Calgary Zoo

Grady was eager to become an animal himself at the zoo!

Thanks to http://www.familyfuncalgary.com/ and the Calgary Zoo for providing my family with these fabulous Engage annual passes to the zoo so we can enjoy it and Blog about it! I was pleased to see the zoo offering several choices for membership levels so you can really find what suits your family and budget. And it was also nice to see nearly as many people buying annual passes as single day entries. The more we support our zoo the better it will get!

Grady, Grandma and I went to the Zoo on Sunday June 19 to enjoy a mid-morning activity while Dad and Grandpa were golfing. In typical brain fart style I completely forgot about it being Father’s Day once Brian had left for golf! So we were the only ones at the Zoo sans DAD for their Super Hero day, too funny.

Me, Grady and Ironman

We didn’t get to see a lot this trip out as Grady insisted the whole way there and into the entrance of the Zoo that he didn’t want to see the animals, sigh...BUT I knew in typical toddler style after being there for 5min he would change his mind.

We met Ironman near the entrance and discovered that there were all sorts of Zopper Hero activities happening. I would love to say that we enjoyed them all immensely but we only made it through the Canadian Wilds before a grumpy bear showed up in my wagon and told me he wanted to go home! I would have been fun to see what other super heroes where around that day but we all know how much fun the whole family has when you push a toddler to the brink! So best to just leave with a smile rather than a tantrum.

Cougar up close to the glass

In any case it was probably one of the best days ever to see the Canadian Wildlife as it was gloomy and cool out. I have never seen the Cougars active. NEVER in my 31 years! So that was very exciting and everyone was very nice about taking turns so all the kids could get up close to the glass and experience it too. I think all us parents had to get over our own excitement and remember this was something for the kids to experience also!

Grady checking out the bears

Grady enjoyed looking at the bear claws and getting a bear stamp from the girls at the Bear cages but we didn’t participate in the activities as they were geared to kids at a reading age. And I don’t think little ones enjoy it as much when mom and dad do all the figuring and work for them.

"This bear claw is as big as my hand!" -I think that's a polar bear claw

The Bears, Whopping Crane, Pelicans, Bison and Muskoxen were also up nice and close. Of course the otters performed for the kids, but the caribou were nowhere to be seen and there was no sign saying if they were out or not
Grady getting as close as he dares to the pelicans

Me and Grady with the Whooping Crane. (Grandma insisted she couldn't get a shot with his head up)

Grady smiling for the camera at the Musk Ox enclosure

So we just enjoyed the walk and went home when Master Grady decided knowing that we’ll be back again soon. That is the beauty of the membership after all, you can spend as much or as little time as the kids want and still go back another day! Next time I’m looking forward to a picnic and some hippos in the sunshine :D

Beach Bags

We are having a Garage Sale tomorrow and I thought I would make some bags just to see how/if they sell. I know it is not the best venue but its worth a try. If you love and want to buy one of the bags let me know and I will pull it out of the sale :D

Trying to be slightly more creative with my photos but I'm no www.ultravioletphoto.com !

"Sunset" -because who doesn't think of a beach sunset when looking at this lovely orange?

"Morning Coffee" - what a perfect bag to pack your stuff in when you set off to watch the sun rise on your next beach vacation

"Green Envy" - because that's how other's will feel when they see you with this bag

"Orange Whip" - because it a fun and punchy design

Feel free to stop by our sale also. Another incentive is that I'm selling my cookies :D

Telus World of Science (Edmonton)

I was lucky enough to have a fabulous sister who gave me a U2 ticket for my birthday this year! But since it was in the middle of the week it meant I needed to bring Grady along for the ride to Edmonton. Since Grandma and Grandpa were out of town Auntie Amanda was nice enough to arrange babysitting and take the next day off to entertain us. With her new annual membership to Telus World of Science we decided to go check out Sesame Street Body Works. It was well worth the trip!
Amanda and Grady outside the entrance to the exhibit. It was really exciting to see the effort put into the entrance. It was all very realistic with talking garbage cans and lots of neat things to explore before getting to the good stuff.

Here we are ringing the bells of the various characters who live at 123 Sesame Street. Now Grady is not a huge fan but he does watch the occasional episode and really likes the books that features the characters. So he was familiar enough to recognize the voices, and what 2.5 year old doesn't like pushing buttons!

