April 14, 2011

The weather has been keeping us inside a lot lately, and as a result, Alex has had to play indoors. He has been tearing around the house, bouncing on the bed, climbing the furniture, and jumping off the tables. I decided it was time for us to visit the bounce houses at Inflatable Kingdom to burn some of his energy in a safer and less destructive fashion. This would be Alex’s third visit to Inflatable Kingdom. He had his first birthday party there and went again for the Halloween Party. I was excited because he has gotten much more mobile and adventuresome since his last visit, so I just knew he would have tons of fun bouncing and going down the slides.

While the Open Play was not very busy that day, there were other kids bouncing in the bounce house, sliding down the slides, and generally having a great time. All of the kids and adults were so nice to Alex. When we navigated the Wacky World obstacle course, a little boy cheerfully talked to us and accompanied us most of the way through. When we bounced in the bounce houses, kids stopped and talked to us. Everyone was smiling and having fun.

Open Play is a wonderful alternative to other more crowded places to take kids. Parents with younger kids, like Alex, can play with their children to give them confidence and keep them safe. The staff keeps a very close eye on all of the activity, so parents of older, more independent children can relax and watch their children from the comfortable seating area while sipping coffee and munching on popcorn.

Ironically, Alex was too tired to play much this day. On the road to Inflatable Kingdom, he fell asleep in the car. I woke him up when we got there, but Alex really just wanted to go back to sleep. We will have to go back to play again some other time and next time I will make sure that he has already had his nap.

Open Play is just $5 in advance or $8 at the door. If you have a little guy like Alex and never know when he will take a nap, spending the extra money to get tickets at the door might be worth your while. That way you can make sure you r child has napped and is ready to play. However, because they limit the number of participants at Open Play, I’d recommend that you call ahead and make sure there are enough spaces available if you intend to buy tickets at the door. Inflatable Kingdom can also set up private play groups and is an awesome place to hold a birthday party.

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1. Indoor Play Park at the East Portland Community Center The “park” is set up in the Community Center’s gymnasium....

February 20, 2011

Sunday we met up with my cousin’s family for lunch and afterwards we wanted the kids to get a chance to play together. The weather was brisk, with a little rain and wind, so the park was not a good option. I had picked up a discount coupon at the gas station for OMSI’s new show “Lost Egypt” and my cousin is an member, so the bunch of us all headed over to OMSI to play.

I was eager to visit the Egypt show, but we started our visit to OMSI by bringing the kids over to the Science Playground. This is the first time I have visited the Science Playground, and I was impressed. There was so much to do in there, and the kids loved it! Alex (17 months) and his cousin Zelia (30 months) stayed with my mom and Zelia’s dad, while the rest of the adults went to visit the Egypt show.

“Lost Egypt: has lots of interesting information about ancient Egyptian society and culture with hands on exhibits for adults and children (though the kids stuff in the exhibit is more suited for older kids then ours). There is a mummy, Annie, on exhibit and you can learn all about her and other ancient Egyptians. The line to see Annie was pretty long, but we watched the science globe while we were standing in line and learned about ocean temperatures and currents.

I headed back over to the Science Playground after I saw the mummy. I’m sure I could have spent a lot longer in the exhibit, but I do get a bit antsy about leaving my “baby” too long. I need not have worried though, as Alex was having a great time. I joined him in the in the sand box, which he loved and did not want to leave. Eventually I pulled him out of the sand box so we could explore the rest of the room, and he played in the giant tree trunk, with the crane, and with the trunk. I talked to some of the other parents there who visit the museum weekly to play with their kids. What a great place! Perhaps next time we go, we’ll get a membership so we can visit more often.

Another great place to take kids in Portland is Inflatable Kingdom. Open Play is just $5 in advance or $8 at the door. You can also schedule a private play group or birthday party.

The worst part about visiting a fun place like OMSI or Inflatable Kingdom is leaving. Neither of the kids wanted to leave OMSI on Sunday, but the museum closes at 5:30 on Sunday, so we had to go.

OMSI is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Mondays when the public schools are closed. The museum charges $12 for adult admission and $9 for youth admission. Membership starts at $75 a year.

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February 18-20, 2011

I love horses, always have. I grew up drawing horses, collecting model horses, and riding the real ones. So I enjoy going to horse events and learning more about horses. My mom also loves horses and my 17 month old son, Alex, is already enamored with them. So when my mom planned latest visit to Portland, she picked the dates specifically so we could visit the Washington State Horse Expo together.

The Washington State Horse Expo is an annual event at the Clark County Event Center. This year the Expo took place February 18 through 20. Daily tickets were $10 adults, $8 age 7 to 12, and free age 6 and under. Parking at the Event Center was $6, and visitors had to pay each time they drove into the Event Center parking lot. We went to the event on Friday and Saturday, but skipped Sunday as two days proved to be enough for one weekend for all of us.

