6/15/18- Summer Activities Revisited

Wow, what a great kick off to summer time; our trip to southern California was pretty sweet!  We only brought home 5 sets of Lego (or systems as I've learned) from Legoland, which is pretty good for 2 engineers and a toddler. Although the trip out there certainly had some low points, Jack was a bit under the weather, once there we had a good time.  We hung out with friends, rode roller coasters, cars and boats, built so many Lego systems, and of course enjoyed the 70 degree weather! Man was it nice out there, and it's kind of a let down to come back to 107 degrees!

So what are we going to do on the weekends now that it's 107 out?  Luckily, Phoenix has many great options for indoor play and a couple of outdoor options.  Below is our list of planned summer activities and places we're going to visit locally to kill sometime in this heat. I think many of the places we plan to visit this summer are in most towns and cities, but let me know if you have some suggestions for fun summer activities. I'm always interested in recommendations and trying new things!  Hope everyone has a fun, safe and playful summer!

1. Lego Discovery Center- Jack is older now and way into Lego, so I'm confident he'll enjoy the Discovery Center now vs. when he was an itty bitty toddler.  Also, we bought annual passes to Legoland, which includes the Lego Discovery Centers, so might as well capitalize on that. 
2. Local Libraries- The libraries in our area have great children's spaces, like the Tempe Library and the Scottsdale Civic Center.  It's "free" (thank you to everyone who pays city taxes!) to go there too, so might as well take advantage of that. 
3. Movie Theater- Incredible 2, I can't wait to see it! And both Harkins, AMC and Pollack Theaters do a summer movie pass for kids  Seems like a cool thing to do; literally, is there any indoor place cooler than a movie theater?
4. AZ Science Center- We have a membership, and again, best to use it before we lose it.  Jack really likes the ping pong ball exhibit and outdoor water play area.  I think in general a museum pass somewhere is a must for the summer in a hot climate area. It's probably the same for a cold climate area in the winter. 
5. Indoor Trampoline Park- For the past couple of years these indoor trampoline parks, indoor bounce house places and indoor play parks have been popping up all over the Valley of the Sun.  Some of them are only $5 for an hour or two for toddler, so pretty reasonable. 
6. Chick-fil-A/McDonald's- Ice cream cones/shakes combined with an indoor play park... sold. 
7. Splash Pads- The City of Mesa and Tempe have some large splash pads that are pretty fun for the adults.  And kids too. 
8. Swimming Pool and Water Parks- We're blessed with a swimming pool in our backyard (so is half of Phoenix; it's a thing here), but I am looking forward to taking Jack to the indoor wave pool at Kiwanis.  They do movie nights, which should be fun.  Also, there's some decent outdoor water parks here (the water park at Legoland was really cool, for the record). I fear though that he'll want to ride a water slide that he's not tall enough for, and I remember how much that sucks.  Just happened to me at Legoland. 😉
9. Butterfly World- This place has been on my list forever.  We're going to make it this summer!  I also have lofty goals of volunteering more and writing more this, so hopefully I'm not all talk about finally going here.
10. Bookstores and The Mall- We go to these places anytime of the year, (FYI B+N has a great summer reading program; kids get a free book at the end), but the air conditioning will be extra appreciated this summer.  We'll also have to see if we can leave the mall and bookstores without books and toys (I'm side eyeing myself right now as I doubt that).  

Abracadabra! It's summer!

5/27/18- Summer is Here!

Hurrah! Summer is here!  Okay, it's actually (temperature-wise) been summer in Phoenix for more than a month.  But this was the first weekend that we went swimming in our pool. And it was still too cold for me.  The pool thermometer read 80-degrees, but it didn't feel that warm.  I had actual goose bumps as Jack splashed me.

