Thursday, May 2, 2013 at 10:43PM 
Just providing some inspiration for the local architects...
I don't think I could drop of my children in that treehouse school though. I would want to stay there with them.
Images via "The 10 most beautiful Kindergartens in the world" by Timbuktu.
Friday, October 26, 2012 at 6:24AM 
I haven't done this in a while, but here are some things going on this weekend around Orlando. Click on the titles to link to their respective web sites.
1. Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party Select nights - Sep 11 - Nov 2.
2. Central Florida Veg Fest Saturday 10AM - 6PM at the Orlando Festival Park, near Downtown. Free admission. Food preparation demonstrations, a veggie kids zone, a humane education area, an animal haven, an artist corner, music on an acoustic stage and on a band stage, and many veg-friendly vendors.
3. Star Wars Exhibit For a limited time at the Orlando Science Center. A truly incredible exhibit where the real spaceship models are on display. I'll need to post some pics I took while we were there.
Image for #2 via the Veg Fest website.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012 at 11:30AM 
We took another "mini vacation" this past weekend. Isaac was coming, so why not go enjoy the pre-hurricane weather? This was our first time at the Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resort. We stayed at the Yacht Club just for one night and we loved it. That pool is just sooo amazing. It goes forever, it has sand on the bottom, and, it has all kinds of other fun features. One area has a sand island in the middle that kids were loving. Another part of the pool is a lazy river. There are also a few waterfalls throughout, an awesome slide that comes out of a pirate ship, and this small area that you go into and get taken for a spin, kind of like a hurricane. The four of us spent hours enjoying that pool. Owen got to practice his swimming and Kellan just hung out in his baby float with a big smile while splashing his own face.
In the afternoon we took a break for ice cream (of course) at Beaches & Cream. We did not get The Kitchen Sink. Even Will Gay — biggest lover of ice cream I know — said that was too much.
The cool thing about staying at one of the Disney hotels even if it's just for one night, is that you not only get to enjoy the pool, but they always have lots of family planned activities. The campfire at night is one of my personal favorites. They do it at this Resort, and I've also seen it at Fort Wilderness and at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Friday, June 8, 2012 at 2:57PM 
1. Star Wars Weekends Ends on June 10th — so this is the last weekend — at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Check out the Build a Droid station inside Tatooine Traders, next to Star Tours. We had lots of fun doing that.
2. Remember Dad... Saturday 11AM - 1PM at the Mannello Museum. This is a workshop for kids and families where you'll use printmaking techniques to create special cards. $5 per child.
3. PLAY New touring exhibit at the Orlando Science Center. Giant games! Sounds fun.
Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 8:30AM 
1. ROLL IT! Community Printmaking Festival Saturday 10AM - 3PM at the Mannello Museum of American Art, Loch Haven Park. Free admission. I'm so exited about this event. I can't wait to see Owen print with LEGOS. And, I really want to see that Steamroller press a huge print.
2. Great American Pie Fest Saturday 11AM - 7PM and Sunday 12 - 5PM at Lakeside Park in Celebration. Besides your appetite some basic picnic gear will come in handy at this event.
3. Winter Park Paint Out Saturday at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens. Artists will be capturing local landscapes and landmarks with oils, watercolors and pastels.
4. Bob the Builder exhibit is still up at the Orlando Science Center.
5. Very Fairy Princess Party Saturday at 11AM at the Winter Garden Village Barnes & Noble. Storytime and princess party.
6. 6th Annual Run in the Garden 5k Run/Walk Saturday at 7:30AM. $25 to sign up now, or $30 the day of the race. Kid's Run is free. Sign up day of race at 8:45AM
Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 3:08PM 
I can't believe it's the end of the week already. Here are some of the things going around Orlando this weekend. Click on the titles to find out specific information on each event:
1. Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival Through May 20th. Make sure to check out the pop-up playgrounds around the park.
2. Celebration Spring Art Fest Saturday and Sunday 10AM - 5PM. Paintings, sculptures, photography and jewelry featured along the streets of downtown Celebration.
3. 3rd Annual Hannibal Square Folk Art and Craft Festival Saturday 10AM - 4PM, at the Hannibal Square Heritage Center in Winter Park. There will be a free children’s folk art painting workshop. Music by The Porch Dogs, and Orisirisi African Folklore (drumming and storytelling.)
4. Bob the Builder exhibit is still up at the Orlando Science Center.
5. Storytime Adventures with Frances Keiser and Jane R. Wood Sunday 12:30PM - 2PM, at the Orange County Regional History Center.
