I really, really dislike spiders – but I do know that some kids (little & big ones) are fascinated by them. The Los Angeles Natural History Museum has its annual Spider Pavilion going on now through November 8th – what a great (educational) Halloween adventure! Check it out! Here’s the Activities and Programs page.
LA Natural History Museum Spider Pavilion
October 8, 2009
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Indoor Activities, Places to Explore | Tagged: child, children, family, fun, grandchildren, granddaughter, grandma, grandpa, grandparent, grandson, LA Natural History Museum, museum, Places to Go, rainy day, spider pavilion, spiders | 
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Seal Beach 13th Annual Japan America Kite Festival
October 6, 2009What a string of kites last Saturday! Jonathan Smith, Staff Writer for the Long Beach Press-Telegram, and Stephen Carr, Staff Photographer, had a great article “Winds of tradition” in Monday’s paper. The front page has a super photo of Grandfather Tony Kwon helping his grandson Clay fly a kite. Here is the link for all the pictures. Here is also The Orange County Register version by Jaimee Lynn Fletcher with photos by Michael Goulding. A blog post by Long Beach Family covers the festival. (This blog covers local family things to do.)
The festival was sponsored by The Japan America Society of Southern California (JASSC) and the Up Up & Away Kite Club. It’s free to the public and attracts around 10,000 visitors a year.
Japanese Kite Master Mikio Toki visited from his home and kite workshop in Chiba, Japan, to share his kites. Mattel sponsored workshops where kids could build their own paper kites. The Japanese Taiko drumming corp Daion Taiko performed a traditional drumming show to excite the crowd.
In spite of the strong wind, it was a lot of fun!
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Orange County Children’s Book Festival
October 4, 2009Grandpa Ron and I went to the Orange County Children’s Book Festival today at Orange Coast College campus in Costa Mesa today. It was the sixth annual one. The weather was perfect – okay, a little windy. Lots of families came out to see the activities and authors, illustrators and other child-related booths. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot! I had the best time talking to the Barrio Writers from Santa Ana and their sponsor, Sarah Rafael Garcia – a writer in her own right! I look forward to the Barrio Writers’ first book to be released this winter. They even have a blog! Sounds like they have been having a lot of fun putting it all together! Bought Willa Robinson’s book for my niece who will be teaching soon after talking to Willa for quite a bit. I also got to meet Ashley Wolff, whose book I Call My Grandpa Papa I had pre-ordered on Amazon before it was published. We also met the co-founder of the festival, Pat Burns, in her booth for GrandparentsRock.com.
Next year we’ll look forward to it! This year we just happened to see it written up in the Orange County Register!
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Look Mom! No Training Wheels!
October 2, 2009Austin has mastered riding his two-wheeler without training wheels! He’s 3 and a half years old. One more time, Austin says, “I Do It, Too!” Here’s his video! Enjoy!
See what else Austin has learned to do in Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
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King Tut Exhibit at de Young Museum
October 1, 2009The King Tut exhibit is back at the San Francisco de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. Marilyn Newton of the Reno Gazette-Journal wrote a great article about it and has some great photos posted.
Information for visiting King Tut!
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San Diego Zoo Panda Cub at 8 Weeks
September 28, 2009The San Diego Zoo’s now 8-week-old panda cub is starting to open his eyes. From the zoo website: “Meg Sutherland-Smith, D.V.M. said the cub’s left eye is beginning to open, and he squinted when she used a small flashlight to test his vision. The 4th veterinary exam also revealed that the cub’s right ear is opening, although Dr. Sutherland-Smith says the 5.7-pound (2.73-kilogram) cub is likely not hearing sounds yet, only feeling vibrations.”
baby panda video of his fourth exam at San Diego Zoo. His other visits are available on the same site below the video. Here is the live video cam from the panda enclosure. Fun posts and pictures are on the Panda Blog!
October 1-31 is Free Kids Days at the zoo! During the month of October, children (ages 3–11) enjoy FREE admission to the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park!
San Diego Zoo
Current Hours (through October 4):
9 a.m.–6 p.m.
Fall Hours (October 5–December 10):
9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Book Fair – October 9–12; Huge selection of books and new titles during the Fall Book Fair at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park.
All About Enrichment Weekend – October 10 and 11; Keeper talks and fun activities for our animal residents will be held throughout each day.
Wild Animal Park
Current Hours (through November 20):
9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Book Fair – October 9–12 Huge selection of books and new titles during the Fall Book Fair at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park.
Pumpkins at the Park – October 17, 18, 24, 25, and 31; November 1 The Park is transformed into a safe, family friendly Halloween adventure!
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Daredevil World Record Motorcycle Jump
September 27, 2009Daredevil Ryan Capes successfully jumped 316 feet between metal ramps with his motorcycle in Reno, NV, as part of the Street Vibrations celebration. First he broke the world record of 252 feet with 287 feet. Then he did a second jump to try to clear 300 feet, his stated goal to the crowd. Here are the Reno Gazette-Journal front page story, sports page story, photo and video. Our Grandson Austin totally LOVES motorcycles! Lots of grandparents and parents were at the ramp jump with their grandkids and kids. In the RGJ front page article, Frank Greenwood of Reno brought his granddaughter to watch the attempt. He explained the dangers involved on the drive over to the Grand Sierra Resort and is quoted as saying: “She [granddaughter] has already asked me about the possibility, and I explained to her just how dangerous this would be. So she understands.”
The event celebrated the grand opening of the Xtreme Sports Bar + Lounge located inside the Grand Sierra Resort. Some estimated the crowd to be more than 20,000 people, to make this event the largest held at the resort ever.
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Plumas Art Gallery Features Carole Hale
September 26, 2009Western Artist Carole Hale is one of the featured artists this month at the Plumas Arts Gallery on 372 Main Street in Quincy, CA. The show opened last night during the annual Girls Night Out in Quincy. We enjoyed visiting with the artist – who is Grandpa Ron’s sister! See her website here. If you are in the Quincy neighborhood (Northern California) do stop by to see her digital color “Fauxtography” in person during the month of October.
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The Fullerton Arboretum
September 23, 2009A beautiful leaf of a Chinese parasol tree adorned the front page of yesterday’s Orange County Register. More photos were on-line at <a href="http://www.ocregister.com/. I found another beautiful storyblog accompanied by totally awesome photos at Swizzlestix. Information about the Fullerton Arboretum is here. It is celebrating its 30th anniversary this October as described in the Cal State Fullerton Daily Titan. There’s a Children’s Garden and child education activities. Museum info is here. Enjoy!
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Outdoor Activities in Orange County
September 18, 2009Lots of parks and reserves are listed at the Orange County website. The Orange County Register has a link with outdoor actities and events that has great ideas for family fun! Enjoy!
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MyGrandmaSue 