With the first exhibit you go to check out comparison of foot size, wide-long-short. Here Grady is comparing his foot size to Elmo's.

This was a really neat interactive station where the characters spoke to you through the "mirror" and asked the kids to identify various items needed for bathroom sink routines. Then the items had touch sensors and the kids got praise for picking the correct items.

This was a cool game show muppet set up. It was pretty advanced for Grady's age but he enjoyed pushing random buttons anyways.

We had to drag Grady away from "Grover's Dance Party". I think I'll have to enroll this boy in some dance classes. He really loved cutting the rug with Grover. I loved how the exhibits all encouraged movement and healthly habits in a really fun way.

Seeing how his hand compares to Elmo's hand (paw?) All the displays had lots of fun ways to interact and all the kids and parents were good at making sure each child could get a chance.

A very cool making shadows light box!

The more Grady pedalled the more the Elmo would pedal and the light come on. Another favorite stop.

As you kicked the ball in the net the light would come on. I saw lots of kids giving that ball a real what for and going at it forever. I guess that's why kids like soccer!

One of the best displays. A true replica of Elmo's room from Elmo's World. Grady had to knock on the door, too bad no one answered :C

A chance to dress Elmo in the correct clothing for the activity or season with large magnetic pieces. Some bits were missing and I hate to think that people took them :C What are ou going to do at home with one of Elmo's shoes anyways?

Checking out a very cool replica of Dorthy, Elmo's gold fish. Grady wants a fish so badly we'll have to see if we can get one for his upcoming 3rd birthday. Although for how much he enjoyed this fake one, maybe we could get away with less work...

This instance made me laugh! Talk about toddlers taking what you say literally! I asked Grady to try tying the shoe. So he sat down, took off his shoe and proceeded to have several attempts at getting his foot into the lowest display shoe before Auntie and I stopped laughing long enough to explain what he should really do. Turns out actually tying a shoe is far less exciting to a toddler than trying to don a giant display shoe!

Inside the human body and where the exhibit strayed from Sesame Street (no characters to be seen) but still remained pretty neat. You could pump the heart...

With some effort inhale and exhale the lungs...

Chew the food (although we couldn't figure out why the lips had to be tied back?)...

digest with the stomach...

and the busiest and grossest station? take a poo... Much loved by all the toddler boys and grossing out the moms this station really did show a poo like sustance get pushed out behind the glass, with a fart sound for good measure. lol

The "Organ Organ" where the count would sing a short song about each organ's job depending on which key you hit. Grady had to wait his turn here as a staff member was having too much fun with it herself.

In Hooper's Store you could go grocery shopping for all your favorite healthy options. With nice color coded shelves to help kids clean up after they were finished playing.

They even had cash registers, although they didn't make any sounds when you pushed the buttons (pity).

You could sit at or behind the counter and build a sandwich or meal at the diner section.

And help Telly find the items on his grocery list by scanning the correct items.

They even had a weigh station but without any counterweights it was not much of an opportunity to learn.

And the place where we spent the most time! The obstacle course!

Grady much preferred to knock down the cones rather than zigzag through them!

Then of course there is a whole rest of the science center! But we only briefly checked it out on the way to the bathroom. Grady was starting to get cranky because he didn't have any breakfast but I could definitely see the benefits of an annual pass so that you could just spend hours in one area or another and not feel the need to push your kids to experience everything! Here Grady checks out their awesome water tables.

A peek through the giant magnifying glass, although it didn't seem to magnify anything as far as I could tell, just full to look through.

The Time Machine where you could move time forwards or backwards with a crank.

And tonnes of fun the giant piano where you could change the type of sound the keys would make. I'm pretty impressed with my action shot!

Lastly we went for a short trip to the moon but Grady decided it was too scary. It was pretty dim lighting so I could see how a little guy would be a bit anxious. Auntie Amanda makes a great astronaut though!

Overall a really get place to visit and even better seeing as I didn't have to pay anything :D But admission is reasonably priced. I can't wait for the new Telus World of Science to open in Calgary as as far as I understand your annual pass if good at over 250 science centers worldwide so a real bag for your buck if you go to Edmonton often or are travelling to another city!