Two Legged Fun

Finding Christmas

December 8, 2014December 8, 2014 chantelledoll

A few days ago I posted my Kids Holiday Book Favorites list that included the book Finding Christmas by Robert Munsch. Last night it happened to be the advent book the kids chose to unwrap, so at bedtime we enjoyed the tale of the young girl desperately searching for her Christmas presents.

Well, today I discovered my 4 year old has been doing a little Christmas finding of his own. I have been tucking most of their gifts up on the shelves of our closet where there is no way they can reach them. I thought I had done a good job keeping them hidden and out of reach, but this morning I found out otherwise.

Our conversation this morning went something like this:

“Can I see that Minion toy up in your closet?”

“Which Minion toy? Why would I have Minion’s in my closet.”

“Yes you do! That one behind the Olaf bag.”

Well, yes there is. I hid it behind the bag where there was no way you could possibly see or know about it.

“What do you mean? I don’t see anything behind the bag.”

“Yeah there is. Just come look over here. There is a Minion toy! I can see it says Minion’s right there!”

Sure enough, in the farthest corner of my closet, there it was. The kid can’t read yet but he sure can recognize logo’s. Luckily he can’t see what the actual toy is so it will still be a bit of a surprise, but it seems I need to work on my hiding skills.

His guess is that it is a Minion spaceship. For those who are curious, I have gone against my better judgement and the actual purchased gift in question is this:

I guess it is time to get busy wrapping!

Celebrations, Everyday Life, Two Legged Fun

12 Kids Holiday Book Favorites

December 6, 2014December 8, 2014 chantelledoll

We have begun our 2nd annual Christmas Book Countdown to Christmas and I wanted to share some of my favourites for those looking to build your own Christmas book collection.

When I decided to do the book countdown last year I had very few Christmas books. I bought a handful at Costco, picked a few special ones at the bookstore and then rounded things out with Christmas books I picked up at the Dollar Store. I will keep adding a couple each year as the kids outgrow the baby board books and I come across new books I know they might enjoy.

For our countdown, my children will open one new book a night and then we will usually pick from the other previously unwrapped Christmas books as their second bedtime story. Most of those on my list got re-read several times last Holiday season and I look forward to reading them all again over the next few weeks.

1. ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore and Illustrated by Jon Goodell

This is such a holiday classic that I think it should be a staple in any Christmas book collection. I absolutely love this version because it has fun holographic images throughout the book for the kids. It is beautifully illustrated and Clement Moore’s classic rhymes flow easily off the tongue.

2. How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess

Another holiday classic, Dr. Suess’ Grinch has been delighting children for decades. We have both the animated and live action movie versions, but there is something to be said for cuddling up and reading the book together.

3. Santa is Coming to Edmonton written by Steve Smallman & illustrated by Robert Dunn and Juan Calle

I wrote a post specifically about how much I liked this book when I purchased it last year. I love that they have several different city specific versions with illustrations of recognizable landmarks in each city so the kids can relate to it.

4. Dear Santa Claus written by Alan Durant & illustrated by Vanessa Cabban

I lucked out when I found this neat little book at the Dollar Store. It shows the correspondence between a young girl and Santa through envelopes filled with little letters on each page. I love that this book is so interactive and kids love discovering what is in the envelopes on each page.

5. Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney

We have just recently discovered the Llama Llama series and it is easy to see why it is so popular with kids. In this holiday version, poor Llama Llama is overwhelmed with the holiday season and the anticipation of waiting for Christmas to finally arrive. It is a cute story and a good reminder to us parents to slow down and try to actually enjoy things with our kids amongst all the shopping, baking, wrapping and activities.

6. Berenstain Bears Trim the Tree by Jan & Mike Berenstain

I grew up with Berenstein Bears so I was happy to add this to our collection. There are a few different Christmas themed Berenstein Bear tales available, but I liked this one for its interactivity. My littlest still loves lift the flap books but she is starting to outgrow some of her baby board books. This book allows her to still lift flaps, but has a story that is geared towards an older audience and will allow us to enjoy the book for many Christmases to come.

7. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

For those who know me, it should come as no surprise that this made my list. The movie is my favorite at this time of year and the book about the recognizable misfits is equally charming.

