The Grass is Always Greener

Hayden's puppy party made it online!

Red Tricycle (www.redtri.com), a great parenting website, has revamped itself and added many new features (including my favorite - a party planning section).  They have started featuring "real" parties, and several of the parties that I've created or photographed have made it online!  For these and other great party ideas, check out www.redtri.com and click on the Birthdays link!

 

Free Friday Night at Imagine Children's Museum in Everett!

I can't say enough good things about Imagine Children's Museum.  I think it is the best indoor play space in the Puget Sound, and well worth the drive up to Everett for those of you who are further south.  And I'm not alone - Imagine has received numerous awards over the past few years as the best play place, museum, camp and party place.

Imagine has been busy updating the museum again - they recently expanded the train exhibit, updated their farm area, and added a Treasure Cove (think pirate fanatics!).  In fact, if you have a little Pirate at home, be sure to visit the museum on Sunday, September 20th between 11 am and 5 pm for their High Seas Pirates Day.

Every year we purchase a membership to the museum, and are fortunate enough to only live about 15 minutes from the museum.  But if you don't have a membership and want to try it out, or are on a tight budget, be sure to visit the museum every third Friday night each month between 5:30 and 9:00 pm when admission is absolutely FREE!  If you're worried about the time bumping up against dinner, no worries - the museum has hot dogs, chips, cookies and juice for sale those nights, or you can take a break from the museum and walk to one of the great restaurants within a block of the museum.    

Next free Friday night at Imagine is this Friday, September 18th.  Enjoy!

100 Birthday Party Ideas!

If you knew me, you would know that one of my great loves in life is throwing parties.  My kid's each have a fully tricked-out party each year on their birthday, and we usually host a Halloween party, as well as other seasonal parties.  

I just found a great resource for party planning and wanted to share: an article from Seattle's Child magazine on 100 birthday party ideas (resources).  Check it out here!

Birthday Party Idea #101 - I just found out about this and wish I had known about it sooner: The Lego Store in Bellevue Square mall hosts birthday parties, and the packages are very reasonable!  Check it out here.

Finding Wonderland: Fox Hollow Equestrian Farm in Issaquah

Last December and just before Christmas, I had the privilege of photographing a large family reunion at Fox Hollow Equestrian Farm in Issaquah. (Photos are posted on my photography blog at http://teddiyaeger.blogspot.com) The entire farm was blanketed in snow, but even then I could tell that it was a magnificent estate.  The owners, Autumn and Tony, had moved to it recently from the East Coast, and they have done a lot of work in the few months since I was last there.  The farm is a bustling place - a full riding school as well as summer camps and seasonal events, plus their new drop-in play dates!  I'm personally excited for their Autumn Harvest and Halloween events in October!  They also have packages for company events, family reunions, birthday parties and such.  

Fox Hollow is the kind of place where I would love to raise our kids.  It's the kind of place that you hand down to your children and your children's children.  Perfect for celebrating holidays, family reunions, the seasons, life in general.  The kind of place I would purchase in a heartbeat if I won the lottery.  But since that has happened (yet), I will have to be content with visiting it from time to time, when it's open to the public.

It's also the perfect place to spend an idyllic summer afternoon, so a couple of weeks ago, I headed out to Fox Hollow with my two little ones in tow (ages 5 and 2 & 1/2 years) for one of the drop-in play dates.  The cost was only $5 per person.  The kids immediately started running around the barn, picking up any farm animal that they could and petting those that they couldn't pick up.  There were chickens, peacocks, bunnies, kittens (running loose in the loft), horses, ponies, ducks and even a pot belly pig (who we discovered quietly sleeping in the shade).  The kids then rode around on little John Deere tractors on the lawn, and then discovered the huge inflatable castle to bounce around in.  After a while, I convinced them to follow me to the back lawn behind the house for a snack and rest in the shade.  (Several picnic tables were filled with moms and children having picnic lunches.)  We wandered over to the stream (gated off from the rest of the lawn), to watch a couple of inner-tubers.  Issaquah Creek runs right behind the property at a nice, gentle pace, and I suddenly wished we had brought our swimsuits.

Which is exactly how we were treated the whole time - as guests. From the time we were escorted to a parking space in their large lot, to signing in and wandering the grounds, there was always someone greeting us, asking if we needed anything.  It was an absolutely idyllic summer afternoon, and I thank Autumn, Tony and their family and staff for their hospitality.

For more information on Fox Hollow's events, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Planet Happy Kids

I first discovered the completely quaint Planet Happy in Ravenna a couple of years ago while searching for playgroup activities, and find it such a quiet refuge from most "toy stores" (they label themselves as a studio/showroom).  Don't wander in expecting to find a huge, fluorescent-lit warehouse full of all things Disney and Lego.  This tiny shop breathes life into the toy shopping experience, and manages to create a destination for families looking for something to do!  It's located just to the north of University Village, next to the Queen Mary Tea Room.

Animals are always a big draw for kids, and this shop offers both the living/eating/pooping variety and non-living/eating/pooping (a.k.a. plush) variety.  Doves, finches and a hedgehog inhabit the store, and apparently the birds have been breeding, so there are now babies too!  

Guests of the store can also make buttons, bath salts and engage in other small activities when they visit. (When we were there the first time, the kids and I were able to make our own scented massage lotion, buttons and plant seeds to take home with us - all for a couple of dollars.)  The store also hosts events and parties, and the latest is a free story time in Mandarin.  Planet Happy also offers art classes on Saturdays, with a different art project each week.  Check their website for more information.

Website: http://planethappytoys.com
Blog:  http://iamplanethappy.blogspot.com/
Phone:  206-729-0154

Of course, they also sell toys and great ones at that (Plan Toys, Haba, Folkmanis, and unique gifts from local crafts people), which you can purchase in store or online.  And for every $10 they sell, they plant a tree (hence the name, Planet Happy).  So...kids happy, parents happy, Planet Happy!

Hayden's Puppy Birthday Party