We also toured the supreme court, and saw the various monuments; Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, Vietnam, etc.

We took the Metro 2 mornings; once to the Arlington National Cemetery and once to the National Shrine. Arlington is just so humbling, seeing how many people have given their lives for our freedom today. We saw Kennedy's grave and the eternal flame. I have a great picture of Frankie with his camera taking a picture of Robert Kennedy's grave, brings tears to my eyes. The National Shrine was also so moving and just amazing to see and walk through. We just toured around on our own and it was beautiful.

All in all a great family vacation! The weather in April was beautiful too!

School Vacation week events!

So I am still sad and not feeling great, trying to see many doctors in the next few weeks; but the kids were off from school and I wanted to have fun with them and make sure they had an enjoyable week!

The weekend started out with Coco Key Water Resort in Danvers. The kids loved the lazy river, waterslides, and pools!! We stayed over and got to swim and play for 2 days!

On Monday we went snow shoeing at Gore Place in Waltham! We had never tried it before and it was so much fun! Lizzy and Frankie both enjoyed it, we walked for about 45 minutes and then came in for hot cocoa!

Sky Zone! trampoline park in Hyde Park was also quite fun for the kids! They jumped for 1/2 hour in the hugs trampoline and they could even jump off the wall!

We love skating at Larz Anderson park in Brookline, and again did it this week! We love skating outside!

Then we had our annual bowl-a-thon, post to follow later!

Fun Christmas Activities!!

As promised, I wanted to mention all the fun activites we did this past month for Christmas!!

John and the kids went to The Boston Pops concert, (I was laid up that weekend). My friend, Anna was singing with the Pops, and they loved the concert, Santa and the Grinch song. Frankie could see santa from the balcony too. : )

The same weekend, they also went to the alumni BC Winter Wonderland, complete with Santa, gingerbread house making and a horse drawn carriage ride!

The night before Christmas Eve we did the Enchanted Village at Jordan's Furniture! The kids loved all the old time village scenes, complete with authentic smells! With yummy blueberry muffins after. : )

The Millis Wonderland is also a favorite! We went with our friends on a friday night, and drove through the grounds that are lit up with many different diplays, trains, scenes, etc. They take donations to benefit the Salvation Army too!

We made our annual trip to Plaster Fun Time to decorate Christmas ornaments one Saturday night! A great time to go because it is not crowded, at all! The kids take their time and made great keepsake ornaments to put on the tree each year.

Tonight we had the kids' cousins and aunts and uncles over for munchies and then watched the 7:00 Westwood fireworks. Very fun in the snow too!

We hope to go to donwtown Boston tomorrow to see the ice sculptures, and maybe the Stone Zoo Zoolights tomorrow night!

Happy new year! Here's hoping for a great 2011!!

Edaville Festival of Lights!!

We went to the Edaville Festival of Lights this weekend, very fun time had by all!! Since it was the second weekend open in November is wasn't too crowded. We waited for a few minutes for the train ride and it was spectacular! The train was warm, a little too warm for me, (but I tend to overheat easily) and away we went. There were lights everywhere and all kinds of lit up houses, characters and animals. There were some really cool ones that the light moved so it looked like the bear was throwing a basket or the frog was jumping in thr pond. Frankie is at the age where is was all so magical to him and he was SOOO excited.
After the train we did some rides; rocket ship, tilt-a-whirl, carousel, caterpillar, and went in the trains. The line for the ferris wheel was long and since it takes a while to load, we decided to skip that. But the wait for everything else was fine. We enjoyed just walking and seeing all the lights, when we first pulled up there were more than we imagined!
We ended the night with the snacks and hot cocoa. : ) YUM!!
It may be the last Christmas season for Edavilee, I am really happy we made it this year!

My Favorite Discovery Toys

I have sold Discovery Toys for 8 years now!! I thought I would take a few minutes to review a few of my (and my kids') favorites.

Infant: Super Yummy Teether

Frankie had this one when he was a baby and I love the vanilla smell. "Imagine five teethers in one that encourage sensory exploration while soothing and comforting your teething tot. A light vanilla scent stimulates sense of smell."

Toddler: Castle Marbleworks

This has been around for a while, Lizzy loved it and Frankie too! Children can put together the castle and then roll the balls down to the bottom. It is always a hit in my house with kids of all ages! "Your child will have fun dropping the 3 weighted chime balls down the track of this marble run building system! As balls race, spin and zig-zag, your little one learns to predict the balls’ course."

Preschool: Busy Farm

I had a hard time deciding, but picked Busy Farm. The kids love sorting, counting, matching and just playing with the farm animals. "Moo! Quack! Oink! Greet the Busy Farm friends: 36 colorful soft-molded animals ready to play language-based, reading readiness activities involving colors, sorting, matching, counting, and alphabet awareness. Set includes 12 double-sided Activity Cards."

