Fun – Page 6 – ketchupface.com

I did it!

I braved the throngs of hyperactive toddlers attending Playhouse Disney’s Mighty Mighty Mall Tour featuring “Wow! Wow! Wuzzby!”.

My family arrived at Coquitlam Centre at 11:15 in time to see Wuzzby do a few stiff dance moves on stage while a middle-aged woman sang a few songs. (I have no idea who this guy is…he reminds me of Kraft Dinner, if Kraft Dinner was animated). There were about 50 people there (kids and parents). The morning show was definitely the best time to get there, is seemed very quiet.

Although the piece of macaroni dancing on the stage was cute, we turned our attention from the mini stage to the coloring stations. Each of us sat in tiny chairs at tiny tables and coloured a placemat featuring images of Handy Manny, on one side, and Mickey and Friends, on the other. Once colored to our specifications, we lined up to get our beautiful customized placemat laminated. How cool was that? Plus, everyone was given a free DVD containing 5 full episodes from Playhouse Disney and a sheet of stickers….JACKPOT!

Playhouse Disney put on a very cute promotional tour. Volunteers were everywhere wearing green tees helping the kids and talking to them about their favorite characters while they colored. Posters encouraged us to check out Playhouse Disney on Facebook. Kids watched the shows and seemed to have a great time at no expense. It was a simple,well-organized event.

Best of all, I got to fit in a little shopping! On my rounds, I walked by Jack Grunsky in concert and I swear there were more parents bopping along to the music than kids…that was funny….ahhhhh, my fellow parents, what has become of us.

Yesterday at noon, we hit the first day of Kerrisdale Carnival Days. Auntie Clare, me and my little guy walked or shall I say strolled through the streets of Kerrisdale taking in the sites. Many of the stores had tables outside their stores, (which is fantastic when you have a stroller). We leisurely walked and shopped without having to navigate through tight, crowded aisles.

We saw street musicians, face painters and a clown making balloon animals. All entertaining but a bit beyond Caden (I’m sure he would have tried to eat a balloon animal to a catastrophic end). One thing made his face light up “over and over” and that was balloons, balloons and MORE BALLOONS. There were random bunches lining the streets at tables and doorways. Every time he spotted a new bunch, his hands would point desperately and his legs would kick frantically (not to mention the shrill squeal that was heard up and down the block). I seriously thought the poor kid was going to have a heart attack with all the excitement.

We spent an enjoyable hour and a half walking the streets and grabbing a little lunch. Even though the majority of the activities (parade, contests, musicians, play palace, inflatable slide etc…) happen on Saturday, I recommend going on Friday if you have small kids with even smaller attention spans. There were less people and the line-ups at the face painter and balloon animal “artist” were only 4 kiddies deep. Sweet!

Kerrisdale Carnival Days are on this Friday, April 23 and Saturday, April 24. Highlights include:

Community Parade with Marching Band
Saturday at 10am
Horse and Carriage rides
Saturday starting at 11:00am
Pooch poetry contest
Saturday at 12 noon

Links

Kerrisdale Village

Friday was a beautiful day. Sunday was a beautiful day. Saturday it poured.

Guess which day we decided to go to Mount Vernon and Le Conner to check out the tulips? You guessed it. We chose Saturday. Lucky, weren’t we? Actually, it turns out we were.

Truth be told, a tulip festival doesn’t hold much excitement for a toddler. Let’s face it, they’d be happy in a cardboard box or under a blanket pretending to be invisible. Taking family pictures with brightly coloured flowers, wandering through quaint streets and shopping in unique stores is the stuff that makes Mommies and Daddies happy…ok, it makes Mommies happy; Daddies miserable.

Our destination was Tulip Town in Mount Vernon, where admission is free for kids under 16 and $5 for adults. There, my husband, son and I met up with my cousin and her twin girls. We had three 2 year olds in tow.

Once inside, we could walk into the fields or take a “Blue Trolley Tour” (a tractor pulled trolley that travels around the property). There were kite demonstrations happening outside and a flower and garden show, gift shop and snack bar to explore inside.

We decided to walk into the fields. Experiencing the rain and the mud, slipping, stumbling and getting dirty; that was the real fun for the kids. The highlights, from their point of view, were the slippery, sticky clay-like mud and the fish….yes, fish.

After visiting Tulip Town, we headed to Le Conner, to dry off, visit, and grab lunch. Le Conner is a quaint little town with unique shops and a few funky restaurants. We decided to eat at the first place that had a table because it was lunch time and busy. Thankfully, we found a place with 3 highchairs and room for 2 huge strollers. It was awesome and roomy. No one cared when the toddlers broke free and ran around the room. Well, I did…but no one else seemed to care.

The food was average (except the fries, they were above average) and a little pricey. The restaurant had a kids menu containing grilled cheese, hamburgers and pasta. This restaurant also held our “highlight of the day” which was a tropical fish tank situated at toddler eye level. One of the 2 year olds yelled out “Nemo” at the top of her lungs and it was “game over”. High speed, choppy toddler-running commenced from the table to the tank, to the table, to the tank. The excitement was extreme and hilarious to watch.

A great day was had by all. We were exhausted upon our return home. Even though you don’t have to go to the Tulip Festival to get muddy and see fish; it’s nice for the Mommy if you do (Daddy, I’m talking to you).

p.s. Most of the shops are small and not stroller-friendly. If you go with a girlfriend, I recommend eating at Calico Cupboard Cafe. Their peanut butter pie was crazy good.

Links
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
April 1-30, 2010

Tulip Town
15867 Beaver Marsh Road, Mount Vernon, WA 98273
Phone 360-424-8531

La Conner Seafood & Prime Rib House
614 South First Street
La Conner, WA 98257
(360) 466-4014

Mighty, Mighty Mall Tour more “mini” than “mighty”

Kerrisdale Carnival Days or as we call it “Balloon-fest”

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival from a toddler’s perspective