Boeing Creek Park

My sister is on a quest to visit every park in Shoreline, so this one was her recommendation and it was awesome. We parked right on 175th St and ate a picnic lunch among the tall pines. There is great space for the kids to roam while others finish eating.

There are several well marked trail options. If you're looking for a quick trip, try the pond loop trail.. only .27 miles. We took the pond loop trail to the hidden lake trail, which connected us to the boeing creek trail. Most of this trail was stroller friendly until we came to the drop down to the stone river crossing. If you had two people, you could possibly carry the stroller down, but I would highly recommend a baby carrier for this one. The stone creek crossing is a perfect stopping point. I would have loved to stay here longer and explore. We threw some rocks and enjoyed the cool water.

This trail/experience is very doable. I would feel comfortable taking my two kids by myself. Everything felt so quiet and clean.

Visit this place soon! There are so many more trails we didn't discover.. i'm sure many more gems!

Here's a trail map to get an idea of where we went. You can see the stone crossing on the map.

http://cosweb.ci.shoreline.wa.us/uploads/attachments/par/webparks/boeingcreektrailmap.pdf

My summer bucket list

**Post disclaimer: I don't want this post to create any pinterest type guilt.. that you should be doing more , etc.  I love planning and being out of the house and being active. My kids are at a really ideal age for being out and about, and they both love to do new things. However, I remember not that long ago when my "adventures" would simply consist of surviving the day. My bucket list might have included grocery store shopping or getting dressed. I remember the first year my sister and I started coming up with a list, her kids were 2 and 4, and they were able to go and do lots of things, while I had a baby and felt super tied to the house for naps. SO, if you have kids who have a hard time leaving, or maybe you like being at home, or maybe you have difficult age kids to get out, don't dismay.. i've been there!

One of my favorite things to do with my sister is make our summer bucket list. It's so fun to dream of sunny, warm days ahead ripe of adventure. We don't always accomplish everything on our list, but it's fun to be ambitious. Without further adieu, here is my list for summer 2015.

Water fight with Heavilands & Wornicks

Touch a truck event 5/31 @ Magnuson Park 

Bowling spin alley

Seafair Blue Angels Practice at Mt. Baker Beach

Magnolia Seafair Parade 8/1 10:30am

Karaoke in Cromwell Park (Tuesday nights in July)

Jetty Island

Woodlands park in Kirkland 

Picnic at Gasworks park to watch seaplanes, then molly moons for dessert

Eat on the pink door rooftop on a sunny day 

Explore paradise valley conservation area in woodinville 

Make homemade Popsicles

Host 2 summer fun days 

Eat on the patio of elemental wood fired pizza 

Bike the iron horse tunnel trail 

Walk around gold creek pond 

Visit Bellingham and go on the lake whatcom train ride 

Key arena fountain on a hot day 

Pick a summer science experiment http://fun-a-day.com/summer-science-experiments-for-kids/

Camp in the living room 

Pick an outdoor art project http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2014/04/15-outdoor-art-projects-kids.html

Zoo for new tiger exhibit

A farmer's market

Berry picking

Kids in Edmonds 4th of July parade

Greenlake wading pool and Zeek's pizza

Alki Beach

I had an early doctor appointment today so the kids and I were downtown by 8 in the morning. After the appointment, I decided to take the kids for an adventure to Alki Beach. Man I love that place.

We started the morning by trying out a new park, called Whale Tail Park. It is conveniently located a block from the beach, and has a very fitting beach theme. The playground had a boat, digging area with lots of different machines, two different swinging areas, a whale tail, and a play area that looks like a light house.

The kids had a blast playing "rescues", going back and forth between the boat and lighthouse to save the whale.

After playing for a long time, we walked over to the beach.  I love the nice fine sand on Alki. The kids and I dug tunnels, filled up buckets with water, admired all the ferry boats passing by, visited the statue of liberty, and collected sea shells.

After all the playing, we worked up quite the appetite. What better place to feast than Slices. I love their patio and the ease of quickly ordering a piece of pizza. There are so many other places to eat at in that area.. spuds, pegasus, blue moon burgers, etc.

We tried to visit the lighthouse, but discovered it is a private residence and only open during touring hours, which seems to be mostly on the weekends from 1-4.

If you're feeling super adventurous, try renting a surrey or cruiser from Wheel Fun Rental, right on the beach. We rented a surrey in the past, and it was an awesome family event. I didn't risk it without the peddling power of the hubby, but the kids were begging to come back and try it.

Kayu Kayu Ak Park.. aka the train park

If you ever find yourself down in Richmond Beach. a stop at the train park is a must! This tucked away, relatively empty park is one of our favorite parks in Seattle.