I always look forward to summer; it's a time to slow down and relax.  Spring is such a busy time of year for our family: birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, festivals and more.  So when summer approaches, I know it's time to take it easy.  Lazy days by the pool, nothing on the schedule but possibilities, and plenty of time to reflect as I sip mint lemonade (spiked 😉).  I love the promise of R 'n' R that summer brings.  Not too mention summer vacation!

This year we're going to Carlsbad, California for summer vacation.  We're going to visit Legoland, the beach, and (hopefully) friends.  We've been gearing up for Legoland on this three-day holiday weekend by watching (binging?) "The Lego Movie," "Lego Batman," and "The Ninjago Movie," and stockpiling Legos (woo hoo, we found a closing Toys R Us in Tucson, so 30% off Legos!).  We'll be going with friends who have a 5 year old, and I think Jack will like having a companion to ride the rides with.  But this trip is the first time Bobby, Jack or I have been to Legoland, so any pro tips would be appreciated.

Of course, the best part of summer vacation is basically getting to forget that you work a 9-5 job!  I've actually been doing okay mentally with my boring work the past couple months, but my physical health hasn't been the best, so I'm ready to not work for a week.  I'm not sure how my body will react to doing an amusement park; however, we're staying at a Lego hotel, so I can go take a nap when needed.  Plus, Advil.  Advil is the answer to my RA inflammation (I'm sure one day I'll need something stronger, but yay for Advil!).

Anyways, there will be time to rest on the weekends after vacation.  We have nothing scheduled on the weekend for months (she typed, intentionally ignoring the calendar)!  I love it!  Randomly deciding to go see a summer blockbuster, or go get Hawaiian ice, or even go play at the indoor playground (haha, like we'd dare go to an outdoor playground in Phoenix during the summer; that'd just be asking for dehydration and sunburn) is like the best thing in the world.  Despite the hundred degree plus weather, summer rocks!

Let me know in the comments your summer plans or what you look forward to this summer, and any Legoland tips are greatly appreciated!  I'll also being doing an updated post for summer activities in Phoenix here soon, but in the meantime, enjoy this flashback to when Jack was enjoying his 2nd Phoenician summer: Fun In AZ Sun. "Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability!"-- Sam Keen.  May you all enjoy your respectable, lazy summer!

6/8/17- Main Street Electrical Parade

Phew! The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for my family and I.  We went to Disneyland, I participated in Susanna Hill's "Would You Read It Wednesdays?", Jack started swim lessons, I got multiple rejection letters from agents, magazines and publishing houses, somewhere in there was the day job, I got elected Vice President of a local non-profit, we all saw Boss Bay (Jack sat for most of it-- can't wait to take him to Cars 3!), family photos, Jack punching and kicking Bobby and I as he got a haircut, a follow mom shared Annie as part of blog post about children's books that have math concepts in them and some other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting. There are so many stories I could share, but I'm going to talk about our latest Disneyland trip.

I'm not a Mouseketeer, Mousehead, or whatever you call Disney mega fans, but going three times to Disneyland within a 6 month period might suggest otherwise (one time was for a  conference, and the other times for family vacation).   It's just that Jack is still free, Jack loves Disney movies, and clever and sly Disney saying, hey 40% off our hotels!  Then next thing you know, you book another Disneyland vacation.  D'oh!

This time we stayed in one of the Disney hotels, The Grand Californian, and at the club level.  Club level means access to this room that has food, a patio to watch fireworks, movie rentals, and a couple of other perks.  Jack enjoyed going into that special room every day, and not going to lie, so did I! We rented and watched a movie every day.  The staff is so helpful and nice in that special room, and really in all parts of the hotel. The pool at the hotel was one of Jack's favorite things, although the slide wasn't ready/open when we stayed there. With all these perks and the pool, it was hard to convince Jack to leave the hotel for the park (Disneyland).

