Week 3: Get Out of Town: Coronado Island

So here in Phoenix it's 110 degrees again today, so we were more than happy to have the opportunity to get out of town this past weekend.

Phoenix is unique because just a few hours drive can take you to an entirely different environment. Elevation changes can make all of the different, as can a trip to the Pacific Ocean, which is only a five hour drive away.

We are lucky in that we have some friends who kindly invited us to stay with us for the weekend at their house on Coronado Island in California, just outside of San Diego.

In 2012 Coronado Beach was named the top beach in the United States by Dr. Beach. The beach is 1.5 miles long and has sparkling  sand, caused by mica deposits. This beach is wide and flat, with a very long shallow area, perfect for toddlers to chase waves. Parents won't have their relaxation interrupted by stabs of panic when they can't locate their children because the flatness allows for unobstructed views.

The City of Coronado is super kid friendly. This 8 square mile island offers more than 6 parks for kids to play in when the parents get tired of cleaning the sand out of all of the crevices, and the streets are friendly for bike riding and walking to many different restaurants.

Downtown San Diego is a short ferry ride away, and families can walk to The New Children's Museum or take a bus or taxi to the San Diego Zoo.

Honestly, though, we didn't want to leave the island once. We walked everywhere and truly enjoyed eating and drinking outside on the patio, enjoying the Pacific breeze. We did enjoy a beer at the Coronado brewing Company (my favorite is the Mermaid's Red) and had delicious barbecue at Lil' Piggy's Bbq (the tacos are amazing, we added avocado, yum).

Here are some pictures of the nuggets enjoying the beach. Totally worth the 5 hour drive! On the way back they were so exhausted they slept most of the way. We had so much fun!

Stinko ate more sand than he played with, but that's what happens with babies on beaches.

Week 2: Make and Paint With Homemade Finger Paints

So, I did this for the first time with Chompy when she was about six months old. We followed this recipe at The Imagination Tree. I halved it, though, because I know I'm not going to save this stuff for later. People certainly can, but I know I won't.

* 1 cup of corn starch
* 1/2 cup of cold water
* 2 1/4 cups of boiling water
* Liquid food coloring

The recipe calls for stirring the boiling water into the bowl of cold water and corn starch one cup at a time.
Then you split it into separate cups or bowls and add the food coloring.

I actually cooked this on the stove like I was making gravy, by adding the corn starch to the hot water to thicken it. Not surprisingly it ended up lumpy like my gravy does  (I am not a good stirrer, and I added too much, too fast), but the kids don't care yet, and Chompy liked helping mix in the color.

Looking around at other websites, it looks like this can also be done with wheat flour, as well.
They have some pretty cool pictures up online of all the kids using the finger paint, and when I did it with Chompy the first time she loved it. At two, she liked the mixing part a lot more than the painting part, but she still liked it. She also wasn't willing to share her paints with her little brother, but I soon realized that Stinko's mashed peas make a just as edible, non-toxic finger paint.

Chompy Painting it up

Stinko and his peas

This week was easy, and we used things that were already on-hand, which is the best way to do things. Especially since we had a busy Father's day weekend and everybody was feeling a little tired.

Next week we'll try something else!

Week 1: Indoor Rock Climbing

In my quest to do indoor things with the nuggets while it's blazing hot outside, we went as a family to AZ on the Rocks, located in Scottsdale, AZ.  I'm going to admit to cheating on this a bit, because I have been a rock climber for over ten years, and my husband started when he met me, over six years ago, but our two-year-old has only been when she was too little to climb, at Earthtreks climbing center in Timonium, Md.

This was the first time we had gone climbing in Arizona. The gym is fully air conditioned  (thank goodness) and super kid friendly. They have everything you need to get started, including gear, and will show you exactly what you have to do in order to start climbing. There is a video you have to watch and a waiver you have to sign, so allow for extra time on your first visit.

They can teach first timers how to tie in to the ropes and how to be the belayer, the person on the ground keeping the climber from falling when they let go of he wall. Visitors can hire an Arizona on the Rocks employee to help them instead if they are just interested in climbing up the wall and aren't interested in learning how to do it themselves, but they have to call in advance to make sure someone is available to help them.

It was a little more expensive than a regular hot day activity, but it was a treat. It was 13 dollars for a youth pass, and 15 for each of us. We have gear, so we didn't have to rent anything but the harness for the little one. She actually did not do much climbing, she seemed more interested in jumping around on all of the mats, but she did like watching the climbers and trying to get her feet on the wall.

here is Chompy in her harness

Here is Stinko checking out the wall

And some mat jumping...

It really is pretty easy to do, and the people at AZ on the Rocks are super friendly and helpful.

There are other indoor rock climbing gyms in and around Phoenix, AZ as well. Here are a few to check out:

The Phoenix Rock Gym in Tempe, AZ

ClimbMax climbing center, also in Tempe, AZ

Ape Index in Peoria, AZ

These gyms all offer summer camps for kids as well (ours are still too young!)

Parents might want to consider getting a babysitter and doing it for a fun date night for themselves! It was really fun!

Phoenix, Arizona apparently has two seasons: summer and oven.
For eight months out of the year, Phoenix is a fabulous place, blue skies, no rain, hardly any clouds. As a parent of my two little jellybeans I could spend day after day at the park, take long walks to the main branch of the Phoenix public library or wander about the downtown Phoenix Market, assured that the weather wouldn't suddenly change, stranding us until a downpour let up.

My two year old daughter has recently developed a weird fear of wind, I think because she so rarely experiences it. My son is only five months old, and he has yet to feel rain.


Unfortunately, Phoenix has entered the oven phase of its existence. Now, if we don't get out before 8 a.m. we'll be rushing to get in a half an hour of play in the park before the sun starts its daily punishment. We can't walk too far in the stroller or we risk overheating before we can make it back home, especially with a five month old.

So I'm going to have to get creative! For the next ten weeks I'm going to post ten fun things to do with kids inside. I realize in most states these will be rainy day activities, but in Phoenix, they will be oven day activities. Looking forward to posting notes and pictures.