Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum

Another great morning trip is the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum. We like going here when the weather is bad or we need somewhere that is stroller friendly and free.

This museum is actually really neat and surprisingly well though out for being free. Sam loves looking at all of the animals and since they are all inanimate, he can get pretty close to them.

They have a ton of animals there including 2 giraffes, a huge elephant, zebras, lions, bears, fish, a hippo... ok, pretty much any animal you would want to see. 

They also have a play place area that Sam really enjoys. It includes a slide and a tunnel. The opposite wall has a magnetic puzzle for older children.

I like that many of the animals are positioned in a "true to life" way. They depict many of the animals as if they were in the wild.

This museum would be great for an educational trip, but it's also great just for a fun morning.

They also offer free live animal shows which could be a bunch of fun. We've never been to one of those so I can't comment on what they are like, but I bet they are great.

This free museum is definitely worth a trip. http://mlbean.byu.edu/ 

BYU Museum of Paleontology

It's been so long since I've posted and a lot of that has to do with my new little bundle of joy. I have been adjusting to life with 2 kids and our adventures have had to adjust to that as well. Much to my delight (and Sam's as well) we have continued having fun and making great memories with a newborn in tow.

One place we went was the BYU Museum of Paleontology. This little museum is perfect for a quick morning out of the house and made even better with friends.

The museum is free, though they do accept donations in a little box when you walk in. Sam and Charlie like to play in the windowsill.

This is no front desk or reception area, so you can just walk in and begin to explore.

Many of the exhibits are off-limits to little hands, but a few are hands-on. 

Through the window in the back, you can sometimes see various BYU students working on recovering real dinosaur bones in the Paleontology Lab.

This museum would be great for homeschooling or as an educational day about dinosaurs. It doesn't have a ton of fun things for the little ones, but Sam enjoys running around and looking at all of the dinosaurs. 

Check out their website for more info: http://geology.byu.edu/museum/

Hee Haw Farms in Pleasant Grove, UT

I'm still pregnant, which means I needed a good excuse to walk around and let Sam get out of the house for a little while. (My nesting urges have definitely kicked in and we've been spending a lot of time cleaning everything in our house.) I thought it would be fun to check out another farm on our list! After all, most of these farms will close at the end of the month, so we only have a short window to explore them. 

Enter: Hee Haw Farms in Pleasant Grove, UT. 

This farm is typically only open from 4-10pm on weekdays and 10am-11pm on Saturdays, but since it is Fall Break for many of the schools around here, they were open all day today. We took advantage of that and went at 10:15. There were a few people there but it definitely wasn't crowded.  

We paid an entrance fee of $6 for me, and Sam was free because he was under 3 years old. 

The farm was a little run-down, but it had a lot of fun things to offer.

This neat little goat walk was fun for Sam to watch. The goats climbed across the little platforms and if they came up to the fence, you could feed them. 

They had a massive potato sack slide. Sam surprised me by going down it by himself with no hesitation! It was pretty fast, though, so he didn't want to go on it again. Lots of the bigger kids liked this slide. 

They had several tractors sitting around the farm that kids were allowed to climb on. This definitely appealed to my vehicle-loving 2 year old. 

This little train was fun as well. Sam went on it several times with his friend Charlie. 

They also offered pony rides for a dollar extra. Sam had never ridden a pony, so I opted to pay the dollar just to see how he would react. He loved it. It was a pretty short ride, but I only paid a dollar so I couldn't complain. 

Sam's friend, Charlie.

They also had several animals to pet or feed. These goats were in a large pen that they allowed the children and parents to go into. (You could also pay a dollar to get some feed for the goats if you wanted to.) 

Sam and Charlie were content to run around and pet the goats. The goats were super mild mannered and were obviously very use to children. 

The other animals included pigs (including a mom with her brand new piglets), chickens, ducks, and cows. Sam has come to love seeing the "mamimals" each time we go to a farm, so he was pretty excited about these. 

They had several other things that I didn't get a picture of like bean bag toss, a corn pit, more tube slides, a place to eat, and a hay ride. They also have some additional attractions if you would like to pay more money.

 Overall, this trip to the farm was a success. I loved the variety of things they had to offer and Sam definitely had a fun time.

 In comparison Jakers Jack O Lanterns, I think I like Jakers better for a few reasons.
1. Jakers is free. Always a plus.
2. Jakers seemed cleaner and neater than Hee Haw. I know that farms aren't meant to be "clean" necessarily, but it's nice that at Jakers, I didn't feel like I had to worry about Sam stepping in puddles of unidentifiable liquid or manure. Sam definitely got dirtier at Hee Haw just from the sheer amount of dirt and dust that was on everything (though I'm sure he didn't mind).

Both farms had animals, corn pits, hay rides, slides, and mazes, so the fact that Jakers is free tips it their direction for me.

Either way, it was worth a fun morning out. Sam loved getting up close with the animals and getting covered head to foot in dirt!

Keep in mind: When trying to find Hee Haw Farms, Google Maps took us to the wrong place. Follow the directions Hee Haw gives you on their website, if not you'll end up in some residential neighborhood. (A car behind us did the exact same thing!)

Check out their website for more info: http://www.heehawfarms.com/

University Mall in Orem, UT

Sometimes on days when we can't think of anything to do but I want to get out of the house, Sam and I end up at the University Mall in Orem, UT.  My husband and I are in the "poor students" category right now, so I don't go to the mall to actually shop there, but it can be a fun place to walk around or play with Sam! Sam is familiar with this mall because of the cool dinosaur play place. 

