Live 360: MacArthur Mall Studio

Our plans got rained out today, so we headed to MacArthur Center to check out the new Live 360 studio. I'd heard about the studio before, but we had never been. The studio partners with the Hurrah Players, Young Audiences of Virginia, Glass Gardens, Eat the Streets, the YMCA, the Bhav Brigade, the Governor's School, Norfolk Public Schools, Norfolk Library, Fit4Mom, Cullipher Farms, and Barns and Noble.

The front part of the studio has books from the library, art from children at NPS, puzzles, places for families to do art including a 16 foot long chalkboard, and chairs in all shapes and sizes. There are several games for families and the studio has regular family game nights. Yoga, MixxedFit, and Fit4mom/ Fit4Baby post and prenatal classes are also held regularly. (My long time friend Cayte teaches the prenatal workout class if you're looking for info. I have taken the Body Back classes several times- it's no joke!) 

We attended the Story Time with Friends.  After singing a song, we read "How Dinosaur Picks Out His Pet". After this the dinosaur came out to meet the kids. R did cry again, but hey- he didn't run away! After the story milk and cookies were served to the kids. The cost of the event was $5.00 per child.

Good to know:

• Coming Soon! Soon the YMCA will offer childcare on the fourth Friday of the month from 6-9 p.m. Parents can have dinner at California Pizza Kitchen for $50.00/members and $70.00/non-members or two movie tickets for $35.00/members and $55.00/non-members. 
• California Pizza Kitchen has a mixers series where they teach how to make mixers and desserts. Check out the info here. 
• Cullipher Farm is outside of MacArthur mall on Sundays to provide high quality fruits and veggies. 
• On October 29 pets are welcome to come and have their picture taken for Howl-o-ween. They will receive a FREE 5x7 photo.

Afterwards we went upstairs to the play place, and played some. I love this photo of R, H, and H's mama. 

Pumpkin Patch: Norfolk Farm Market

It might be 85 degrees out and super humid, but it is technically fall. That means it was time to take big R to his first pumpkin patch. We chose to take him to the Norfolk Farm Market on Little Creek Road. (Behind the McDonalds). They are open from October 1st-December 25th and sell pumpkins and christmas trees. Hours are from 9:00 am-9:00 p.m. Hayrides are FREE on the weekend.

On one side they had these cool big puzzle things. R mostly liked trying to step on them. They also had cornhole which was cool. The farm mood was set with some country music playing, complete with a banjo. (Check the playlist below to get in the right mood.) 

We took the chance to snag a picture in this perfect photo opportunity. 

One thing I didn't know, they sell flowers, bales of hay, and all kinds of pumpkins. Their regular orange halloween pumpkins are $.60 a pound. 

In addition to the flower area, they have an inside area where they sell Halloween items and pumpkin accessories. Do I need light up teeth that stick in my pumpkin? Maybe!

I've seen on Facebook where they have pumpkin carving demonstrations, but there wasn't one going on while we were there. This is a cute little place to spend some time. It's not as big as some of the large markets, but we liked the lack of the huge crowds and the laid back atmosphere. The people were helpful and not pushy- which I appreciate. They also didn't mind that R ran around and touched like... all the pumpkins. But really... he tried to pick up one that was about as big as his body. 

In other news, if you are a Halloween fan, and love Hocus Pocus too, check out this company that makes Hocus Pocus themed bath products. *Swoon!*

VA Aquarium

Y'all... I won't lie. I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with the aquarium. I've got several problems. I hate driving the 40 minutes or so it takes me to get there. During the summer it attracts lots of tourists, and during the winter it has lots of field trips. Also, it is EXPENSIVE. An adult admission is $24.95 and a child is $19.95. (Kids under two are free.) That's a lot of money for what they say is 2.5 hours of exhibits. If you do decide to go, look into the membership. They have advertisements outside saying that's worth it if you go twice. However... of all the places I have taken R, this has been the most where he has looked at an exhibit and been actually interested. So I guess this means we will have to come again. I might even ask for a membership for R's birthday next year.

The museum is made up of several different sections. There is a bay and ocean section, a marsh section, a few touch tanks, a room with animatronic giant bugs and a creek path. There is also a 3-D theater for an extra cost. What I didn't know the first time that we went was there are actually two buildings. The nature path takes you to the second building which has river otters, snakes, turtles, and a Native American exhibit. They do have a play area, but it was closed when we went.

Don't overlook the nature trail. (Like I did the first time! Whoops! I don't know how that happened. We didn't know there were two buildings either the first time. I guess I wasn't paying attention.) On it we found places to walk out over the water and even a playground that opened at 11:00. The trail goes under the Adventure Park which is great for older kids and adults. Boat trips are also available from the aquarium for an extra fee. If you have a toddler or preschool aged child, aim to go on a Tuesday. With the price of admission children are invited to attend Toddler Tuesdays where they are read a story, they sing a song, and sometimes will see a puppet show. These range in times from 10:00-12:30 and last for thirty minutes, so be sure to check the website before you go. 

Another tip, I know I've said this before.. but if you have a membership to anywhere, look and see where you have reciprocity. We got in free for a month because of our zoo membership, so we were able to go twice without having to pay. I'm hopeful that next summer will have the same deal because although I do hate all of the things I said above, it's totally worth it to see the look on little man's face when we walk through the tunnel and are surrounded by blue water and colorful fish. 