6. Currents in Contemporary Art Through June 30th, at the Orlando Museum of Art. Owen says he wants to be an artist, so I think a trip to the museum from time to time would be in order. The main thing attracting me to this exhibit is the image of Robert Rauschenberg's piece shown on the museum's website. I love his artwork, and I'm assuming them showing it as the main piece on the page promoting this exhibit means it's there. (Even though his name is not mentioned among the artist represented) We will see.
Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 10:30AM 
Some fun things going on in the Orlando area this weekend. Click on the titles to find out specific information on each event:
1. Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. Through May 20th. Make sure to check out the pop-up playgrounds around the park.
2. Celebration Exotic Car Festival. Saturday 10AM - 4PM, and, on Sunday you can see the cars before the 10AM rally. We went to this festival last year and Owen fell in love with Ferraris. He's actually saving for one, one quarter at a time. The Star Wars Landspeeder and some other Hollywood movie cars will be there also.
3. Family Clay Day Workshop. Saturday at 1:30PM, at the Orlando Museum of Art. Advance registration required.
4. Orlando Science Center. The Bob the Builder exhibit is still up.
5. Orlando Society of Model Railroaders Open House. Sunday 10AM - 3PM, at 7208 Aloma Ave. Winter Park. See model trains run on a permanent layout in various stages of completion.
6. Kidfest 2012. Saturday 11AM - 5PM, Audubon Park. Lots of fun activities provided by local vendors.
Monday, April 9, 2012 at 10:03AM 
How awesome was the weather this weekend? I hope everyone got to enjoy it. We had a lot of fun — the egg hunts, egg decorating, a birthday party, and finally our little improv picnic Sunday afternoon. It's been really hot the past couple of weeks, so the nice weather couldn't keep us inside this weekend. After we were done with our Easter fun, we decided to go to Park Avenue, grab lunch at Panera, and eat at the the park. Baby Kellan happily snoozed in his carrier the whole time. Owen enjoyed the passing of the train, the airplanes flying by, and the houses under those big funky trees (the one at the end of the park, if you're walking towards Fairbanks, is bigger and better). Before we left, Will and Owen walked over to Kilwin's and brought some delicious ice cream back to our spot. Sooo good!
Thursday, April 5, 2012 at 11:06AM 
I can't believe Easter is here already. This year is going really fast. Anyway, Owen has always loved the Easter egg hunts. I know some neighborhoods do their own, but there are some great, and free public ones also. Here's some info:
Winter Garden Lions Club Annual Egg Hunt:
Saturday, April 7 at 1:00pm
Newton Park, 29 West Garden Avenue
Winter Park 58th annual Easter Egg Hunt
Saturday, April 7 at 9:30am
Central Park in downtown Winter Park
Also worth checking out:
Eggs-cellent Easter Adventure at the Orlando Science Center
Saturday, April 7, 10am-2pm
There are a lot of cute Easter egg decorating ideas out there. I personally love these Eggheads on the picture above – via Sweet Paul.
Happy Easter!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 9:54PM 
So, the first phase of the new Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom is now open. I still don't feel very at ease with the fact that Mickey's and Minnie's houses are no longer there, however, I really do like the way everything is looking so far. We were there about a week ago and encountered some big lines – it's spring break! That didn't stop Owen and Will from flying over the water aboard the new Dumbo though. They loved it. The Barnstormer looks fun too.
Thursday, March 15, 2012 at 11:46AM 
I was looking for things to do this weekend and found out that quite a bit is going on in the Orlando area. I collected some of the things that looked interesting to me and decided to do a post about it. Maybe I should do this every Thursday...
Click on the titles to find out specific information on each event:
1. Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. Through May 20th. We havent been this year, but we really enjoyed it last year.
2. Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival. Friday through Sunday. I love the idea of the Children's Workshop Village.
3. Cruz-N-Car Show. Every third Saturday. It says 6PM-9PM, but we went there once at around 4PM and the cars were already there. If you or your kids are into cars, you'll like this.
4. Orlando Science Center. A few things at the Science Center this weekend: Bob the Builder exhibit, St. Patrick's Day Workshop, and Fossil Fest
5. St. Patrick's Day Storytime. Saturday at the Winter Garden Village Barnes and Noble.
6. Lyle the Crocodile. Saturday and Sunday. Orlando Repertory Theatre. (Image via Victor Davila)
Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 11:56AM 
Even though I don't find Winter Park restaurants overly kid friendly (I know I'm generalizing), I still like the atmosphere around there, so I visit the area from time to time. Last week we grabbed the 2 boys, and went to Hillstone Restaurant (former Houston) for lunch. We grabbed a table outside (a must if the weather is nice) and enjoyed fancy burgers and a great view. I just love the back area at Hillstone – the lake, and the trees. After we were done with our meal we 'explored' the outdoors with Owen as the lead. We ended up at their little herb garden, where for some reason we were on a mission to find basil.