It was also great to go directly from the hotel into the park. There's still a security line, but it's much shorter. We also ate at one of the restaurants.  While it was good food, it was slightly on the too fancy side for a toddler, meaning an hour is too long for dinner (when you're a toddler).  There was a family next to us that had a four year old, and Jack and him became friends, so that helped a little. We also did character dinning at the Disney Hotel, which Jack loved.

Okay, okay, so at this point it sounds like we spent a lot of money on this vacation.  Club level in a Disney hotel is usually expensive, but remember, we got 40% off.  This trip did cost more than the last Disneyland trip, but it was not more than some our past trips (before Jack).  Bobby and I agree we really want to stay at the club level in the GC for our next visit (I swear it will be a couple of years this time, unless another awesome deal is offered). It really made this vacation pretty awesome, especially since Jack had such high-highs and low-lows at the park this time (he liked the rides and characters, but really disliked the crowd, sun, and any line over 5 minutes).   But there's no way we could do club level again unless there is a great deal. Or we win the lotto.

Besides the club level thing, there was one more thing that really made this trip special for me.  Like I said, Jack seemed to be happy one minute in the park and then cranky the next. On our previous trip, he was pretty mellow, but had just turn 2. He was still a young toddler.  I think he's entering the stage that most parents dread, the terrorism threes, so I think that was part of the high highs and low lows. He was pretty content and mellow for all the time we spent at the hotel (we had a half day at the hotel when we arrived, a rest day in between the park, and also a half day before travel to another hotel/home (we break up the drive by staying in Indio or such)).

So the last night we were at the park, he was pretty much done. He kept asking to go to back to the hotel as we stood waiting for the Main Street Electrical Parade to begin.  I think we had been waiting about 15-20 minutes, and I was torn-- see the parade or go back to the hotel.  I really wanted to see the parade, as it was one of my favorite things at Disneyland as a child, but I also wanted a well rested and happy toddler for the next day. Then the lights dimmed, and we heard the music. If you've seen the parade, you know the music.  That synthesized bee sound.

Then Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy, come around the corner on a lit up train, and Jack screams, "Train! Mickey! Train!"   And I absolutely lose it.  I'm just crying and crying, in the middle of Main Street at Disneyland, during a really fun light parade with horrible (or is it awesome) synthesized music!  Bobby's all, "Are you alright? What's a matter?"  I can't even speak.  Jack's still watching the parade, ignoring his sappy mother, and Bobby put it together (he knows me well), "Are those happy tears?"  All I can do is nod.  I was so sharking HAPPY!  To be able share something I loved so much and made me so gleeful as child with my own child and seeing how gleeful it made him, 30 years later.  It  just made me so sharking happy!

I could have died happy in that moment. So sharking special-- I hope to remember it forever and ever!  I'll be on my death bed, and be like, remember when Jack saw the Electrical Parade just like I did, and I totally bawled my eyes out because of how happy that made me to share the parade with him? (Of course if his kid sees it 30 years, on my death bed it will be instead, remember how much Jack Jr, Jack and I loved the Electrical Parade?) And yes, I'm tearing up just writing about it.  I'll just "zzz, zzz, doo, doo, doo"  myself out now; zzz, zzz, doo, doo, doo!

12/17/16- Holiday Activities with My Two Year Old

The holidays are upon us, and I am much looking forward to a week off between Christmas and New Year's.  Poor Jack got sick this week (3rd cold/virus this fall/winter) and then he slipped off of a stool.  I caught him, as I was standing right next to him, but not before he bit into his lip.  We took him to urgent care, and luckily, he only needed a butterfly band aid.  But phew, what a week for our little guy.

Leading up to this week, we been having some fun, doing various holiday activities.  He's a little too young for some holiday activities and traditions.  For example, that sharking hammerhead "Elf on a Shelf."  Bobby and I never remember to move the darn Elf, Jack wanted to touch it the first day, and Jack has completely lost all interest in it.   I didn't want the Elf in the first place because I knew we'd never move it, but it made Bobby excited.  I can't crush Bobby's holiday spirit; I'll never get the presents wrapped without him. ;-)

Here are the holiday activities that we are doing with our two year old in no particular order:

1) Phoenix Zoo Lights-  Jack enjoyed seeing all the  lights.  The line for Santa was short at the event, and Jack hammed it up for the photo.

