Summer Fun List 2016

It is summer again! I have just a couple days left of summer school teaching, then that means fun filled days with my creative, enthusiastic little girls, 5 and 3. To me the most important thing is to do enough to keep them engaged, which is code for out of trouble, and help them create beautiful memories of their childhood, which is code for hope they get tired enough to go to bed without a hassle at a reasonable time.

My plan is to have a list of possible activities around town that we can plug into at any given moment. Here are my go to activities for 2016:

1.  My girls are Disney crazy. They love all the characters from Disney Junior, all the princesses, and even the classic characters. So I was really excited to learn that the Disney Store has fun free events every Wednesday. Some times there are movies or Sing-A-Longs. Afterwards, we can play at the Busch Garden themed, International Mall play area. This isn't a new place for us, but the kids always love it. We have learned that in the evenings there are less people and less chaos at the mall play areas.

2. For years we would go to the library story times, but those became very crowded and less about reading and more about corralling kids. Barnes and Noble has great story times too! Many of these events are Friday and Saturdays but there are weekday story times too. We sometimes have a cookie at the cafe as a treat. B&N also has reading programs for older kids.

3. Bowling for free! A friend of mine mentioned this national program so I had to look into it. You can take your children to bowl two games every day. As I look into it and filled out the information there is a one time cost of $29.95. It is a good deal especially if you have multiple kids and live in an area where you never know if it's going to rain. I also figured out if I go with my kids at least twice, the one time cost would at least allow us to break even.

4. Bayside Gymnastics Academy has open gym time once a week for a low cost. The girls love to jump and tumble and run. This space is great. It can also get a little wild for young kids, so I avoided it when my kids were under 2. However, we have a great fondness for this warehouse and it is designed to contain kids in a huge safe padded space.

5. My kids love art. We have attended several events sponsored by the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Pete such as the Painting in the Park in April, and the Breakfast with Santa in December. These events have become staples to our family fun time. MFA is really welcoming to kids. There is a chunk of the museum that is just for kids. They also have activities to do with the kids for the traditional exhibit areas. They also have a cafe at the museum but there is ice cream across the street. The museum is next to Straub Park which has open spaces and great banyan trees kids love to play in, climb up and swing through every time they see them.

We have a few more things we will do....

1. Beach 
2. Make and decorate cupcakes
3. Make pizzas
4. Splash parks 
5. Pool time
6. Build a fort (Indoor and Outdoor)
7. Create an art museum and invite grandparents to the opening
8. Game night (Candyland, Uno, Chutes and Ladders, Mermaids)
9. Have an banana split
10. See Finding Dory
11. Go to a Rays Game
12. Go to a Rowdies Game
13.  De Leon Springs and Old Spanish Mill Pancakes
14. Visit the Atlantic Ocean 
15. Roller Derby

It will be impossible to do it all and still have stay at home veg out and play days (those are just as important to me), but I like having a list of ideas that I can look at when I am feeling less creative. Cheers to summer!

Summer Loving 2015

Every year way before even the hint of summer, I think of all the fun activities the girls and I will do, but this year work has been rewarding and busy thus my list is a few months behind. Tomorrow will mark my first official day of summer vacation of the completion of a new summer school course, the fun will be well deserved by all.

1. Hugging Puppies. SouthEastern Guide Dogs in Palmetto, right over the Skyway, gives visitors the opportunity to get a tour of these great amazing pups and at the end you get to play with the puppies. You donate $10 per person as a donation. Inexpensive cute community service and fun.

2. Makeme Studios. They have several arts and crafts classes for kids from age 2-12. The classes each have a different theme for something to create. They also have an Authors and Artists class where there is a story time and then they make something related to the story. Inexpensive and fun. Classes are about $10.

3. Library. The library is often on the list of things to do. The St. Petersburg Main Library always has weekly story times but they have kicked up their game this summer. They are offering Family Flix once a week there will be a family friendly movie, and activity for free. Over the last could of years they have turned the Preschool Storytime into a combined music time. Free fun.

4. Busch Gardens. We have the Fun Pass that we purchased at the beginning of the year and with the Preschool Pass kids under 5 are free. I plan on getting my money's worth this summer. The kids area is awesome there and my girls love it. They also have fun concerts and events in the evenings. The best tip I have for families with young kids is they have stroller parking for free if you ask at the parking gate. It takes you right to the front of the park without having to tram it with all your stuff.

5. Lowry Park. The girls grandparents purchased for them the Lowry Park annual passes when the Zoominations was in town (which was awesome!) They have a great splash area there too and of course animal viewing fun is always a good time for small children.

6. Crafty Fun! I plan on having the girls make canvas pictures frames, play with chalk paint on the drive way, make a tape city and turn the living room into an aquariums with fun sea creature art.