8. Pete the Cat Saves Christmas by James Dean & Eric Litwin

Another fun series for kids, Pete the Cat is sure to delight in this cute holiday tale. Learn how Pete the Cat helps Santa save Christmas and sing along to the free downloadable song version of the book.

9. How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas? by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague

This fun little tale is new to our collection this year and I chose it specifically for my 4 year old son. It is a fun read and the illustrations are quite comical. It is a good reminder of proper behaviour at this time of year without the kids even knowing what they are learning about.

10. If You Take A Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff & illustrated by Felicia Bond

The “If You Give A…” book series is another popular bedtime read in our house. This book begins with Mouse wanting to string up his movie popcorn for the Christmas tree and takes him through various Christmas activities before winding him full circle back at the movies.

11. Merry Christmas Little Critter! By Mercer Mayer

I loved Little Critter when I was younger and I love them even more as a mom because they are short and easy to read when dealing with requests of “Just one more book, please?”. I introduced my son to Critter this past year so I know he’ll be happy to unwrap one of his favorites character for our nightly Christmas story. Like Berenstain Bears, there are several Christmas themed Critter books available and any one of them would be a good addition to your Christmas book collection. In this one we get to see how the Critter family prepares for and spends Christmas day.

12. Finding Christmas written by Robert Munsch & illustrated by Michael Martchenko

I don’t think you can ever go wrong with Robert Munsch. His quirky humour and the accompanying illustrations captivate the kids in this fun little tale about a girl trying to find where her parents have hidden her Christmas presents.

BONUS HOLIDAY READING

This book is not wrapped up as part of our countdown, but over the past month we have really enjoyed making our way through all the stories in the Disney Christmas Storybook Collection. We got our copy at Costco, but I have seen it in Chapters, Walmart and even our local grocery store. My Frozen obsessed little one was excited it had Anna and Elsa in it, and I love that it helped introduce my kids to many different Disney and Pixar characters in preparation for our Disneyland trip in February. Each story is also quite touching with a special message about being with your loved ones and the true meaning of the holiday season.

With 18 different stories in this one book it easily covers the majority of bedtimes in December!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing what is in our book collection. I am always looking to add new books, so please comment if you have a good suggestion!

Everyday Life, Two Legged Fun

It’s-a Halloween, Mario!

November 1, 2014 chantelledoll

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

As you can guess from the title and pictures, our Halloween had a bit of a Super Mario twist. My 4 year old has been really into Mario lately and spends his iPad time watching all kinds of silly youtube video game reviews. When he decided in early September that he wanted to go as Mario for Halloween, I was a bit worried it might be a phase and he might change his mind. Lucky for me, the Mario love is still going strong and my little guy was more then happy to dress up as his favorite video game character.

For my little girl, I had picked up an adorable owl costume on clearance from Old Navy last year, but she was none too fond of it and big brother insisted she should be Princess Peach. There is only so long he is going to want to coordinate with his little sister, so I had a hard time saying no to the request. I do love themed costumes and it ended up working well with the princess obsession Keira has developed over the past month.

I wasn’t going to buy the dogs new costumes, but them ended up being 75% off when we went to the petstore so I let Camden pick one out for each of them. He chose a bat for Rumbull and a bumble bee for Nova since there are bats and bees in some of the Mario lands. The dogs and kids were not as coordinated as I have done in the past, but it worked!

I wanted to do some special treats for my Mario to hand out at his preschool Halloween party so I ended up coming up with these cute candy filled mushrooms. They were a bit time consuming, but it was an easy craft and all the kids seemed pretty excited to receive them. I will try to get a tutorial up for them in the next couple weeks for anyone planning a Mario party.

And, of course, we had to have a Mario themed pumpkin! Using a big round pumpkin with a nice long stem, and 3 mini pumpkins I was able to put together this cute bomb pumpkin.

It did require a bit of time for spray painting and assembly, but this is one of the easy pumpkins I have ever carved – just two oval eyes! After I was finished, Camden made a point to tell me I did a really good job, so that’s all the validation I needed.

On Halloween we ended up going to the mall again for a little bit. At the mall, Keira was excited to see the animals and bounce in the bouncy castles, while Camden was very excited to have the balloon guy make him a hammer! He has been insisting all week that his Mario costume needed a hammer but I never got around to getting him one. This couldn’t have worked out more perfect and he proudly carried it the whole evening out trick-or-treating.

