Ellis Bird Farm - Don't miss your chance!

We made it out to the Ellis Bird Farm yesterday, despite the gray sky and wind.  You would have thought it was an amusement park - Owen was so enthralled with the area.  There were paved walking trails, perfect for a stroller, or in our case - perfect for running.  The gazebo was a big hit as was the fishing pond full of ducks.  It took us a while to make our way over, but the goats and sheep also got our attention.  The visitor centre had a large display of birds native to the area.  It also had a snake the kids could see, but I didn't go anywhere near it.  Snakes fall perfectly into my motto of 'anything with more than 4 legs or less than one cannot be trusted'.

We ventured for a moment into the Tea House which is lovingly decked out with antiques.  I have eaten there previously - the food is homemade & delicious.

The Ellis Bird Farm is open 7 days a week from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, but only in the summer months.  The last day of operation is Monday, Sept. 3 (Labour Day), so get out there while you can!  It's worth the drive :)

What to do on a rainy Friday? - Collicutt Centre!

Owen & I were on our own today and needed to get out of the house.  We had a great outing planned to the Ellis Bird Farm, but the weather didn't exactly cooperate.  Hopefully we'll get there before it closes for the season on Labour Day.

Instead of just hanging out at home, we met up with a few friends at the Collicutt Centre.  For anyone that has never been - what are you waiting for?  It's $8 for a day pass and kids under 2 are free.  They have upgraded one of the kiddie pools to be more like a splash park which was great fun for everyone.  Owen especially loved the slides that end with a splash in the water.  We moved to the smaller kiddie pool where we could play with a few toys that were floating around and in the fountain in the middle.  Owen enjoyed jumping off the steps and giving mommy more gray hairs.

My favorite part of a day at the pool is to relax and warm up for a few minutes in the hot tub.  Owen was just a wet noodle by the time we got out.

It wasn't a long outing, inexpensive and drained Owen of much energy.  I'd say all things considered, it was a successful day :)

Lots of ideas

There's quite the variety of things happening this coming weekend... 

If you like music, check out Alberta's Own Music Festival 11 (Michener Park, Lacombe AB)

George Canyon, Big Wreck, plus 41 of Alberta's best indie bands from all genres. This is a family friendly event. For tickets and all fest info go to www.abown.com. 

August 24, 25, 26

If you're into creepy crawlies, head to the Sheraton (formerly the Capri hotel) for the Western Canadian Reptile Expo 2012

Saturday August 25th 2012 to Sunday August 26th 2012
10-5 Saturday
11-4 Sunday
Admission: $7.00 Each or $20.00 for a family of 4.
For more information contact: info@wcre.ca

How about some hard core fun on wheels?  The Red Deer Roller Derby Association presents ** Summer Grudgen III: Clash of the Titians ** Roller Derby Double Header August 25th at the Prarie Pavillion. Westerner Park. Tickets are $10.00 in advance or $15.00 at the door, Kids 12 & under are free --
Tickets can be purchased at Babycakes Cupcakery, Inspiration tattoo (Innisfail), Salon Bellissmo and Red Deer Express. Audience is all ages! Donations are welcome. Handicapped/Wheelchair accessible.  http://www.rdrda.ca

Or to catch up on your local history....  the Cronquist House is celebrating it's 100th birthday on Sunday from 1:00 - 4:00.  There will be lots to do such as, pioneer children's activities, musical entertainment, historic tours and storytelling. So bring a picnic and lawn chairs and enjoy some free refreshments and entertainment at the Cronquist House.  Everyone is welcome to come and have fun.

No excuses to stay home - get out there & enjoy our city!!

Great Hometown weekend!