School Years: Wiz Kidz

We have had this one for a number of years and Lizzy loves it. Frankie has been starting to play now that he is learning letters too. "This family game for all ages reinforces vocabulary, phonics, and word categorizations in record speed. Players pick a card from the alphabet letter stack and a card from the answer stack. Then it's time to think fast to generate as many logical associations as possible."

Joy of learning sets combine favorites from each category into a discounted bundle!

Some great toy ideas for the holidays!

Ward's Berry Farm

We really enjoy going to Ward's Berry Farm!! We went yesterday for a hayride and pumpkin picking. The hayride is about 30 minutes round trip, and then we got to get off to pick pumpkins for a while. The kids loved browsing all the different sizes of pumpkins and gourds. We got one big pumpkin and many gourds. : )

There is a hay stack to climb, one of the biggest kid attractions, swings, slides and animals to pet and feed! My kids were so into the haystack we didn't even make it to the animals.

Always a fun day and we enjoy strawberries in June, blueberries in July, and pumpkins in the fall. Last spring we also went on a hayride in the spring and planted tomato plants!

Yard House - pretty kid friendly!

We went with our good friends, Anna and Ben, to the Yard House tonight. John and I had a gone a few times before for special occasions and sat outside; nice view, weather, food, drinks! I hadn't really thought of it as kid friendly. So we went early tonight, and it was already crowded. We were seated right away, though, in a circular large booth, kids loved that. We got a few yummy appetizers to share. The kids menu was 12 pages of mazes, coloring, etc. and they usual kid fair meals. For drinks they could get a soda or lemonade with different flavors mixed in, there were many sides to choose from and a big fruit pop for dessert. It is also very noisy inside, so therefore very kid friendly too. So it was a fun evening and I was happy that it was as kid friendly as it was!

Let's Motor

Frankie had his first class at Let's Motor yesterday, he loved it! He had a one on one class with the owner which started with stretching and yoga. He and Lizzy make up yoga moves, so he loved this. He then got to do an obstacle course and some tumbling, jumping and climbing. In the beginning he painted a fish for the new mural and the session ended with a lollipop!
Let's Motor specializes in kids' with special needs, and the director has had other kids with albinism. It was very nice to have some work with Frankie who really gets him. We are excited for next week!

Circus of the Senses

Frankie and I went to the Big Apple Circus, "Circus of the Senses" today, in Boston! We went with friends, the little girl has albinism, and met another family with a girl with albinism too!
The show itself was great, we were in the 2nd row, but I still don't think Frankie could see too well, he was more interested in climbing in and out of his chair! : ) There were clown acts, great trapeze and balance acts, dancing, dogs, etc!
Afterwards, we got to go up in the ring for the touch session! That was so great!
Frankie got to touch the dog and pony, swing on a rope trapeze, touch the
costumes, use the juggling pins, talk to the clowns! It was so much fun to meet the performers and see everything up close! He actually could see the people and animals and had fun talking to them!
We can't wait to go again next year!!

Walden Pond

On Sunday we went hiking at Walden Pond. What a nice relaxing place to be. The pond was frozen, some people were skating on it. We did a kids' guided hike and walked about a half mile to the site where Thoreau's house stood. Frankie did good for that part and Lizzy loved the whole thing! Then we hiked back on another trail for a 1/2 mile, but it was a bit more snowy/slippery, a little harder for Frankie. It was still a fun activity, the lake was beautiful and the kids enjoyed going in the replica of Thoreau's house too!
I can't wait to go back in the spring! It is only $5 to park your car, and then you can enjoy this wonderful park.

Harvard Square

Yesterday we went to Harvard Square. When driving by Harvard, Lizzy said, "It's even bigger than the Martha Jones!"(her elementary school) I thought it was so cute!

We went to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. There were many exhibits with animals, insects, dinosaurs, fossils and a storytime. The kids really enjoyed it. Lizzy learned a lot and Frankie enjoyed pointing to everything and saying, "What's this?"

We then headed to the Curious George store, Curious George and Friends. Frankie, of course, was thrilled and kept saying there were George's everywhere! Lizzy and I did birthday shopping for him for his birthday in May. : )

Ice Skating

Lizzy, John and I took Frankie skating for the first time today! We went with the kids' auntie and cousin, so it was a fun time. We went to Larz Anderson Park in Brookline, it is an outdoor refrigerated rink. They have an indoor place to put skates on, skate rentals, snack bar.
Frankie loved the ice and skating. There is a small rink on the side with milk crates for the kids to push. He pushed his 2 milk crates all around and loved it, he could have kept going and did not want to leave! I guess we need to get him his own skates now! It was really a fun morning for us all! I can't wait to go back next week!