There are so many fun components.. a flat sidewalk loop for bike riding, a platform for train viewing, swings, a fun playground, picnic tables, and endless blackberries during the summer.

My sister has had almost all of my nieces birthday parties at this park. There isn't a covered pavilion, but she has borrowed a picnic tent, and every year we have had the entire park practically to ourselves.

My sister made this awesome video several years ago which really shows some of the amazing features. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEvl9Js4wVo

Richmond Beach Fire Safety Center

The Richmond Beach Fire Safety Center is one of my favorite local finds yet.  The safety center is located in a vintage firehouse and offers an educational field trip opportunity for 15 kids or less, ages 3-5. The field trip group can just be a group of friends . The educator, Melanie, is so warm and easy to work with.

There are two rooms at the safety center. The main space has a kids sized fire pole, many firefighter dress up suits, a diplo blocks tablue, coloring station, and much to the kids delight, a real fire truck that can be played in.

The second room is completely filled with toy fire engines.. There has to be at least 50 different trucks. There are also several play firehouses, phones to practice dialing 911, and several large studded animals. I have been with kids as young as two, and they all loved it. For kids around 4, they show an educational and catchy video on fire safety.

                                       

I can't recommend this resource enough. You can visit their website to contact melanie for your own field trip . Your kids will likely leave begging to come back . Like their Facebook page to keep informed about open play days as well! http://www.shorelinefire.com/news_events/safety_center.htm

Whidbey Island Adventure

Welcome to my new blog! I have loved taking my kids on adventures since they were itty bitty. There is something so exciting about exploring a new place. I hope that this blog encourages people to get out and explore

Whidbey Island is a perfect quick day trip from our house. After a 20 minute ferry ride from Mukilteo, you're transported to a whole different pace of life. You can't help but notice the fields of rolling green hills, tall trees, and overall slow pace. I've explored many different areas of the island and love everything the island offers.

Our first objective was to stop at a random bagel shop I had eaten at several years earlier. I've been dreaming about these bagels ever since, so I was quite disappointed when I learned they were not open on Sundays. If you find yourself on the island during the week, please do yourself a favor and stop at Kiichli's Bagel Bakery in Clinton. You will thank me later. 

Our next stop was the town of Langley, which is an area I had never been to. The main point of our stop was to visit the Laburnum arch at Bayview Farm & Garden. I saw a picture of the incredible arch on pinterest, and wanted to make a point to see it this year while it was in bloom. Bayview doesn't open until 9, so we made a quick stop at Seawall Park after driving through the super cute downtown (I would definitely like to check out some of the breakfast places someday!)  It happened to be low tide, so we saw all kinds of interesting things. My mom thought to flip over a rock, and much to our surprise TONS of little crabs scurried out from underneath. It was such a fun discovery.

Our next stop was the Bayview Farm and Garden Store. I have never experienced a nursery like this one. Every single plant was in perfect condition, and there was so much variety. I appreciated the features they had to keep kids interested. They had roosters, lots of fun chairs and benches to sit in, and a supersized chess board. The laburnum arch was an incredible feature. It typically blooms around mother's day, and lasts for a couple of weeks. 

I would highly recommend making a stop at the flower house cafe, located on the nursery grounds. My mom claims it was the best mocha she has ever had, and I can also vouch for the chai tea. 

After our stop at Bayview, we went to Fort Casey for a quick trip up the lighthouse (open seasonally), and into the bunkers. Fort Casey could easily be explored for a whole day. 

We ended our day of adventure at the Knead and Feed in Coupville. This is a MUST stop on any trip to Whidbey. They have a small bakery with amazing pie and cinnamon rolls on street level, but you can also walk down a set of stairs and enjoy the sit down restaurant, with fairly standard dine

r food. We got our food to go, and ate a sunny picnic at a table right outside the restaurant. The stairs from the restaurant continue all the way to the beach, where we enjoyed more low tide exploration, including watching a bald eagle having a tasty snack.  

After our tasty lunch, we walked down the long pier to the end and checked out the huge sea animal skeletons hanging from the ceiling. On a past trip, we got a hot drink from Local Grown, which is at th end of the pier, and really enjoyed it. 

That concludes are wonderful day trip to Whidbey. 

Other recommendations: 

Ebey's Landing. A great rocky beach, as well as a short hike up the bluff for outstanding views. http://www.nps.gov/ebla/planyourvisit/index.htm

Greenbank Farm. We only bought a pie from here, but it looked like a great place to explore. http://greenbankfarm.biz/