The bouncy castle at the mall even fit our Mario theme with it’s big toadstool, bouncing turtle and giant plants!

After a quick dinner, we met with some of the neighbours and went out trick-or-treating for a bit. The weather was fairly decent for this time of year and my little Princess did really well for her first time out. The kids all had a lot of fun and it was so nice for Camden to actual have other kids to go out with this year instead of just boring old me!

I just love seeing all the little guys in costume!

Everyday Life, Throwback Thursday, Two Legged Fun, Uncategorized

Throwback Thursday: My Little Pumpkin’s

October 23, 2014 chantelledoll

Happy Thursday! With Halloween fast approaching I thought it would be fun to share some throwback photo’s from Camden and Keira’s first Halloween’s.

I am a sucker for holiday themed clothing and got Camden this cute “Mommy’s little pumpkin” onesie.

His costume was an adorable little monkey I found at Old Navy.

To co-ordinate with Camden, I also found banana costumes for each of the dogs.

Keira was a little younger and smaller for her first Halloween so I decided to attempt the baby-in-the-pumpkin photo. This is better suited to warmer climates, but we managed okay and I was able to get a few cute shots before a complete meltdown outside.

Her first Halloween costume was an elephant. She didn’t co-ordinate with her Spiderman brother and the dogs in their Hulk and Captain America costumes, but she still looked darn cute.

This Halloween we will celebrate a couple more first’s. It will be our first Halloween in our new house and Keira’s is now big enough to go Trick-or-Treating for the first time! It is hard to believe that she had just barely begun walking at this point last year. She did do some Trick-or-Treating at the mall, but this will be the first time I will actually take her out around the neighbourhood.

What are you looking forward to this Halloween?

Crafts, Everyday Life, Little Hands, Two Legged Fun, Uncategorized

Home Depot Kids Workshop

October 7, 2014 chantelledoll

Okay, technically it is no longer summer, but we did manage to finish one more item from our summer bucket list over the weekend: attending a Home Depot Kids Workshop.

Since getting possession of our new house, we have spent more then our fair share of time (and money) at Home Depot and Lowes. We always have the kids in tow and while they are generally pretty agreeable, they have made it known that visiting the hardware store is not the most exciting activity for them. And who can blame them, really? Riding in the racecar cart is only exciting for so long!

On one of our many trips to Home Depot this winter, we just happened to be in the lumber section towards the back of the store and my son noticed that there was a crowd of kids painting and building. He desperately wanted in on the action, but I was pretty sure it that you needed to have registered for it and I quickly steered him away. Expressing his disappointment, I promised it was something I would look into and that he could attend the next time. It took me a few months, but I finally make true to my promise.

The Home Depot Kids Workshops take place on this first Saturday of every month. The project details are always available on their website ahead of time and I was able to register for the class online via their simple form. I admit that when I have looked before the projects haven’t always appealed to me, but I was excited to see this month’s was something my 4 year old could build and actually play with.

We arrived at the store right at 10am. Once there, Camden was welcomed warmly by the Home Depot staff and given his official orange Home Depot apron with his name on it!

Our project for the day was building an Emergency Service vehicle. At each spot at the table was a complete packaged kit with instructions, stickers, wood, wheels and the nails needed to put the project together. The instructions were clear to follow and the wood all had pre-drilled holes that made it easy to get the nails started and in the right locations. It all came together fairly quickly and my son was quite proud that he was able to wield the hammer and actually help put the vehicle together.

Once assembled, they had a table full of paint for the kids to customize their creations. Camden stuck to his favorite color, green!

Instead of waiting in store for the paint to dry, we decided to bring everything home and finish putting the stickers on there. We were given a friendly good-bye from the staff and a cute little certificate of completion that Camden proudly held the entire drive home.

The kids were also each given a project pin that I assume are meant to be collected and added to their apron as they attend more of these clinics.

It was a fun activity for my son and made for a great little “date” for he and I to do without his little sister tagging along. And the best part is that it was all completely FREE!

We had it on our Summer Bucket List, but this is something you can definitely do in those upcoming winter months when you are all going stir crazy and need a reason to get out of the house. Yes, it means yet another trip to the hardware store for the kids, but trust me they won’t be complaining this time around!