The weather this past weekend was so fantastic, I could hardly spend a minute inside.  On Saturday, we took Owen to the Sunnybrook Farm Museum to take in their 17th Annual Pioneer Days Festival.  It was a great day filled with tractors, farm animals and homemade pie!  The best part is that we made use of Red Deer's extensive trail system and rode our bikes to the event.  It felt so nice to be out in the summer sun, get some exercise and enjoy a visit to a farm in the middle of the city!  We'd never been to the Sunnybrook Farm museum before, and the Pioneer Days Festival was the perfect introduction to all that the farm offers.  They are open daily 10 am to 4 pm from Victoria Day to Labour Day and admission is by donation, making this an affordable, educational and fun summer stop for the whole family.

What's happening this weekend?

The forecast looks awesome!  Better soak up as much summer as you can...  Along with Central Music Fest, there are lots of other fun events happening this weekend:

Saturday, Aug. 18

From sports to music to air cadets, there is something for everyone during Funology at Parkland mall on Saturday, August 18.

Funology, dubbed “the science of kids on the go,” is a family event aimed to provide information about fall recreation and leisure opportunities, services and programs available to kids in our community. Exhibitors will be on hand to showcase a variety of activities, from swimming, football and fencing, to music and Junior Forest Wardens.

Funology is free to attend and runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Onsite registration will be available for many programs allowing for convenient program registration for today’s busy kids and parents. Funology is presented by Parkland Mall and sponsored by The City of Red Deer.

Sunday, Aug. 19

I attended the Momstown birthday party last year & it was a great time!  Lots of goodies, fun activities for the kids (my favorite was a mini Kindermusik class with Miss Val).  Well worth a visit!

                    What:     momstown Birthday Bash

                    When:    Sunday, August 19th

                    Time:     10 am - 1 pm

                    Where:  Rotary Recreation Park (Heritage Square)

Aug 18 & 19

Sunnybrook Farm Museum - Pioneer Days Festival - 8 am to 4 pm. Pioneer breakfast, tractor pulls, tractor parade, threshing demonstrations, home-made pie, beef on the bun dinner (Saturday at 5:00pm only), children activities, concession, face-painting and more. Cost is $15.00 per family or $5.00 per person

Limited Time Savings...

Remember when that kid came to your door last summer, or your colleague from work was selling those coupon books that time?  Guess what - many of the great deals in the SUTP coupon book expire at the end of the month!  That's only a couple of weeks to find the book, search through the coupons & use em up! 

When we started buying the coupon books, I'll admit, it was mostly for the fast food deals.  We've since grown more mature & are into a healthier lifestyle, so we're trying to skip over those pages.  If you take a minute to really look at what is offered, you'll find tons of savings for local attractions (Collicutt Centre, Laser Tag, Kraay Family Farm just to name a few); and lots for places a bit further afield (one of the Calgary Zoo coupons is worth over $20, which is what you paid for the book in the first place!).

The book is a great place to get ideas for things to do with the family, and you're helping out local organizations at the same time.  $10 from the sale of every book stays in Red Deer. 

With school starting up again soon (sorry kids...), you're likely to get a knock on your door or a colleague from work asking you to shell out the $20 to help out their organization, don't hesitate!  It's a great deal & can result in a lot of fun for you and your family!

You can check out this link to find out more about the ticket books, or just send me a note & I can put you in touch with someone selling them once they go on sale later this month :)

Flexibility

Flexibility is the name of the game when you have young children.  Take this past weekend for example.  I posted about all of the great events that were happening around Central Alberta, but unfortunately didn't get a chance to take in any of them.  My 19 month old wasn't quite himself.  I'm pretty sure he's teething again, so he wanted nothing more than to be carried around by me for most of the weekend.  I hate to see the little guy in pain, but I will admit that I loved the extra snuggle time.  It doesn't happen all that much anymore.

In the end, we stayed at home for the most part.  It wouldn't have been fair or enjoyable to either of us (or those within earshot) if I had dragged him around when he clearly wanted to be at home.  Instead, we spent some quality time playing with his tool set, some cars and our dog.  We even managed to watch a bit of the Olympic closing ceremonies.

So, even though it wasn't what I had set out to do for the weekend, it was still time well spent.  I'll have some options for next weekend, and we'll see where we end up!