Who else is excited to have an extra day in the month this year (due to Leap Day) to do fun activities with your kids? Here are some of the great ideas that I mentioned on TV today:
National Girls & Women In Sports Day – Sports & Recreation Clinic
Utah Children’s Theatre Magic Show
The Paint Mixer at NHMU
Here is a link to the video clip.
Happy New Year! Hope everyone’s 2016 is off to a great start.
On today’s video segment I discussed three fun activities to attend in January.
The Midway Ice Castles are a favorite and we’ve gone for the past few years. I’m excited to see them in a new location this year, now that it’s finally cold enough!
The Sundance Film Festival is one of the best parts about living in Utah. Now the kids get to join in the fun with Sundance Kids! There are three films being shown this year: a documentary, a live action and an animated film.
Finally, take the family to see the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s performance of “Illusions” at the Capitol Theatre. They have a special family-friendly show on the 30th that will start with a fun reception before the show. They are also offering a family discount on tickets!
Here’s to another great year of fun adventures!
Theo mailing his letter to Santa at Macy’s. Instead of writing his wish list, he wrote, “I like the books you give me.” I was so touched by his expression of gratitude. That’s the Christmas spirit!
I know to some people it’s sacrilegious to start celebrating Christmas before it’s even Thanksgiving, but we’ve already gone to two Christmas-related events this year! City Creek Center celebrated the arrival of Santa Claus and the Macy’s candy windows reveal on November 19, and this past weekend Theo and I went to see “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” at the Capitol Theatre. Before even more events pass us by, here is the annual holiday activity list. It includes some new events and some old favorites. We are so lucky to have so many fun events available for us to enjoy this winter. Happy Holidays to all of our readers!
Drive Through Christmas lights in Kearns
November 27 – January 2
Let it Snow: A Holiday Music Journey
Clark Planetarium
Daily Showtimes
Paint Like Art Dog at the UMFA
Utah Museum of Fine Arts
December 2
This is the Place Heritage Park
December 3-5
Main Street, Midway, UT
December 4-7
Pioneer Memorial Theatre
December 4-19
Salt Lake Acting Company
December 4-23
Mini Gingerbread House Building
SLC Library – Chapman Branch
December 5
The Wonderment
December 10-12
The Nutcracker & Sugar Plum Parties
Ballet West, Capitol Theatre
December 10-27
Broadway Theatre
December 12
Vivint Smart Home Arena
December 14
SLC Library – Chapman Branch
December 17
Utah Symphony
December 18-19
Red Butte Gardens
December 19
Utah Symphony
December 19
Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert with the Sesame Street Muppets (2014)
Airing on PBS – KUED 7
December 21 at 8pm and December 24 at 7pm
Utah Symphony
December 22-23
Downtown SLC
December 29-31
Here are some fun theatre shows you and your kids can enjoy this month!
“The Road to Broadway” Rowland Hall school musical
Rowland Hall Larimer Center, 843 S. Lincoln Street
Theo was only 2 years old when he first started preschool, and Miss Bethany was one of his beloved teachers. She was the best teacher I could ever hope for — oftentimes holding Theo for the entire class if he was having a rough time with the separation. We were honored to attend her wedding before she moved to the East coast with her husband. After a few years, they are now back in Utah and we had some special visitors last week: Miss Bethany AND her new baby boy!
One thing that my new mommy friends and I would have loved to have is a place to go to hang out with our babies, other than each other’s houses. I remember visiting my parents in Virginia when Theo was 1 year old and going to a combination coffee shop/indoor playground and thinking it was such a brilliant idea that I couldn’t believe it hadn’t been introduced to Utah yet. I just learned about a brand new cafe that opened very recently that is just that! I haven’t been there yet (I’m going to “borrow” my friend’s 2-year-old toddler to check it out) but I am so glad that this concept is becoming more widespread.
Along the same lines, my friends told me about the Main Street Studio salon which offers on-site childcare while you get pampered. Is this a genius idea or what? I never got a chance to try it out myself, but seriously, even the idea that a sort of place like this existed gave me some peace of mind that I could take advantage of this if I needed/wanted. This would be a great treat for any new mom who wanted to keep her child close but still needed to feel human now and then.
I love any activity that is typically a “grown-ups only” type event where you can bring your kids. So many times we are made to feel like we cannot go out in public spaces that are “inappropriate” for kids because of their unpredictable behavior and completely natural actions. So when an art museum welcomes babies and moms to tour the exhibits without any judgment or unrealistic expectation, I find it to be a refreshing relief.