Similarily, Lowes offers FREE Build and Grow Clinics for children aged 5 and up. There is a great looking haunted house coming up on October 18th and I have seen other movie themed projects such as Turbo or How to Train Your Dragon in the past. This is something I will definitely be checking later in the year after my son turns 5.

Have you attended one of these workshops in the past? Please describe your favorite project in the comments below!

Everyday Life, Two Legged Fun

Bubble Wand Light Sabers

September 15, 2014 chantelledoll

Have a Star Wars fan in your house? Planning a Star Wars themed party? By simply inserting glow bracelets into bubble tubes you can create your own cheap and easy DIY light saber!

My original plan from our Summer Bucket List was to actually make glowing bubbles but it was one of those things that looks great on pinterest, and didn’t quite turn out in real life. I tried to cut open the glow sticks and pour the “glow juice” into the bubbles to make the glowing bubbles, but the thin glow bracelets made it hard to pour any liquid out.

After some frustration, I decided to give up and just inserted the glowing sticks right into the bubble tubes. Voila! Instant light sabers!

My son was super excited to have his own light saber and the kids didn’t even notice the missing glow bubbles. They were just as happy to use their glowing light sabers to bat at the non-glowing bubbles and each other.

(My apologies for the crappy quality of photos in this post! It is hard to capture pictures of glowing objects and the kids were swatting the bubbles faster then I could blow them and take a photo.)

This was a cheap and easy activity and is something I am very likely to repeat again in the future. It would make a great accessory for a Star Wars themed Halloween costume and they made for fun in the bathtub in the dark later that night.

Glow sticks/bracelets and bubble wands are easily found at Walmart, Target or Dollar Stores. Unfortunately bubble wands are usually a summer seasonal item so they may be hard to track down come late fall or winter.

Everyday Life, Two Legged Fun

A Trip Back in Time: Fort Edmonton Park

September 10, 2014 chantelledoll

Visiting Fort Edmonton Park was one of the items on our Summer Bucket List. After taking the kids the past two summers, it has become a bit of an annual summer tradition now for us and is definitely something I now look forward to in the summer months.

This year we made our way through the park travelling backwards through time. We began at the 1920’s midway, went down 1905 Street, stepped onto 1885 street and then made our way all the way back to the 1846 Hudson’s Bay Fort.

My kids are still a little small for some of the rides on the midway, but they were still happy to ride the beautifully restored carousel and go for a spin on the hand-cranked bug swing ride.

Camden was also excited to try his hand at the fishing game again this year. For prizes, each kid came away with a plastic horse toy they proudly held onto for most of the day.

After enjoying the midway, we headed down the wooden walkways towards a farmstead where Keira happily discovered a pen of horses. This is just one of many animal pens throughout the park and seeing their excitement over the animals is a large part of the reason I love bringing the kids here.

Next, we hit up the ice cream shop! This is definitely one of the highlights of a trip to Fort Edmonton. We enjoyed our cones outside the confectionary store and then made our way across the street to the movie theater where my 4 year old was quite fascinated with the whole notion of movies being in black and white. “But why do they not have colors mommy?”

We then made our way through the firehouse and to the playground where the kids ran, climbed and worked off their ice cream cones. It is not a fancy playground by any means, but the swings, teeter-totters, slide and jungle gym are more then enough for the kids. I also love that it is tucked back away behind the buildings under a canopy of trees and is a nice spot to enjoy a packed lunch.

Our next step back in time was past the tent city and teepee and onto 1885 street. While I was in University, I spent an entire summer baking cookies and working in the bakery on 1885. My attire included a long skirt, apron and a lovely bonnet while I spent the day in front of hot oven in the bakehouse. I was disappointed last year to see the bakery and bakehouse were no longer running and a new bakery area had been put in the hotel across the dirt street.

Some things that haven’t changed are the horse drawn carriage ride running through 1885 street and the delicious hard candy’s from McDougall’s store. We enjoyed a bag of the raspberry flavor as we were waiting for our turn on the wagon ride!

Even though there are all kinds of great old houses and buildings to look through, that day we didn’t actually view the inside of many of the buildings because the kids were too happy running around outside and finding animals. At the urging of one of the costumed interpreters I did end up getting them into one of the homes where they were excited to find a kids playroom upstairs.