 In the northwest corner of the mall (near the See's Candies and H&M entrance), there is a fun little play place for younger kids. Sam and I usually grab a snack from the food court and then come down to this area and he has fun running from place to place and sliding down the slide.

Overall, it's a pretty minimal little play area. It has a slide and a little treehouse, as well as a dinosaur for kids to climb on. I've seen older kids play there, but typically children ages 6 months-4 years seem to have the most fun. 

There is lots of seating around the play area for parents to watch their children and the play place is generally out of the way from other stores or high-traffic areas. We've tried playing at a couple of other malls (like the Provo Town Centre) and while there are some fun things to do there, the University Mall is Sam's (and therefore my) favorite. 

You should check it out sometime on a day when the weather is bad or you aren't feeling too adventurous but would like something new and free to do with your little one(s). 

Here is their website!

http://www.shopuniversitymall.com/

Jakers Jack-O-Lanterns

It's finally Fall! I have been waiting for Fall since Fall ended last year, and now it's finally here. The leaves are changing, the weather is cooling down, and there are so many pumpkin and apple flavored foods available I don't even know what to do with myself! Fall also marks a time for pumpkin patches and hay rides. Since I have never experienced Fall with a toddler before, I thought I'd start checking out the local farms and see what they have to offer. This farm, Jakers Jack-O-Lanterns, was first on my list.

Jakers is located in Springville, UT, right off of the 400 S. exit so it was super easy to find (a definite plus when it comes to farms). I took Sam there and he got to have a play date with his friend Charlie while my friend Stephanie and I hung out.

They had several fun things available at Jakers, and did I mention it was all free?

Sam LOVED seeing the "mamals" (animals). He snorted at the pigs and squawked at the turkeys. I showed him that you could pet them, but he wasn't into that. They had turkeys, pigs (one huge mama pig, and several baby ones), llamas (alpacas?), and goats. 

Next, we checked out the kids' maze. It was pretty cool for our little guys, but Stephanie and I both agreed that any kid over the age of 3 or 4 would think the maze was too easy. Sam and Charlie had fun, though, and got lost a couple of times. 

They also had a huge corn pit! This was definitely one of the highlights for the boys. The corn easily came up to their knees if they burrowed into it. Sam loved throwing the kernels. The spent a good 15-20 minutes playing in this spot and Stephanie and I got to sit on the bench and have some mom time while they played. (You can only imagine how much hay and corn I found in Sam's diaper when we got home. ;)

The next favorite attraction was these tube slides! One is at a steeper angle than the other one, so the boys could go down at different speeds. They loved climbing up the hay in the middle and falling into the corn at the bottom. We spent another 30- 45 minutes in this spot.  

Underneath this slide area is a little "haunted house" that we convinced our boys to walk through. It was very simple, with some fake snakes, bats, and ghosts. They were scared of a motion-activated ghost that made haunting noises when you walked by, but they got through it. :)

Next to the slide area is a huge pyramid of hay. The boys couldn't help themselves and had to climb all the way to the top. Stephanie braved the heights and helped them climb onto the top hay bushel. 

Our visit to Jakers Jack-O-Lanterns was a complete success! Sam had a blast. He was looking through the pictures from our adventure with me today and kept pointing at them saying, "Again?! Again?!" We'll definitely be going back. 

I loved that they provided all of that for free! Because Sam had so much fun, we decided to buy a pumpkin from them. We got a medium sized pumpkin and it was only $2 (about half the price of Walmart or our local grocery store). I never carry cash, but they were able to take my card which was awesome. 

They also have a corn maze set up this year, though it looked like they were still working on getting it going, so maybe wait a week or so for that. The corn maze is $3 per person (I assume small children would be free.) 

The hours are also appealing. Several of the local farms are only open in the evening during the week, but this farm opens at 10 and stays open all day. 

Check out their website for more info:

http://harwardfarms.com/jakers/

North Park in Provo

North Park is one of Sam's favorite parks in Provo. The first time I took him there, he was a little too small to really appreciate it because he couldn't safely climb on the equipment. He's just starting to get old enough and tall enough to enjoy all that this little playground has to offer. 

North Park is located on 500 N 500 W in Provo, directly across from the Provo Rec Center. You can park on the street or in the Rec Center parking lot. There are several benches and plenty of trees for shade. I would recommend it for ages 2 and up. It seems like it is a great park for older kids who might be bored of the smaller-scale playgrounds at other parks. There is also a large pavilion nearby as well as bathrooms and grassy areas. 

Provo Rec Center Playground

Sam and I love the Provo Rec Center, and we especially love the playground! There is an indoor play area that is free and available to anyone without having to worry about a membership or fees. It is located right inside the Rec Center. We often go there on days when the weather isn't as nice, or at times when I just want to sit and let Sam run around for a little while. It is completely enclosed and safe for big and little kids. 

The big jungle gym is meant for ages 5+ but Sam can play on it if I help him climb up the initial platforms, even though he is only 2. 

There is also a small toddler area with a couple of slides and some wall toys. Sam likes this area the best and spends most of his time going down the slides over and over. 

He is also a fan of the cool fountain in the front of the Rec. We always have to stop for a little while and admire it. ;)

Check out the Provo Rec Center website for more info:

http://www.provo.org/community/recreation-center/