2) Holiday Baking- Jack has always been interested in cooking and baking, so we let him mix the cake and cookie batters. He also gets to cut the cookies into shapes and put sprinkles on said cookies.  He also enjoys this.

3) "Elf on a Shelf"- Jack doesn't care right now (and Chaps thinks it's a chew toy).  Maybe next year.

4) Disney Tsum Tsum Advent Calendar- Jack likes opening the door and seeing which Disney toy he gets, but then all interest is gone. It's also on the kitchen counter, as he wants to open all the doors at once. This activity is the one that caused him to slip out of the stool.  Perhaps we need to put it on the ground for the door opening. :-/

5) Painting and Coloring Paper Holiday Placemats-  Jack and our 4 year old godson/"nephew" Colton have been enjoying coloring and painting these paper holiday placemats that I bought at the Target after Christmas sale last year.

6) Decorating the Tree- Of course he got the paper, plastic and cloth ornaments to put on the tree, and those are the types at his level.  I'd say he enjoys taking the ornaments off of the tree more than he likes putting them on.

7) Reading Holiday Themed Books- His favorite is "I've Seen Santa" by David Bedford.  We read it at least twice a day, and he is now exclaiming "Santa!" every time we see a Santa.

8) Seeing the Lights in Our Hood- We walk the dogs around the block almost every evening, and Jack likes to point out the various Christmas Lights and blow ups.  "Baby elephant!" "Snowman!"  "Mickey, Minnie!" "Yoda!"

9) Shoe String Decorations- Another Target find (we may shop at Target it a lot, and they aren't paying me to say that, although I'd totally take a gift card Target for endorsing you, cough, cough). Jack gets the string through one hole, says "I did it!" and then takes another string and wears it as a necklace. I'll save the kit for next year.

10) McCormrick Railroad Park- this activity was great to do with him last year (at age one), so we're doing it again this year.  Lights, Santa, hot coco and riding trains, does it get any better as a kid (maybe your birthday party tops that)?

Of course we'll go to Christmas Eve church service (to be honest, the only time I enjoy church), and I'm sure take turns chasing him like we did last year.  Then we'll have to two big "roast beast" feasts with our family in Tucson and our family in Phoenix.  And get together with friends through out the week to celebrate our friendship and another year.

Leave a comment on the activities and traditions you do with your family for the holidays!  I'll be taking a little blog break for the next couple of weeks, so until the new year, Happy Holidays and May Your Cup Be Overflowing in the New Year!  xoxo!

10/27/16- Mickey's Halloween Party

As part of our trip to Disneyland in early October, we went to Mickey's Halloween Party.  Mickey's Halloween Party is a special event from early September until end of October that includes trick-or-treating, Halloween-themed attractions and Character Greetings, special fireworks spectacular, and a spooky parade that starts with the ride of the Headless Horseman.  It is a separate cost from the regular park ticket, but you can enter the park 3 hours before the the Halloween party starts. (And remember, your child under 3 is free, even for the Halloween party!)

In my post last week, Bobby and I concluded that we could have skipped going to the park in the morning (the extra rest to for all of us to treat-or-trick until the party closed would have been good) and just done the early party entrance.  We still did plenty of rides and saw characters when we attended the party.

We got to the party around 5 pm, and there was a decent line to get in (first security and then actual park gate; Disney-line continues!).  I've heard that the line for parking is also long for the nights that of the Halloween party, so if you are driving, make sure you plan for extra time spent parking.

