Travels with Children

We’ll be in Grand Forks next weekend, and as is often the case, I’m a loss as to what to do with the kids.  It’s not that I’m unfamiliar with the area; I grew up near there and spent five years at UND.  But as a mom, I always seem to have a hard time finding fun things to do with the kids.

Here’s what I’ve thought of:

• Play area in Columbia Mall. No. 3 of my 4 kids are too tall for most mall play areas.
• Splashers of the South Seas Water Park at CanadInn.  Not this time.  Looks like fun, but a water park’s not on my list this time around.
• Myra Museum.  No. Closed after September 15.
• North Dakota Museum of Art.  Maybe, but would be a short visit.  It’s free, though, so we might give it a try.
• Ralph Engelstad Arena. Maybe–do they still do tours? I can’t find anything about it on their website.
• Grand Forks Public Library.  (I worked there for several years.) This is a good bet.  The kids always love the pirate ship, and they have a great book collection.
• East Grand Forks Campbell Library.  Another nice library; will check hours and maybe we’ll go there again.
• The park across the street from the East Grand Forks library.  Maybe the kids are getting old enough for this one, since the play area is so big and has so many walls, I never liked supervising four of them there by myself when they were little.
• Valley Dairy Car Wash.  This is a definite possibility.  See my other post about the car wash.
• Bike trails. I wish I had room to take our bikes along, because Grand Forks has no hills!
• Homecoming Activities. Parade if the weather’s decent. I don’t think they’d appreciate it if I took my four kids into an English class during their reunion visits.

Don’t get me wrong, the Grand Forks area has some great festivals (where else do they have an all-you-can-eat french fry feed for Potato Bowl?) and nice parks, but this time of year it’s hard to come up with fun things to do.

People who are familiar with Grand Forks, clue me in.  What can I do with the kids there next weekend?

My kids notice sooooo much more than I do, and they were quick to point out this little guy while we were walking the trails at Minnesota’s Gooseberry Falls State Park.

For more Photo Friday travel photos, please visit DeliciousBaby.

Tags: Photo Friday

Most of us have heard of the “Four Corners,” the only place in the United States where four states come together. Because that location is far, far away from Minnesota, I had to settle for the next best thing, a tri-state marker.

The idea for this little jaunt came from a site called North Star Highways, which pointed out that although three states come together in several places, many of them are under water or in jagged terrain.  The intersection of Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota, however, is on flat land at the junction of two roads.

And so it was, as we were going to LeMars, Iowa, by way of Pipestone, Minnesota, that the tri-state marker was only a few miles out of our way.  I read the map, while hubby did the honor of driving, and we told the kids what we were up to.  (They were very excited about it, having watched kids at the Four Corners on the TripFLIX DVD that they love.)

We found the marker, which is on the northwest corner of the intersection, but decided that it would be best not to have four kids standing in the middle of the road where the actual point is.  Instead, I got out to take a few pictures of the monument, and then we swung the mini-van around, making sure to drive over the exact location and shout out that we were indeed in three states at one time.

This is another one of those little adventures that will be memorable even though it cost nothing and no one else was there.  If we ever make it to the Four Corners, that will be even more exciting, but for now, having been in three states at once is good enough.

Tags: free things to do, geographic markers, Tri-state marker

If you’re planning to head to an apple orchard this fall, see my post at Uptake.com on visiting orchards with kids.

Tags: family travel

Thinking of heading to Mall of America, but not sure if you should take the kids? See my post at Uptake.com for some tips.

The following post was authored by Jonah Lisa of The Toby Show.

• 444 West 100 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101
• For more information call 801-456-KIDS or visit www.discoverygateway.org
• Monday & Friday 10am-9pm, Tues-Thurs 10am-6pm, Saturday 10am-6pm & Sunday noon-6pm.  call ahead for holiday hours.
• General admission is $8.50.  Members and children under 1 are FREE, with discounts for pre-registered groups.  Get parking validation before you leave or you’ll be paying a few more bucks for that as well.
• Totally stroller accessible, though that kind of defeats the pupose of this interactive, child centered space.

My toddler and I visited Discovery Gateway as a stop over in the middle of a long road trip.  We didn’t visit the whole Utah Children’s Museum, which is geared to older kids (with science, art, natural history and interactive exhibits) but the Discovery Gateway section of the facility was the perfect stop for a busy toddler who’d been cooped up in th car.

It’s broken up into several interactive play zones:  the bee hive, the construction zone, the pretend village and a climbing wall, water play area and a baby/toddler only duck pond area.

You enter through the bee hive, which is a huge ball play area.  You know those fabulous tubes at the bank drive through that fascinated you as a child as they sucked the little case from beside your car to the inside of the bank?  Well those snake throughout the bee hive.  There are little sliding doors that you can open, insert a ball, and then watch as it gets sucked up and carried over your head, throughout the clear tubing system and then out somewhere else.  Lots of fun things to do with balls here.  I could barely pry Huck away to visit the rest of the place.  The bee hive would really have been enough for him.

The construction zone is just that–an area with lifts, cranes, shoots and giant soft blocks for moving, building and demolishing.  The zone is set up on two tiers so that kids have to work together to get anything done.  One kid operates the crane up top, but needs someone else down below to load the blocks into the sling.