Before we went to Fort Edmonton, I tried to explain to Camden where we were going and showed him pictures from our past trips. He was quite excited by a picture from when he was 2 and he got to ride a pony so I promised he could ride one again this time. It was Keira’s first time riding and I think both kids really enjoyed the experience.

Finally, we ended our trip through the park at the actual Fort. The kids were getting pretty tired by this point, so we didn’t do too much exploring but we did get a good glimpse into a few of the buildings to see what life used to be like for the early settlers here in Edmonton.

We then wrapped up our day with a trip back to the main gates on the steam engine. We had already gone on our train journey with Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions earlier this summer, but the kids were still very excited to get to ride a train. If there is a train involved, you can pretty much guarantee a successful outing with toddlers in tow!

If you haven’t been to Fort Edmonton Park, I highly recommend it. This is my third year taking the kids and each year just seems to be getting better as they are able to do more and are learning more. It is fairly widespread so I brought the stroller along for my youngest, but we were able to make our through the entire park without using it too much. There are lots of areas to stop along the way and there is so much to see and do that I don’t think the kids really notice how much walking their little legs have done.

And if you are an AMA member, don’t forget to show your card at the gate for 15% off admission!

Celebrations, Everyday Life, HOME, Two Legged Fun

Family Fun Down on the Farm

September 8, 2014September 10, 2014 chantelledoll

It has been a pretty great past several days at the Doll house. After sitting around all last long weekend waiting for a sod delivery that never came, we finally got our grass on Wednesday evening and were able to get the backyard all done Thursday afternoon. I love the grass and can’t tell you how happy I am to have the dirt covered up and finally feel like there is an end in sight to our summer long landscaping projects!

Thursday morning was also a big day for Camden as he got to go check out his preschool classroom and meet his teacher for the first time. He seems pretty excited to start school next week and was even a little disappointed that Keira and I were staying with him for his first day.

Friday was my birthday. We celebrated with a low key lunch out at Red Robin (hello free birthday burger!) and a delicious cake my husband picked up locally from Wild Earth Bakery & Cafe. It was a delicious banana cake, coated in peanut butter buttercream with a covering of chocolate ganache. It was also adorned with chocolate covered bacon which we were a little unsure of, but my kids both can’t seem to get enough of.

I have been trying for the last couple weekends to get my husband to step away from the landscaping/yardwork and accompany the kids and I to the Lacombe Corn Maze. After managing to get the sod laid Thursday and using my birthday as a bit of a manipulation tool, I convinced him to take the one hour drive south Saturday morning to visit the Kraay Family Farm and get lost in the maze. The weather was perfect and I was happy to get some quality family time in on what could be one of the last fleeting days of warm weather.

My husband and I had been to the corn maze several summers back and I was impressed to see how much has changed in the 10+ years since we first went. From what I remember, the main highlight was the corn mazes and there were only a few small attractions for the kids. Now, the corn maze seems to play second to all the playgrounds, games, rides, animals, and other kid centered attractions throughout the farm.

There was a lot to take in, but one of the first things Camden decided to try was the giant bouncing pillows just inside the gates. Camden had fun, but you do get bounced around pretty good if there are other jumpers nearby.

Next up Keira led us towards the animals. There were ducks, chickens, pot bellied pigs, a miniature donkey and some goats. The goats have a nifty set of catwalks that go all over the animal pens and allow you to view the goats far up above your heads!

We then took a short tour around some of the farm in a tractor drawn wagon train. Camden was excited to point out the pumpkins turning orange in the pumpkin patch and Keira was just happy to go for a ride!

On the drive down I was feeling a little bad about not having completed quite a few of our Summer Bucket List items, but we were able to check off a few from this outing. Mini golf was on our list, and the farm had a great dinosaur themed course that is included with price of admission.

And while it isn’t quite go-karting, I am counting these pedal powered karts as going go-karting on our Bucket List. Camden was just big enough to be able to pedal them and was happy zooming past the other drivers as he made his way around the small track.

With slides, a tire horse merry-go-round, multiple play structures, a giant sandbox and unique crooked playhouses this is one of the best play areas we have been to all summer. There were no shortage of things to keep the kids busy and I am sure we could go back repeatedly and they would not be bored. We had a hard time prying them away to try some of the other activities we wanted to see!