P.S. Check out this article- it's about how zoo's and aquariums prepare for hurricanes. Lots more to do I ever thought about! Who knew? 

Air Power Park

While researching FREE places to go in Hampton on our trip to Bluebird Gap Farms (read about it here), I discovered the Air Power Park. Hampton has a rich history of air and space travel. I had never been to Air Power Park, but Neil remembers going as a child. The museum is open 9:00 am- 4:30 pm year round, seven days a week except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.

In the 15 acre park you can go on a self guided tour of jets, missiles, and rockets. (One of the casings held a nuclear warhead... that's scary.) There were about 20 items outside and a small museum inside with 425 models and information on the history of USAAR/USAF at Langley.

One cool thing that we learned was that they have a few picnic tables and a canoe and kayak launch. This would be a fun place to go explore, canoe, and come back for a picnic lunch. Parking is free also. They also have a playground with slides, swings, and climbing items, but for some reason (too busy playing) I forgot to snap a picture of it.

We chose to walk around and explore outside first. One of the things we saw was this time capsule. Pretty cool, it will be opened in 2065. I do wish that inside it had said what was in it. 

You can see some orange fencing in some of the pictures. They are in the process of building a hiking trail that will lead to Hampton's Power Plant area where Bass Pro Shop is located. They are hoping to open this around January which will be another cool feature. 

When we walked inside, there was a friendly man waiting for us. He gave us all kinds of information, all about the park, about the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, a brochure with a list of aviation museums from Maryland to North Carolina, upcoming air show info, all kind of stuff. He was even kind enough to print us off some information about things that his grandson liked to do when he was big R's age. 

They did have a children's room with some books, but I wish that it had some toys in it. When I asked the docent, he said that they do sometimes get toys, but that kids can be hard on them. (Psh- I get it!) He said that they accept books and toy donations, so I plan on hitting up a used book store to look for some and keeping my eyes open for toys. If you decide to check it out and have some laying around- consider taking them some! They are looking for space/plane related things, but are not picky! The docent said that they had some dinosaur books that had to be thrown away finally because they were too worn.

If your kid is into planes or space, check out some of the info he shared with us of when cities normally have their air shows:

• Manassas Air Show: May
• Virginia Beach Air Show: May (Warbirds), June (Flying Proms), October 07-08 (WWI planes)
• Stanton: October 14 Culpepper Air Fest 
• Lessburg: September 
• Washington Dulles Plane Pull: September 

The U.S. Army Transportation Museum- another FREE museum in Newport News with four buildings and four outdoor parks. Has road vehicles, amphibious crafts, aircrafts, and rail crafts. Lots of World War II coverage. 

Other free air and space museums: 

• Glenn L Martin Maryland Aviation Museum
• Baltimore- Washington International Airport Observation Gallery
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Visitor Center
• Airmen Memorial Museum
• National Air and Space Museum
• National Air and Space Museum Steven D Udvar- Hazy Center
• Langly Air Force Base 

If you or your kid is into air and space stuff, or if you're looking for a little day trip to Hampton, this would be a perfect stop. We plan on going again once R is a little older and the trails are open. Neil loves Bass Pro Shop (ugh- I hate even thinking about going to that store with him... why does it take SO long?!), so it would be perfect for us.

First Haircut at Pigtails and Crewcuts

This was quite the experience for R, but he needed a haircut badly. I didn't want to do it, but his bangs were hanging all in his face. I had heard that the wait time was a bear, and they don't take appointments so I was worried. We arrived early in the morning. Great news - there were two stylists and only one other child, so R was able to be helped right away. This place is perfect for kids. There are six work stations, four of which are cars, fire trucks, police cars, or planes and two are normal chairs for the bigger kids. (AKA too cool to sit in the cars, but still too scared to go to an adult salon.) 

While she worked fast and furiously on his hair, R scarfed animals cookies (or a lollipop if he'd rather, although with my kid it would end up IN his hair) and watched the DVD that was running. After the cut, R wandered over to the train track set and played while I settled the bill. He also got to pick a toy from the "Treasure Chest."

The normal price for a haircut is $17.95, but for $6 more ($23.95), you get a great little keepsake package. It's a 5 x 7 card with a picture of him in his "new do" and a lock of hair in a little baggie, with the date of the cut. She also gave me two other small baggies with hair for the two grandmothers! It's a great deal considering how much adult cuts are, and the fact that they get a snack and a picture. 

I also learned that they have a party room where kids can arrange cuts for them and their friends. There's the Princess Party and the Pirate Party. More details can be found on their website. This is a perfect spot for getting haircuts for kids. The Sprout is close by (a consignment shop for kids) and the YMCA is right next door with lots of activities and camps for kids.

Locations in Tidewater include Chesapeake at Towne Place, Newport News, and Virginia Beach at Hilltop. (We went to VB) There is also a location in Richmond. 

Prices from their website:

Kid’s Haircut: $17.95

Bang Cut: $5.95

Dad`s Cut: $18.95

Mom`s Cut: $20.95

First Haircut Package: $23.95

Shampoo: $4.95

Shampoo w/ Blow Dry: $9.90

Nail or Toe Polish: $5.95

Up-Dos: $15.95 & Up

Braids: $8.95 & Up

By the way, R didn't cry at all, but I might have a little writing this post. How is my little man SO big?!