Bobby and I were excited to read that costumes are encouraged (check the park website for rules about costumes)-- we were going to go as The Incredibles and Jack would be Jack, Jack!  And of course when we go to put him in his costume, he refused.  Such a toddler!  It really didn't stop any of our enjoyment at the party, and it was fun to keep getting told that we looked incredible (from park employees). I love puns.

We started with dinner in the park, and Bobby and I both liked the grilled cheese and basil tomato soup; it felt like the perfect fall/Halloween meal.  Jack had a kid's meal, and only ate the carrots and drank the milk, which since he was about to eat candy, we were not upset about.  We could have packed food, but that's not our style. :-) Then we headed to Tomorrow Land for his favorite ride, Buzz Lightyear.

After the ride, I made the boys stand in our first trick-or-treat trail.  The line for the trail looked long, but it moved pretty quick.  The way the trick-or-treating works is that there are designated rides that become a treat trail. You go through the trail and get candy.  Each trail has about 3-4 candy stops. After the first candy stop on the trail, Jack was excited to hold out his treat bag and even started saying trick-or-treat.

We gave him a miniature candy bar and some M n M's when waiting in line for the next ride. Disney also hands out apple slices and other healthy snacks with the candy.  Jack did eat apples later that night when we headed back to the hotel.  But of course, he liked the candy.  I enjoyed seeing his excitement over experiencing the taste of chocolate.  No, it wasn't his first time having chocolate, but he made it seem like it was, which was totally funny (I should have taken a picture, d'oh!).

We saw the character villains and Mickey Mouse and friends in costume, but since we had pictures with characters from earlier in the day, we skipped the lines to get pictures and autographs.  We watched the special fireworks, which Jack ooh'ed and ah'ed over (he might have been quoting me). The loud noise didn't upset him, as we had practice with fireworks from 4th of July.  We missed the Halloween parade because Jack (and us) wanted to do rides instead.  We did see some daytime parades, so don't feel too bad for us.  I've heard the Halloween parade is cool, so if you go, you might want to check it out.

Overall, we all really liked Mickey's Halloween Party.  I liked the special decorations, fireworks and trick-or-treating (so pretty much all of it), Jack liked the rides and chocolate, and Bobby liked the special decorations and seeing characters that you normally don't see. We all recommend going at least once if you plan to go to Disneyland September or October.  It was spooktacular (told you I love puns)!  Happy Howl-o-ween!  ;)

Check out these websites for more info:
Disneyland- Mickey's Halloween Party
Undercovertourist- Disneyland Halloween Time

10/19/16- The Land of Disney (with a toddler)

Phew! What a whirlwind the past 3 weeks have been.  Jack has either an allergic reaction or an infection around his eye, my mom had a kidney stone removed, and Bobby, Jack, and I went to Disneyland! Despite all the downs, there were ups, and I feel lucky for the ups.                              

Back to the Disneyland mention-- we took Jack to Disneyland for the first time! Some said we were crazy. Some said we'd had fun. Maybe it was a little crazy to take a toddler to Disneyland, but it was worth the smile on Jack's face.  We had so much fun!      

Bobby and I went into this trip with the bar set low.  We expected tantrums, freak outs over seeing a giant mouse, and impatience with long lines. And that was just Bobby and I.

We knew that we'd be spending hours away from the park for naps.  We knew that meals inside the park would be expensive (although we found a decent kids lunch in Toon Town for 6.99; not bad). But there was hope, however little it was, that Jack might like it.

He likes the train ride at the mall and enjoys watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so why not a train inside Disneyland?  There was hope that all the bad things a toddler could experience at a large amusement park would be outweighed by the fun and lasting memories. Plus, children under 3 are FREE.

His free entrance was totally worth it, as Jack's excitement and happiness while at the Land of Disney blew all of the negative expectations away by the first day.  Sure there was still a melt down or two when we had to leave the park at the end of the night, but it was because he didn't want the fun to end.  Sure he didn't want to hug any of the characters, but he still got super excited to see them, pointing and exclaiming, "Mickey!  Donald! Minnie! Pluto!"

