Backyard Activities for Kids or Grandkids

September 3, 2009

All kinds of ideas are available on the net for games and activities to play in your backyard with your kids or grandkids. Grandparents.com is again a great source of ideas. Nabiscoworld.com has a cute interactive website of ideas. How Stuff Works has several learning experiences outlined. FamilyFun.Go.com has Fun in the Sun activities identified. Suite101.com has a lot of yard games listed as well as several associated links. Have fun!


Free Art Venues Sponsored By Target

September 2, 2009

The Target Community Webpage gives you the opportunity to enter the city closest to you to list museums and art venues you can visit for free or with discounts thanks to sponsoring from Target. Target gives 5% of its income to communities. Their newspaper ad says that is over $3 million every week.

In the LA area:
Levitt Pavilion at McArthur Park -Target Children’s Night every Sunday through Sept 6 6:30-7:30 pm
LACMA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles – Target Free Holiday Mondays 9/7/09, 10/12/09
Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles – Target Free Family Saturdays Days – Second Saturday of the month
CAAM: California African American Museum, Los Angeles – Target Sundays at CAAM – First Sunday of the month
Plaza de la Raza, Los Angeles – Target Feria de la Familia 9/9/09
Bowers Museum – Target Free First Sundays Every first Sunday through December 10 am-4 pm

Orange County Museum of Art – Target Free Second Sundays Every second Sunday through December 11 am – 4 pm

The Children’s Museum at La Habra Target Free First Saturdays Every first Saturday through November and December 12 10 am – 5 pm

And several places in major American cities: Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Washington DC, Dallas/Ft Worth, Denver, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Seattle, St. Louis, San Diego, Portland, Phoenix, Orange County, Detroit, Long Beach, Omaha, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, New York, Miami, Salt Lake City, etc. Check it out!


Grandparents Day – Sept 13

September 1, 2009

Jimmy Carter declared Grandparents Day a national holiday in 1978. Grandparents Day is the first Sunday after Labor Day. Read the history on Grandparents.com. There is a whole page of info all about it!

What impact have grandparents had on you?

If you are a grandparent, what impact have you made on the younger generations?

My first book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too! is all about making an impact – whether you know it or not! It makes a perfect Grandparents Day present for a grandpa who has a grandson. (Granddaughter will be born at the end of December 2009 – so then we’ll create a granddaughter book, too!)


Pretend City Children’s Museum

August 30, 2009

Pretend City Children’s Museum, designed for children from infants to 8 years old, opens today in Irvine, CA. Their educational philosophy is “Children learn best when they’re actively having fun at it!” Erika Chavez of the Orange County Register raves about it! Her 4 1/2 year old daughter loved it! I coould not find today’s newspaper review on-line so here is an earlier review from the beginning of August. It’s great fun for the younger kids.


Reno Mountain Bike Race

August 28, 2009

Galena Fest 2009 is a new event in Reno for cycling enthusiasts! Competitive mountain biking in the hills above South Reno at the Galena Creek Regional Park.

The race takes place Sept. 27, 2009, from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. with several events for mountain bikers of every age and skill level.

Activities include
The Bloody Rose Mountain Bike Climb to Relay Peak
The Thorn Mountain Bike Climb to The Wall at Sky Tavern
Kids’ Mountain Bike Race through Galena Creek Regional Park and
Big Fish Contest at Marilyn Pond

The event will raise funds to keep Galena Creek Regional Park accessible and safe and re-establish outdoor programs at the Park.

More info here!

Register for this exciting event at www.renogalenafest.com.


Los Angeles from Horseback

August 27, 2009

Another great Sunday newspaper article I also found on line is an Associated Press article by Solange Reyner called Seeing the City of Angels on Horseback. Here are photos of the horses. More info is available at Griffth Park Horse Rentals Trail Rides details and Frequently Asked Questions at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.


Ice Skating at High Camp, Squaw Valley USA

August 26, 2009

Feel like going ice skating, now, at the end of August – not at the North Pole? You can at High Camp at Squaw Valley USA. Maggie O’Neill at the Reno Gazette-Journal shared the highlights in her Aug 23rd, 2009 article.


Places to Visit with Special Needs Kids

August 25, 2009

The website www.grandparents.com has a good series of articles going on places to go with special needs children or grandchildren. The first article in the series is here and the second one is here. Some of the places I have already blogged. There are some great suggestions for other ones, too.


Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe and More

August 20, 2009

Summer days at the lake were always memorable! The August 2009 Sunset Magazine has two articles about lakes: Lake Tahoe – where Sand Harbor is the place to swim – and then the Top 10 Lakeside Camps – the on-line article has 15, including the best photo ops, sunsets, fun, small town feel, and four-star food!


National Parks of the West

August 19, 2009

The August 2009 Sunset Magazine has a great article by Peter Fish and photographed by Ian Shive on National Parks With Amazing Views: Grand Teton National Park, Yosemite National Park, Channel Islands National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Yellowstone National Park. It has an on-line link to an interactive page with lots of information on Glacier National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Olympic National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Zion National Park. Watch the video of Sunset editor-in-chief Katie Tamony interviewing Ken Burns, who is the filmmaker of “National Parks: America’s Best Idea” – PBS will show it on September 27. The other videos are also very good. There are suggestions, photos and a map where you click on the park for even more info on activities, accommodations, campgrounds, and “top wow spots” from Sunset. I found it quite awesome!