One activity I was surprised by how much Keira enjoyed was playing in a bin full of dried corn. I think she would have happily stayed there for hours rolling in it, digging her toes into it and running it through her hands. There was a giant sandbox just steps away, but she was far more interested in the corn.

After a quick hot dog lunch, we made out way over to play a few games and get ready to watch one of the twice daily pig races. There are a couple concession stands throughout the farm as well of plenty of tables and seating if you wanted to bring in your own picnic lunch. The farm also rents out barbeques and there are tents available for special events such as birthday parties.

The pig races were short, but cute. “Boss Hogg” did a good job commentating and getting the kids involved, and it was funny to see some of the pigs not too sure of where they should be running.

Then, finally, we made our way through one of the three corn mazes. It was a lot of walking and both kids were getting pretty pooped by the end, but my husband did a good job of not leading us too astray. There are also clues and employees throughout the maze for those who might be completely directionally challenged!

And we ended our trip to the farm with, what else, but ice cream!! I think the kids would be more then happy if I built next summer’s bucket list solely on places we could go to enjoy ice cream.

The farm and corn maze visit made for a fantastic day, but the icing on the cake was really in the evening when this happened:

While relaxing with some drinks in the front yard, I watched how well Camden was doing riding his balance bike and decided to take the training wheels off his pedal bike to have him give it a try. I was expecting some wobbliness and failed attempts, but what he did blew both my husband and I away. With little more then a small push from my husband, my little guy took off pedalling his 2 wheeler like a pro. Within minutes he was going up curbs and riding in circles like it was old hat to him! I didn’t even have the video camera ready to catch the first try because there was no way I thought he would be able to do it that easily.

I couldn’t be prouder of my little boy and can’t think of a more wonderful way to start off being 32. I am looking forward to more upcoming family adventures and am excited to watch as the kids continue to grow and surprise us in the year ahead.

For more information on the Kraay Family Farm, be sure to check out their fantastic website or visit the Lacombe Corn Maze on Facebook. As you can see by my many photos, there is no shortage of things to do on the farm and I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for fun activities to do with their kids in and around Central Alberta.

Everyday Life, Two Legged Fun

A Trip Back in Time: The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

September 3, 2014September 3, 2014 chantelledoll

I have driven past the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, just east of Edmonton, several times and have always wanted to check it out. My mom lives out that direction, so this summer we decided to meet up and spend the day together with the kids seeing the sites.

It took the kids and I less the an hour to drive out to the village from the Southside of Edmonton and the highway is well marked as you near the Village to make it easy to find. There is ample parking and the staff all seemed very helpful and informative if you did have questions.

There were also costumed interpreters throughout the park that did an excellent job of keeping in character. My mom questioned the young lady in the grocery store about where they found the old packages and bottles and she would not break character, telling her they had just arrived via train.

The village is fairly widespread which means a lot of walking to get between the different buildings. Even to get from the main gates into the village is quite the little hike through a treed area and over a small pond. I brought my wagon along, but was quite tired by the end pulling the kids over the gravel roadways.

There is a horse-drawn wagon that runs throughout the park and is happy to help transport you through the Village. We hopped aboard it for a small loop just so the kids could enjoy a wagon ride.

There are two different churches on site and they have done a wonderful job restoring the religious artifacts and artwork inside. There weren’t as many buildings as I was expecting, but they all seem very well kept and authentic to the time period.

The village seems to be constantly adding buildings and there were quite a few under restoration when we were there so it might be worth going back in several years to see how it has changed.

The farm animals were, by far, the biggest hit for my kids. They were excited to see the pigs, horses, sheep and chickens. After spending the day chasing chickens, my youngest has now happily added “bock bock” to her vocabulary.

It wasn’t the most exciting of places to take young children, but there was plenty of space for them to run and explore, and we managed to find enough to keep their interest.

One of my favorite buildings was the old school house. We toured it just after a summer camp group had gone through and it looked like the teacher was doing a good job leading them through some games in the schoolyard. Keira was just happy to test out sitting in all the desks!

Overall it was a nice day and I am glad the kids got to spend some time with Grandma. After touring the village, we wrapped up our day by enjoying a delicious sausage, cabbage roll and perogy lunch from the food counter on site.