7. Movies. We have so many local cinemas that are offering inexpensive movie watching opportunities this summer, but we have had our eyes set for Inside Out for months. And though I have now heard some mixed reviews about how much my girls may understand about it, I think we will see it.

8. We will also be doing a lot of nothing. Cuddling with my babies on the couch, splashing in the pool, playing outside with the neighbors, being crafty, rainy day activities and taking a family vacation. This is the best time of year to really just be.

Spring Break Bucket List

One the greatest blessings at teaching at my independent school is the glorious two weeks of Spring Break that we have at the end of every March. Here is my Spring Break Bucket List this year.

We are headed to Orlando for 4 days with Abuelos and little ones all in tow. We plan on going to Disney just for one day because we have seasonal passes. These passes have black out dates for most folks this doesn't work at all, but for us as locals we have more flexibility in going, so it works well. Plus as a Floridian I am thankful never to go to Disney in July because the heat is unbearable. For this break, we will be at a villa hotel room, plenty of room for us all. Here are a few things I am taking for the girls to do. I always take hotel room items because I hate having them in the sun for 12 hours, however we do plan on lots of pool and outside time.

• Disney Junior Super Stretchy which is just like Twister
  
  
• Paint a Chick -- wooden Easter chick with paints
• Alex My Collage Farm
• Go Fish Card Game
• Puzzles -- as many as I can find

Here are my other Kid Friendly Plans:

1. Ft Desoto Historic Park There is a toll on the way out there otherwise it is a free excursion
2. Great Exploration Museum Terrific Tot Time We have annual passes that we got dirt cheap with a Groupon.
3. Rowdies Opening Game Which is free for everyone young and old via the Rowdies Soccer Club
4. Turns out our Groupon Great Exploration museum passes have an Florida Aquarium reciprocal in April so this is a free trip too.
5. Lowry Park Zoominations (my father in law purchased annual passes for him and the girls, so we get a discount.)
6. Watch Dolphin Tale and go see Winter at the Clearwater Aquarium which is a year long reciprocal with our museum passes.

It is also Egg Hunting Season. We are hoping to hit up a couple of new egg hunts this year. Here is the best list I found locally: Eggs. There are couple that I think will be awesome when my girls are even a little older such as the Flashlight Egg Hunt in Dunedin.

It's this time of year in Florida where I wish I went ahead and got my pool heater fixed. The outside temperature is ready for a nice dip but the pool water is still way too cold. It only really matters 2 months out of the year.

Day 11 St. Louis Arch

After sleeping in for a bit we headed to grab something to eat in the historic district of St. Louis before heading to the Arch. It was slightly a little early for lunch but not wildly. At 11 am I expect there to be the beginnings of a lunch crowd. Well we entered an empty Hannigans at 11 and by quarter till noon we walked out with empty stomachs. Our server came took our order and completely disappeared. We walked out. In the almost 7 years Eliot and I have been together we have never collectively been so irritated or impatient with a restaurant.
Since we had wasted all that time we dashed into Subway to eat and then headed to the arch.
I have to say that I'm pretty happy that we expanded west. Happy that I wasn't born into that era. Happy not to live on a prairie or have 6 kids with variations of the name that sounds like John Boy. And Happy I didnt have to ride in a buggy across America. I like California. Vegas was a hoot. New Mexico is beautiful and Washington was very hip. However I'm always a little conflicted over the taking land from the Native Americans thus I try not to revel too much in our massacres in the west. The gateway into the west, the St Louis Arch is very cool feat of architecture.
















We did our long part of driving today. So other than a quick stop for gas and dinner at Cracker Barrel we have been cruising.




















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Day 10 Early Park and Early Bed

This morning we wanted to be sure the girls had some time to wiggle before our first leg home through St Louis. We let play in real grass as we packed up the car.


Once we were packed up we walked down to the small park close to the house. We were there for just about an hour. It was a nice neighborhood park and encouraged us to get back home to our park quest.











After the climbing and crawling and jumping we took off. Only a 6 hour drive today. We arrived in St. Louis for dinner time. After getting dressed we decided the girls were tired and just went down stairs to eat in the hotel restaurant called the Bistro. Based on years of experience hotel restaurants are not that great and over prices this one didn't change my perception. We were hoping on going for a walk but it was beyond evident that early to bed was the right choice for the kids.

We ordered dessert through room service and watched premium channel tv. Tomorrow we will explore the gateway to the west.

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Day 9 The Zoo and Vietnamese

The Milwaukee County Zoo considered one of the top zoos in the country a few years back has certainly maintain a great atmosphere.


We took the girls and the Aunties and fed the goats. We had local dairy ice cream and Lydia road a pony named Norman.