The Expo took place in two buildings. We started each day at the Expo at the Dr. Jack Giesy Arena watching the Extreme Cowboy Race, an obstacle course set up to test horses and riders trail riding skills. The audio in the building was awful and it was cold, so while we had intended on watching several other presenters in the building as well, we ended up skipping most of them and spending the majority of the rest of the event in the Exposition Hall. This was a shame since the Dr. Jack Giesy Arena had a larger arena, there were many interesting presentations scheduled there, and there was more seating there. Also worth noting about the Dr. Jack Giesy Arena, the bottom row or two of the bleachers are no good for watching the presenters as there is a wood wall around the base of the arena, which is all you can see from the lower bleacher rows. I held Alex and we stood to watch most the presentations when we were in this building, which worked long as Alex was willing to be held. When he got tired of being held, I let him run around a bit, but he is good at finding ways to get in trouble…

The Exposition Hall was heated, much more comfortable and child friendly. The building housed two arenas, a round corral, a stage for presenters, vendors, and inflatables and pony rides for the kids.

I did not see any good places for napping or nursing, so little children who need to nap and nurse will probably have an easier time if they only stay at the Expo a few hours or if they leave and come back later. I was lucky enough to get Alex to nap in the stroller each day, which was fortunate since we did not want to leave and come back so he could take a nap. Alex is not great about napping in the stroller, but if he is tired enough, he’ll sleep pretty much anywhere.

Friday’s event started at 3 pm and we stayed until about 6:30 pm when Alex was very clear that he would not put up with any more. He was hungry and tired and there was nothing he was willing to eat at the concession stand. The vendors served traditional concession fare: Pizza, hamburgers, chips, and soda, but Alex is not a big fan on any of those food items, and a kid can only eat so many goldfish crackers.

Saturday the event started at 9 am and went all day, which made for a very long day for Alex. This day I was a little smarter about food and packed Alex some ramen noodles along with his crackers and drink. When Alex would no longer sit still so I could watch the presentations, we took the opportunity to explore the vendors and the horse trailers. One of his favorite things to do at the Expo was climbing up and down the ramp of one of the horse trailers.

Since Saturday was a much longer day, Alex wanted to go home long before my mom and I wanted to leave. We took Alex over to the inflatables to entertain him a little longer. It was $1 to either go through the obstacle course or go down the slide, so I paid a dollar for each of us and we went through the obstacle course. We bounced a bit at the entry, but a line formed behind us, so we had to move on through, which was a shame since Alex did not really want to go through the obstacles yet. He’s still a pretty little guy and he takes a while to warm up to inflatables. When we go to Inflatable Kingdom, we have learned to start by playing in the bounce house until Alex is warmed up enough to enjoy the slides and the fun house. The other kids were enjoying the inflatables at the Expo, so it was very nice that they were there; however, if you just want to play on inflatables, Open Play at Inflatable Kingdom is a much better deal. It’s just $5 in advance to play and kids can bounce, slide, and go through the fun house as many times as they like.

After going though the fun house, I still had a grumpy toddler, then Alex made it very clear what he wanted to do. He walked over to the pony rides, pointed at the pony, and said “loosh” which seems to be his word for “I want that.” So we got him a pony ride. The pony rides were $5, and it was well worth it. Sure I have a horse at home, but these ponies are much smaller and less intimidating for a little kid. This was the first time Alex has ridden without his mom, and he loved it. A belt around his waist held him on the saddle, I walked right next to him, and we went around in circles. Alex really liked the pony ride and would have liked to go again.

We stuck around the Expo until about 5. It was fun for Alex for a while, but this was way to long for poor Alex. He was tired and hungry and wanted to go home. We took him home, had dinner, and left him off with his dad, so my mom and I could return for the evening show.

The evening show was $8. I think you were suppose to pay for parking again too, but I was able to talk our way out of it since we had to take the baby home (never hurts to ask). The show took place in the Dr. Jack Giesy Arena and the place was packed. We had not bought tickets ahead of time in case we did not make it back for the evening show, and we had to stand in a long line to get in. The tickets were cash only, so it was lucky that I had gone to the bank earlier in the day. When we did get into the arena, there were no seats left on the bleachers except ones in the front row (where you could not see). There were also very few places to stand along the fence. We ended up standing behind a couple tables that had been set up for some kids to sit on. The visibility was not great, the arena was cold, and we could not understand the announcer, but it was still a great show. We loved watching all of the gorgeous horses, and there was some fabulous riding and choreography.

We were standing next to a family with two little girls for the evening show. The younger one was probably around a year old and she was tired and cold and wanted nothing more then to go home and go to bed. The older one was probably 4 or 5, and she really enjoyed watching the show.

The Washington State Horse Expo is over now for this year, but if you are interested in attending a horse expo, the Northwest Horse Fair is coming up March 18 through 20 in Albany, Oregon. More information is available online at http://equinepromotions.net/NWHorseFair/NWHFHome.html.

HL

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