I was glad to finally see the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, but I don’t think we’ll make plans to go back anytime soon. As mentioned, it was not the most exciting of places for my young kids and I didn’t like the fact that it was so widespread. In terms of historic villages, my kids get far more enjoyment out of Fort Edmonton and I think that will continue to be our go-to in the summer. Watch for our review of that next!

Two Legged Fun, Uncategorized

Goin’ to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo….

August 19, 2014October 5, 2014 chantelledoll

One of our Summer Bucket list items was to visit the zoo. We have managed to complete this Bucket List item twice over, at two different and amazing zoos: The Calgary Zoo and the Edmonton Valley Zoo.

The Calgary Zoo

Back in June we made a weekend trip to Calgary to visit my sister. The main purpose of the trip was to pick out the paving stones we wanted to order for our patio, but we decided to make an entire weekend of it. I looked at other things to do with the kids in Calgary, but ended up coming back to the Calgary Zoo again because it was something we had done before and enjoyed.

I knew the kids were going to like it, but I was still surprised by just how excited my 2 year old animal lover got over seeing all the creatures.

I had brought our folding wagon along because I know it is a lot of walking, but my two year old was insistent on walking almost the entire zoo on her own so she could see all the animals up close. Nothing beats seeing the excitement come over a young child when they spot an animal in one of the habitats!

And, of course, like most of our outings this summer, there had to be ice cream.

After our ice cream break, we headed to the back of the zoo where I was excited to see they have added on some kid friendly attractions such as a carousel, train ride and a great playground. It was a nice break from the walking and the kids were excited to try out the rides and animal themed park.

Camden also discovered some large rocks that he happily climbed.

And in true little sister fashion, Keira had to get in on the climbing action too!

The dinosaur park has been there for as long as I can remember. I remember enjoying it as a kid, but since it is such a big zoo we have ended up skipping over it the last few visits. This time Camden seemed pretty interested in seeing the dino’s so we decided to take a walk through the Prehistoric area where we discovered all kinds of different dinosaurs along the path.

And, we finally got to see the penguins on our way back out. I think Keira could have spent the entire day just watching the penguins swimming and waddling and hopping around their Penguin Plunge habitat. I don’t blame her, this is one of my favorite parts of the Calgary Zoo now too.

Edmonton Valley Zoo

I can’t say enough about how impressed I am with the improvements to the Edmonton Valley Zoo. Before it didn’t even compare to the Calgary Zoo, but the new entrance and expanded facilities has it looking more and more like a “real zoo”.

I don’t know how, but some how we managed to miss seeing the biggest animal at the zoo – Lucy the Elephant. She must have been out when we passed by her cage and then we didn’t see her out on her walk as we made our way through the rest of the zoo. I was a little disappointed since we didn’t get to see any elephants at the Calgary Zoo either, but there were still plenty of other amazing animals to look at.

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One thing that hasn’t changed in decades at the Edmonton zoo is the petting zoo area, now known as their Urban Farm. Camden sat it out so he wouldn’t have to wash his hands after petting the animals, but Keira was right in there with the goats, sheep, ponies and chickens. This kid really has no fear when it comes to animals and I love seeing the excitement on her face and the jump in her step with each new creature she gets to come face to face with.

Another highlight is the train that runs past the Urban Farm and through a tunnel. It is a short ride, but the kids love it and there always seems to be a pretty good line-up to get on the train. I also love that this attraction is now included with admission, whereas we had to buy tickets to ride the similar train at the Calgary Zoo.

And I must say the Edmonton Zoo has Calgary Zoo beat hands down for ice cream selection. They have a concession stand dedicated solely to frozen treats where you can find any kind of popsicle or hard ice cream flavor you could ever want. Camden was pretty darn excited to pick out a Sonic popsicle complete with gumball eyes!

In the newer area of the Valley Zoo is a whole section of rocks and tunnels meant to be climbed through and explored. It made it a little hard to keep track of my two kids, but they had a great time. I particularly liked the giant beaver house the kids could walk right into.

Although they were two different trips, there were many common elements that made for a fun day. For my kids you seem to be guaranteed a good time if there are interesting animals, a train ride, big things to climb on and ice cream!

And the marker of a good time for me? Two happy, sleeping kids in the backseat after both visits!