I think what made this adventure to the "happiest place on Earth" successful for our family was the prep work we did before.  Research and planning go along way; I highly recommend you do some if you're planning a first visit.  Below are some of my tips for a potentially happy toddler at Disneyland. Please share your own tips in the comments!

1) Expect crowds, long lines, and cranky people (including yourself).  You know your child and yourself best in crowds, so having contingency plans (think plans B and C for stressful situations) for Disney-LINE (as Bobby nicknames) is a good idea.  Maybe it's the engineers in Bobby and I, but using worst case analysis and coming up with possible solutions to WC, I think made the experience smoother.

2) Read the blogs and websites dedicated to Disneyland, specifically toddlers at Disneyland.  I liked  the Disney Parks blogs, where you could search on the topic of toddler. http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/

3) Choose a hotel within walking distance.  If you're child naps in a stroller/your arms, great, then you can stay at the park all day.  However, Jack requires a bed to nap, and a short walk (after lots of park walking) to go rest was awesome.

4) Consider a multi-day pass.  We did a 3 day park hopper pass (for Bobby and I; Jack didn't need a pass as remember FREE) and knowing we didn't have to cram everything into one day was nice.  We also did the Mickey Halloween Party, and if we had known that we could get into the park at 3 pm (we missed it in our research), then we would have done 2 day park hopper pass plus the Mickey Halloween Party ticket.  (I'll review Mickey's Halloween Party in a separate post, but preview, we all liked it!)

5)  Down load the park APP!  We used to it to: find toddler friendly rides (you can filter in the app); book restaurant reservations (restaurants in the park and Downtown Disney fill up fast!); find when the parades and firework times are; see if a Fast Pass for a ride was available; and most important, see what ride waiting times were.  Cutting down the wait time for ride lines with a toddler, that was priceless (the app is free, so literally no price, haha).

6) Get Fast Passes.  If you're unfamiliar with a Fast Pass, it's basically a ride reservation.  You get a ticket saying to come back to the Fast Pass line between such and such a time. You may wait a little in the Fast Pass line to ride the ride, but the wait is way shorter than the regular line.  Short waits so important on toddler clocks (see use of app above).

7) Book your entire vacation through Disney (*I am not getting any endorsement for saying this*).   Unless you're a very savvy saver, which I am not, the price to book our vacation through Disney felt fair. We got the hotel, 3 day park hopper passes, souvenir pin and photo, and coupons.  You can also pay in installments.  It was just so convenient and easy to get everything/whole vacation in one place. Plus, the vacation info comes to you in a very cute booklet (gets you and child all excited)!

8) Bring a stroller (or stroller like device).  It was nice to not have to carry Jack everywhere when he didn't want to walk, as well as it was storage for jackets, snacks, water, sunscreen, hats, blanket, diapers, souvenirs, etc.  If your kid is ain't stroller type of kid, try a wagon or one of those toy push cars with a handle or tricycles with a handle.

9) Bring snacks, water, sunscreen, hats, jackets, etc. Bringing these items were part of our backup plans to help Jack and us when number 1 above happened. Disneyland lets you bring in outside food and water (and I think even juice and milk), you just have to go through security (so yeah there's a long line there too; Disney-LINE for a reason).

10) Go with the flow and have fun (because do you have your backup plans just in case the shark hits the fan)!  Sure riding Buzz Lightyear or the Ariel Underwater Adventure ride 7 times started to wear on my nerves, but Jack loved those rides so much.  Seeing him have such fun on those rides, time after time, brought me back to happy.

Witnessing Jack's awe, amazement, enthusiasm and happiness over the rides, parades, characters, and fireworks made it feel like the first time all over again for me.  His excitement was so contagious that I almost forget we had plan B's.  All the worry over whether he'd enjoy it or not melted away in those moments. Such wonderful, happy family memories made forever.