It was a beautiful day for the zoo. The weather was 76 and breezy; could not have asked for a more perfect day. One of the great features of this zoo is how close you could get to the animals, because of the winters here there were indoor and outdoor options for viewing. In Florida if an animal is too hot or it's rainy they can tuck inside and not be seen, here if the animal went to nap there was still a way to take a peek.



We saw a lazy red panda that looked like a fox and an orangutan that was huge. There was a dancing polar bear and a very showy tiger as well. Lydia discovered the mold-a-ramas so we now own 3 delightful wax toys.


There was a perfect amount of time to get home and freshen up before heading to Hue an awesome Vietnamese restaurant in the Bay view area of Milwaukee. We got to see Cousin Nick who was a terrific mix-o-logist and had exquisite food.


Vivian loved Vietnamese food and took a try at using her chopsticks.


It was a great night out and at the end we saw Elizabeth Shue! It's been a celeb vacation all over.


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Day 8 Baha'i and West Allis

We took our sweet time getting out of Chicago and drove up the coast of Lake Michigan through Loyola and Northwestern to arrive at the most magnificent treasure, the Baha'i temple. There are only 9 specific temples in the world. A couple years ago when I was doing research for my book I read about this place and it was one of the primary reasons Eliot and I decided on this road trip.



The temple is 9 sided and simply spectacular. Nine is considered the number of perfection and so there are 9 entrances, 9 pillars, and 9 lush gardens around it.


Inside at the center in Arabic it says "O Thou Glory of Glories."


Baha'is believe in the unity of religion. One faith, one god, one humanity. Thus they read from all the major religious text and have also depicted those symbols in their structure.


The surrounding gardens have beautiful flowers.


Afterwards we stop and had lunch and made our way to Eliot's home town of Milwaukee in the suburbs to see where he grew up and some amazing family.


We had dinner at the Painted Parrot and enjoyed an awesome fish fry! Made you want to keep eating and eating.





Once dinner was over we drove through Eliot's old neighborhood and house he was little in. It was really neat to see it. We chatted with the folks that live there now and jaunted through memory lane.


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Day 7 MOSI and the Jackson Polluck

The last two tickets in our City Pass was the infamous Museum of Science and Industry and the Art Institute of Chicago. Luckily the Art Institute is open late on Thursdays which worked out perfectly. The original plan was to head to the Taste of Chicago afterwards.


MOSI was huge. We got there at 11 and we left at 4. It has 3 floors filled with stuff and an extension that houses the Omnimax theatre and Space exhibit.


We toured a full size submarine, airplane and train just to give an idea of the size of this place. I gotta say when you have this volume of stuff and space. It should be laid out more organically but instead it was set up like a giant cross.


There was a play area for little ones called the Idea Factory which was great for Vivi. Lydia also liked this part but she was sort of caught between being too big for the baby area and too little for the children's factory part.


There were some great exhibits at MOSI one of my favorites was the interactive periodic table. I joked with Eliot that he's the scientist with the heart of a teacher and I'm the teacher with the heart of a scientist. The Last Reef movie was impressionably terrific but overall there wasn't anything that stood out that much. It did have a full size cafeteria and an ice cream shop. You can spend all day there easily but it will be unlikely that it would make the top of our list to visit again within the next 10 years.

We hopped a cab to Grant Park which houses the Art Institute of Chicago.

Eliot was looking at the Monets while I showed Lydia this George O'Keefe. I told her that when she was in my belly I fell in love with O'Keefe in New Mexico when we went to her museum.


Up until now every place we have been to has been interactive. People touch everything whether the children's museums or the aquarium or MOSI. It hadn't occurred to us to explain that things are a little different in here. I did mention that apparently this museum was a little quieter than others. She was okay with that whereas Vivian thought it was the perfect time to chat. Lydia had been to other art museums but she was a little younger.

We had just walked through the impressionists into contemporary art when Lydia jumped up and just poked a Jackson Polluck. Bypassed the protective wire and just poked it. Now I have to admit I have almost done such a thing once or twice with great art specifically in Europe, when I've just wanted to eat it up the magnificence. We explained to Lydia that we don't touch and explained to her why. Telling her that the art was one or kind and precious and can not be changed in any way or it wouldn't be quite so special any more. She was embarrassed and hide in her stroller.

Eliot and I chuckled later that Lydia had just touched a painting valued over 50 million dollars without even a hesitation.

We moved into another contemporary art room and it was a bit more progressive. We walked into a dark room with only a small desk and a laptop playing a short scheme of a student studying. Once again Lydia leaped up and went to touch it but we interceded this time. The guard laughed out loud as we explained to Lydia that it was art but she looked at us like we were nuts. Surely thinking we have a laptop at home, why is this art?

As we walked around I asked her what pictures she likes and which she doesn't. Explaining art is different for everyone. We arrived at the design and architecture area and things are on platforms. We saw a funky chair. I said "look Lydia that's a chair and add quickly but we don't sit on it." She looked at me and says "that's not a chair it's a clam"(Pictured below)





By the end she was taking notes on the audio tour. We saw some famous classics like the American Gothic by Wood, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Serat and Wheatstacks by Monet.