Christmas Activities

We have been busy with many Christmas activities. The other night we went to the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, MA for their Zoolights celebration. We usually go before Christmas, but it was much less crowded after, which was nice. The night was also quite warm, we didn't even need hats and gloves. The zoo is covered with lights, Frankie liked touching them. : ) It is like walking in a wnter wonderland. There are some animals on exhibit, including reindeer. There are a few small kiddie rides and a section with a mini trian village, storybook character display, etc. The kids really enjoy it every year!
There is also a great lights display in Millis, MA. You can drive your car through the owner's property, quite large. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get through, stopping to look at everything. The weekends can get quite busy, the weeknights are better.
We also went, last week, to the Bass Pro Shop, in Patriot Place, Foxboro. We had been there before the holidays and it was fun for the kids to see animal statues, an aquarum, climb on the boats, etc. But for Chrstmas, they had a Santa's Wonderland, complete with Santa, crafts, decorations, etc. The kids got to see Santa and the picture was free!
I am hoping, this weekend, we can still make it to Edaville's Festival of lights. We have been to the park in the summer/fall, but the lights diaplay sounds very beautiful and fun for the kids! I will let you know if we go.

Kidtoon Films

Frankie saw his first movie over the summer, with Lizzy and Daddy. They went to see a Thomas the Train movie, as part of the Kidtoon Films program. This program is at many theaters across the country, that have G rated movies for kids for $3.50, every Saturday and Sunday (or Sunday and Tuesday, now, in MA). I hope to go again this Tuesday to see a Barbie Christmas movie. Check it out, it's a good rainy day activity, too.

Edaville

Last Sunday we went to Edaville in Carver, MA. It was such a nice fall day and they were having the annual cranberry festival. There is a 2 mile train ride past the cranberry bogs, on this weekend the cranberries are floating to the top and being harvested. There are many rides; carousel, flying dumbo, tilt-a-whirl, scrambler, ferris wheel and more. There is a playground and a train to play on, also an indoor playground. For the cranberry festival, there are also many vendors, cranberry juice tasting and cranberries to buy. We bought some cranberries and made homemade cranberry apple muffins and cranberry sauce.
The park also hosts a Day out with Thomas in the summer and fall. It is much more crowded on these days. There are other days with costumed characters and shows. Starting in November, the festival of lights starts for the holidays. We have not been, but I hope to go this season!

Brookfield Orchards

We went apple picking today at Brookfield Orchards, in North Brookfield, for Lizzy's 7th birthday! It was the perfect weather day and one of my favorite times apple picking. I have gone pretty much every year since I was a kid, I love to go in the fall. We have gone to Brookfield for the past 10 years.
There are plenty of apple trees, so it does not seem crowded and there is a lot of room. There is a playground, sandbox and hayride. The store sells homemade pies, dumplings, etc. The dumplings are delicious! There is a snack bar which sells lunch and the delicious apple dumplings a la mode. It is always a fun day!

The Best of Days, The Worst of Days

Today was Lizzy's first day of first grade and she loved it! She came home a bit tired and hot, so we went out to dinner to the Red Robin, and she lost her tooth. She was so excited and the waitress gave her a Red Robin pin! The restaurant has good food (burgers) and is very kid friendly, complete with a balloon as you leave.
When we got home, Lizzy asked me if the tooth fairy was real or if I took the teeth. I asked her what she thought and she said that I was the tooth fairy. I said yes and she is so upset!! I feel so bad!! Since she asked outright, I wanted to tell her the truth, but it would have been more fun to keep pretending and she would have been happy. I hope I did the right thing!
I don't know what's going to happen with Santa this year!

Canobie Lake Park

We went with our friends to Canobie Lake Park last week, in Salem, NH. We had a great time! First of all, there is a lot of shade, and plenty of rides for all ages. There were plenty of benches and
tables in the shade and lots of trees as you are walking. There are kiddie rides for kids under 36 inches only. Bigger kid rides are also plentiful, Lizzy and her friend had many to go on! Many of the rides are good for everyone, the sky ride, train, boat ride, ferris wheel, etc. There are many meal options and the park stays open at night. We stayed until it was getting dark and it was relaxing to be there and not even think of the sun! This was a great park and we had a fantastic time!

Another Very Shady Park!

On Tuesday, we went with some friends to another shady park on Thomas Road in Wellesley, MA. It is called Perrin Park, and it was shadier than the last park. We were there on a cool morning, so it was chilly! There was plenty of playground equipment, and a big field to run in too! The kids wanted to go back the next day!