I have all sorts of other “tips and tricks” that I like to share with new mothers (the best places to nurse, using a shopping cart as a temporary stroller, etc.) but these are some fun activities that are available for you and your baby to share together. Enjoy and have fun with those snuggly little babies!
Old school PBS!
I went into the Peek Kids clothing store at the mall the other day to just browse around and see if there were any good deals on clothes for Theo. As I was looking through the store, I found so many adorable graphic tee designs that I just loved. Here are my favorites, along with their links to the store and they are now on SALE! I love when you can combine things that are both cute and educational and these definitely hit both notes!
Three Branches of Government (Also this tee.)
19th Amendment Tee I wish they had an adult version of this shirt!
Noun Tee I love a good grammar-based tee!
Today we had an extra special edition of Adventures with Theo when Theo himself and our friends, the Burrows family, joined me on TV! We talked about fun Halloween activities for the whole family which referenced this post.
As is the case when you include kids in normally grown-up things, they can add some fun pizazz! I think Jovie knew exactly how to grab the spotlight – she’s a star!
As you can see from Theo’s face, he was more subdued about the whole event, but was very excited to be on TV. He decided at the last minute that he didn’t want to talk but was okay sitting on the couch with us. He told me afterwards that he thought it was nice that they introduced him as Theo from Adventures with Theo, “since it is about things I do with you, mommy!” Glad we can add another fun thing we did together to the list.
Click here to watch the video.
Now that pumpkin spice mania has hit, it is officially the Halloween season! We are treated once again with a visit by a guest blogger, my friend Aimee, who graciously put together a list of fun activities last year. To see a description and more information about the events listed below, visit her blog!
Aimee’s 2015 Family Halloween Activity List
Theo and friends in cobra pose – age 5.
A couple of years ago I started practicing yoga regularly. It was life-changing and became a necessary part of my week, for both my physical and mental health. I am glad that Theo has been exposed to yoga from a young age (his preschool teachers incorporated it into their curriculum). I didn’t take my first yoga class until college, so I hope that he will come to recognize its benefits much earlier than I did.
I found this game, Yoga Spinner, online and Theo and I have enjoyed playing it together. They have cards with different poses on them and you take turns completing them. They even have a section of cards that are two-person poses that you do with your child. Even if we don’t have time to play a complete game, we pull out a few cards and move around a little. It’s amazing what just a few minutes of refocusing your mind can do!
I recently learned about an event coming up called Yoga Family Night sponsored by Kidnected World / The Wonderment. It is on October 8 at 7pm and is for the whole family — they will be doing yoga, making mandalas and learning about the origins of yoga from children in a school in India. It sounds great and I am eager to learn more about this organization that promotes global cultural education and understanding in kids.
Several local yoga studios offer classes for children, and often the public library system will have free family yoga sessions available. If you haven’t tried it out, either by yourself or with your kids, give it a chance and welcome the opportunity to quiet your mind for a few moments. I’ll end this post the way my yoga instructor ends every class.
The goodness within me honors the goodness that resides within each of you. Namaste.
I have posted a lot about taking kids to classical music performances, but wanted to write about taking kids to pop/rock music concerts and how enjoyable they can be. I know several friends who take their kids to the annual Red Butte Gardens Concert Series where they can enjoy the outdoor amphitheatre and join their parents for the evening.
We took Theo to his first concert when he was 4. We were encouraged to go by our friends who also had young children and said that it would be fun. It helped that we are fans of The Dave Matthews Band, and that the concert was going to be held outdoors at USANA Amphitheatre. It was a great success!
As with a lot of activities I recommend, we bought the cheapest seats so we didn’t feel like we had to invest a lot in the event in case it backfired. These happen to be the general lawn seating at USANA and is perfect for kids!
Theo and his buddies had so much fun running up and down the lawn, having a picnic dinner and occasionally hanging out with their parents to listen to the music. The adults got to enjoy a band they loved, while keeping an eye on their kids and enjoying a nice summer evening. It was great.
Recently, Taylor Swift came to town for her 1989 World Tour and I organized a group of girlfriends to go (just adults). We are all big fans and thought it would be a fun girls night out. It definitely was a lot of fun, but we were all struck by how the event would have been enhanced by taking some of their daughters or younger girls with us. Not so that we could “fit in” to the demographic, but because the entire show seemed geared towards a younger female audience (with Taylor’s proclamations of girl power and the importance of being yourself). I had a friend afterwards tell me that she was hesitant to bring her daughter, but I would wholeheartedly recommend the show for any moms out there who want to bring their girls (and boys!). And if you don’t want to bring them, I’m happy to be a chaperone for any pop concert you don’t want to go to. 🙂
Adventures with Theo 