After 8 hours of museums we were exhausted. We skipped the Taste of Chicago headed back to the hotel to regroup. We rested for about 30 minutes and then took a short stroll to Jack Melricks for the Chicago's Best Wings voted 3 years in a row. Our second visit there this week but definitely awesome taste of Chicago.

Tomorrow Milwaukee!

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Day 6 Fish, Deep Dish and Fireworks!

The morning was divine after a full night sleep by everyone. Not being real particular about maintaining nap schedules there are a few more baby break downs than normal. Thus we decided to take a cab to The Shedd Aquarium for an easy trip there and then hoping for naps on our jaunt back which worked out perfectly.



At this point Eliot and I have visited 4 aquariums through our travels. My favorites are usually the same jelly fish, sea horses and turtles, but I have to admit that in also enjoy seeing some giant spectacular creatures that make you feel awe over the creations of the universe, this is why people like Shark Week because it's crazy and cool all wrapped up into none. I'm not sure the Shedd did this well.



We saw a 4D Dora and Diego movie that both girls loved and then we went to the aquatic show that was super lame. There was a dog doing tricks, seriously, I like dogs and all but not really the show I'm looking for at the aquarium. Being from Florida perhaps I see more sea life doing flips and such than an average middle American but come on, a huge disappointment. The layout was not organic at all to follow but I will say that I enjoyed our final look at the aquariums from around the world.



We walked to the Sears tower now known as the Willis Tower on our way we stopped at the largest circulating library in the US. We like libraries. The girls napped while we walked. Our City Pass got us a fast pass through the hour wait at the Tower which meant we didn't wait even a minute. I hate heights but I love these landmarks. My ears are still popping from being 103 floors up!



We swung by to see Cousin Sarah at work and then stop in at Due Pizzeria which was established in 1945. We had a couple of beers and a couple of deep dish pies and it was the best pizza. It was divine and not overly greasy at all as my previous experience with thick crust has been.









From there we took off to the Navy Pier for Summer fireworks which the girls loved and so did we. One of my most favorite things are fireworks.

Vivian fell asleep so we walked around and found a local band covering some covers. We stop for a short bit to let Lydia rock out at bit.

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Day 5 The Field and The Bean

Once upon a time there was a lush green field and it grew a precious jewel of a bean, but this isn't the story in Chicago. We walked to Millennium Park which was an incredible green space to take our request tourist Bean pictures. We took a zillion, here is the one I like of the girls being exactly their age. Not sure why I try to get them to look the same direction every time but I can't help it. I love a perpetual challenge I suppose.




Afterwards we had a couple Chicago dogs and Strawberry Limeade and strolled through the rest of the park down to Museum Campus.




Just as a light sprinkle was threatening to start we popped into The Field Museum of Natural History. It was a nice museum, however I will lay it on the table that I don't care much for museums of old stuff dug up or ultimately stolen from a native group of people out on display as our, white people, way of repenting for the atrocities of yesteryear. It also is lost on me the thrill of seeing dead stuffed animals lined up behind glass, to me a magnificent museum is filled with art. Art is the truest reflection of the human spirit and it touches me to the depth of my soul when I look at a giant oil painting that looks so real and intricate that you can imagine the drop of sweat the painter dripped on the edge while creating it. You can almost smell the effort and passion that is shaped out of stone. That to me is worth admiring, so now that that is all out there, The Field was a nice museum not as nice the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan but still a nice museum.




We purchased the City Pass we hope to make good use of it in the next couple of days. Just at The Field it was worth it because apparently they nickel and dime you normally for a series of special exhibits.




One of them being the underground adventure which was sort of neat because you had to walk through a couple of rooms with funky mirrors which were supposed to represent you shrinking to tiny size which I think Lydia was a little worried about until she realized that we had not actually shrunk.




These pictures are contraband because not only are they additional charged exhibits but no pictures can be taken. However I took the calculated chance with no flash to capture this iridescent moment.




My favorite areas was the exhibit on Senegal where I learned there are no jungles in Africa and I liked a good portion of the Americas because they has a lot of cool looking totem polls.




We hopped a cab back and rested for a short bit before we had dinner at the rainforest café which I have to say was really cool for kids. We wore frog hats, had a rainforest scavenger hunt, sat next to an aquarium where every fish was named Nemo and every time someone ordered a specific dessert the servers would parade out and scream VOLCANO! It may seem nutty and it was, but Lydia loved it! She ate a good portion of her dinner in that chaos which was a delightful surprise. Afterwards the girls fell asleep on the walk home and we strolled down the Magnificent Mile for some casual window shopping.




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