I love it when I discover something new and awesome in the Seattle area. Well, this time the discovery was precipitated by an invitation to a 6-year-old’s farm-themed birthday party at the location, but it works for me.
The Farrel-McWhirter Farm park is a Redmond city park that also happens to be a working farm.
Bunnies, goats, chickens, pigs, cows, horses, and ponies – All kinds of things to make 6-year-old girls squee.
Really, it’s the best kind of city park. You’d never know you were in city limits.
The 68 acre park includes a preschool, summer camp program, orienteering course, and of course, pony rides.
My daughter was particularly fond of this plywood cow with a water-filled rubber glove that demonstrates how milking a cow works.
And this magical tree, where she spent quite a bit of time pretending to be a baby eagle.
And, did I mention the pony rides? Because that’s pretty much all I’ve heard about for the past week.
We can’t wait to get back out there for another visit.
I just returned from a quick, four-day trip to Washington D.C. for ProjectLEAD with the National Breast Cancer Coalition.
Coincidentally, my daughter’s kindergarten class has been learning about Washington D.C. in their social studies segments. She wanted me to be sure I got my picture taken with the President.
I got this close.
The White House is beautiful at night.
Our schedule for this trip was very tight: 7:30 am to 7:30 pm, so I did not actually see daylight, with the exception of one quick run to Starbucks, and then the cab ride back to the airport on the last day. But I wasn’t there for sight-seeing or picture taking, we had much more important things in mind.
I’ll be posting much more on this project in the near future.
There is a local family that goes all out with their Christmas decorations every year. Santa frequently stops by to pose for DIY photos, and they even have a snow making machine installed on the side of their house. They also collect for the NW Harvest food drive every year.
Every where you look is decorated, every square foot of the lawn. Aaron and I marveled at how much was involved. Not just the electricity, but the hours of work that must have been involved. I can’t even wrap my head around the planning, organization, and storage considerations for this annual project.
Gem marveled at the whole thing, too. “Mommy, Mommy, look, look!” Over and over again. Everything was so amazing.
It is a bit gaudy, and definitely over the top, but that’s part of the appeal. I love a little exuberance every once in a while; it can be so freeing and refreshing.
Hot, humid, and swarming with tropical butterflies of all colors and sizes, the Pacific Science Center Tropical Butterfly House is a touch of the tropics right here in Seattle – and a great way to spend the afternoon with your favorite kid, or kid at heart.
Gem was so taken with the idea that a butterfly might land on her that she stood completely still for what felt like F O R E V E R (and probably even longer for her) waiting for one to come and say hi. The rules were very strict: NO TOUCH! However, if a butterfly lands on you, well that’s their choice. It took a while, and Gem managed to keep from reaching out and touching them, and finally one crawled right up on her finger. She was elated.
The butterflies would often land right on the floor, so it was important to watch your step carefully. Occasionally one of the butterflies would be sitting on the floor injured. Stepped on? Perhaps. Or it could have been injured elsewhere, and then just landed on the floor to catch it’s breath. Gem was looking for a butterfly under this caution sign, with no idea a blue morpho was fluttering around right next to her.
I kept thinking that the Pacific Science Center would be a great place to take her when she gets older – but I was missing out. It’s really appropriate for all ages – and even has a toddler explore area for the littlest ones.