The pretend village is called Kid’s Eye View and it was my favorite activity zone.  There’s a house with a kitchen, furniture and dolls.  There’s also a gas station, many different types of vehicles, a totally cute and well-stocked grocery store (that I was dying to play in but Huck wanted nothing to do with) and a farm.  Huck was totally enamored of the farm.  He picked a few vegetables but spent most of his time tending to the chickens and collecting eggs.

There’s also a post office, mail bags, mail carts and mail and all the different areas of the village have their own mailbox.  Fire Fighter costumes are hung on the wall near the post office, just in case an emergency arises.

The climbing wall is great for older kids but Huck found it a little daunting.  He tried it once but then it was straight back to the chicken coop.  There’s also a nice water play area with 2 good clean up stations that include soap dispensers and hand blow dryers.

The Baby/toddler duck pond is for 2 and unders and has a little gate so if little ones get a bit too overwhelmed they can get away from the big kids in the main play areas.  This area has some ride on toys, a slide and a treehouse to play in.  There’s also a little nursing and reading area for some quiet time.

The really great thing about Discovery Gateway is that it’s very open and has lots of seating for Moms and Dads.  I followed Huck around a lot because it was all new to us and I was having such fun watching him play, but you can actually just pick a nice spot and keep tabs on your kid as they navigate the whole area.  Lots of moms even had knitting with them.  Knit one, purl two, check on Timmy.  The one exception is the bee hive which is kind of separate.

If you’re planning a visit, be such to check the activity calendar on the website.  Discovery Gateway offers toddler storytime and an art project at a certain time on most weekdays–though NOT on the one day we were there.  Oh well.

This is a great place to take kids 8 and under.  They will be stimulated and worn out–every parents goal, right?

Tags: Children's Museums

I’ve mentioned before that we’re back-roads people.  A good part of our getting anywhere involves paved county roads.  Usually they create a shorter, more scenic, less-traveled path than the state and U.S. highways in our area.  And so it was today when I took the kids on a little outing, that I was reminded why I usually avoid the county roads during spring planting and fall harvest here in our agricultural area.

The third time it happened, my son said, “I guess no one wants us to get to town today.”

I’m not complaining, not one bit.  It’s part of what comes with having a cornfield in my front yard and a barn out my kitchen window.  Oh, yeah, and a husband who farms.

So when I encounter combines and tractors and sprayers on the road at this time of year, I pull into a field approach and wait for them to pass, and give a friendly wave and a smile that says, “I’m not annoyed that you took up the whole road and I lost three minutes out of my day.”  They have work to do, feeding this country we live in.  And besides, they’re bigger then I am.

If you’re traveling in rural areas during the busy ag seasons, my advice is to stick with the main roads if you’re in a hurry.  But if you want to give your kids the chance to see a combine or tractor up close, and watch a field of soybeans or corn being harvested, try the back roads.  Just be ready to pull into a driveway or field approach quickly if sharing the road isn’t an option.

Tags: back roads, combine, harvest, soybeans, tractor

Living in southern Minnesota, sometimes we forget that we have a huge lake bordering much of our state.  It’s big and it’s deep and it’s beautiful, and we loved watching the sun rise above it as we drove along the North Shore.

To see more travel photos, see this week’s other Photo Friday entries at deliciousbaby.com.

Tags: Lake Superior, North Shore, North Shore Drive

When thinking of interesting places to take your children, don’t discount the polls on election day.  Take your kids with you when you vote and let them see the process up-close.

Check the rules for your state, as they may vary, but my Minnesota Election Judge Guide states it specifically:

Authorized persons [in the polling place during voting hours] are:

• … Children when accompanying voters.

If you’re a teacher, check on the rules for taking classes to the polls.  In Minnesota, another set of authorized persons is listed as :

• Teachers and elementary and high school students if participating in a mock election that has been authorized by the secretary of state.

We have a great opportunity to show our children how voting works.  Let’s take advantage of it!

—–

Even if you can’t take your kids along, please be sure that you register and vote yourself.

See this “Don’t Vote” video,

register to vote (find out how at http://maps.google.com/vote ), and pass this information along to your friends.
Fellow bloggers, will you help to get out the word?  Tag five of your friends and ask them to share this information about the “don’t vote” meme.

I’m tagging:

• Jonah Lisa at The Toby Show
• Caroline at Cheaper by the Half Dozen
• Andrea at Book Mama
• Christina at Northern Cheapskate
• Debbie at DeliciousBaby

Tags: Don't Vote, election 2008, register to vote, voting, voting registration, where to register

Through October 26, receive a free child’s admission to nearly 130 children’s museums in the United States.  See the list of participating museums at goCityKids.com, and see details and a link to the coupon as well.

Since children’s museums often charge the same for toddlers and children as they do for adults, this can be a great opportunity to take your kids to a museum and save some money.  Have a lot of kids?  Take a grandparent or friend along to enjoy the fun.

While you’re at GoCityKids, check out their city guides for comprehensive listings of family-friendly activities in major metropolitan areas, and their Steals & Deals section for savings at attractions, shopping, and online stores.

Tags: association of children's museums, children's museum, discount, free admission