Indoor Flagstaff Fun: Camp Wannaplay playground in the Flagstaff Mall

Camp Wannaplay is a free indoor playground for kids 42 inches and shorter inside the Flagstaff Mall (4650 N Highway 89) near JC Penney.
This playground is the only one of its kind in the city, featuring soft objects to climb on and slide down. There's a cute slide inside a big tree, a slide across a mountain, a bridge and other fun stuff plus some space to run around and play. If it's too crowded little ones won't have fun, but when there's only a few kids there, it's a blast!

Flagstaff Summer Camps: Flagstaff Recreation Services Day Camp

Flagstaff Recreation Services will host summer camps for kids 5 (and entering kindergarten) through 12 years old this summer for $95 per week. Camps are Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm... and change themes each week. Participants will go on outings to the Aquaplex, Ice Arena, city parks and more. Call 928-213-2300 for more info.

Indoor Flagstaff Fun: Sporties 4 Shorties

Rock climbing during Sporties 4 Shorties

Sporties 4 Shorties is an awesome year round activity for tots 3-5 years old. Children sign up for 4 week sessions (check the Aquaplex calendar for the next openings) of fun from having fun on the climbing wall to playing in the water park part of the pool to scootering to soccer and lots more. It's a great way to tire tots out and get them socializing before starting kindergarten!
Sessions are on Tuesdays from 11:30-12:30 (though some months session times vary a little from this). Cost is $5 for a month for Aquaplex pass holders or $16 for non-pass holders.

Flagstaff Parks: Thorpe Park

Thorpe park (191 N. Thorpe Rd) is a massive Flagstaff park near downtown and Lowell Observatory with lots of amenities. It has two playgrounds, one of which is aimed at the 2-5 year old crowd, the other for five plus... plus two sets of swing sets, including lots of baby seat swings... plus a jungle gym type firetruck for climbing on and plenty of space for running around. There's also a section with lots of ride-ons of dinosaurs and such.
Add to that, Thorpe has several tennis courts, a sand volleyball court, basketball court, soccer fields, youth baseball fields, adult softball fields, a picnic ramada and picnic tables with grills,  racquetball courts, horseshoe courts a disc golf course, a dog park and thankfully portable and permanent restrooms.
It's a fun park that you can always expect to find other kids to play with while you're there.

Free Flagstaff Fun: 'First Green Fridays' eco-friendly events for the whole family

The Willow Bend Environmental Center (703 E Sawmill Rd) hosts First Green Fridays every month with three events for the whole family.
First - take the Recycling Tour at the Recycling Center (1800 E. Butler Ave.) from 3:00-4:00pm.
Then - take the Sustainable Living Tour at Willow Bend from 4:15-5:00pm.
Finally, wrap up the eco-friendly day with the First Friday Art Walk at Willow Bend from 5:00-8:00pm.
For more info, visit their website or call 928-779-1745.

Flagstaff Parks: Ft Tuthill

Playground at Ft Tuthill

Ft Tuthill County Park is on the southern end of Flagstaff. It has tons of picnic areas, 6.5 miles of trails plus a playground. The playground is small but in a nice wooded area and next to a picnic ramada, three picnic tables, two small grills and a composting restroom facility (with two handicapped-accessible unisex facilities). Read about having your birthday party at Ft Tuthill HERE.
There's also camping allowed in the park from May 1 through September 30.

Backyard Fun: Building your own playground

I'm excited to announce a partnership with Backyard Discovery, makers of all those really cool swingsets that have caught your family's eye (like the big one Sam's Club has on display). As an ambassador, I'm going to share my family's experience building their new Montpelier playset in our backyard this spring... plus care, maintenence, playdates and more as time goes on!
I'm happy to answer any questions any of you have about how to choose a playset for your own backyard, building it yourself and more. Stay tuned for a complete series on everything from picking the right spot in the yard to prepping the ground to building and even playing!

Backyard Discovery's Montpelier is what we'll be building in our yard!

New carrier for on the go with kids: Piggyback Rider

Piggyback rides are fun for kids but get so tiring for adults... that's why a team of two brothers that are dads themselves invented the new Piggyback Rider carrier. It's made for kiddos that generally don't want to use a stroller anymore but get tired of walking and want to be carried in the 2.5 to 7 year old range (up to 60 pounds).
Being a huge fan of carriers, the company sent me one to test out with my 5 and 3.5 year olds who are always asking Daddy in particular to be put on his shoulders whenever we take a trip (especially to Disneyland). So he was eager to test this one out too. We took it out on a hike to test it out (and we'll be bringing it to Disneyland this summer too).
Both my daughters loved this thing. They kept referring to it as "the ride thing" and asked to get on over and over, fighting over who would get to ride it next. And I see why, it's a pretty cool set up - kids put on a harness while the adult puts on the carrier. The carrier basically consists of carrier straps that go over the shoulders and buckle in the front (like other backpack carriers) but on the back there's a lightweight bar for kids to stand on. You can also attach the handy Piggyback Rider bag to hang at the bottom of the bar to carry any "stuff" you might want while doubling as a mud flap. Once both adult and child are hooked in, the adult gets down to the child's level while they stand on the bar, grabbing hand straps on the adult's shoulder. The the adult (or we found a second adult makes it easier) clips the child's harness to the back of the carrier and off you go. It takes just a minute.
The carrier is comfortable but feels a bit awkward at first as kids figure out where they should have their toes on the bar. Because kids are standing, they have to be awake and active while being carried around. Once everyone is settled, the ride is enjoyable for both parent and child. My husband said he found it a bit taxing as with him, the kids wanted to lean back and goof around while he was giving them a ride. Once they stopped goofing off, he too liked the carrier and said we should bring it on our next trip to Disneyland to use as we walk around at the end of the day when our 3.5 year old (especially) asks to be carried because she's tired of walking. It would also be good for parade watching!
For more information, to purchase, or find a store near you, visit www.thepiggybackrider.com. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter if you want to get more info.

Flagstaff Family Fun: NAU Fun Run benefit + costume competition

Get ready to lace up those running shoes. Willow Bend Environmental Education Center is having a fundraiser, hosted by the NAU Blue Key Honor Society. The 2nd Annual NAU Fun Run / Walk and Costume Competition is pet and kid friendly. The Fun Run is an 8k run or 5k walk. THere will also be a raffle. Kids 12 and under are free! Students, AmeriCorps members and seniors are $10, adults are $20. You can get a discount rate for a group of five students for $45 and five adults for $95.
The NAU Fun Run takes place Saturday, April 2nd at NAU's South Fields off of Pine Knoll Drive, across from the Forest Science Complex. Registration begins at 7:30, if you didn't sign up in advance. The costume competition and raffle starts at 8am and the run starts at 9am.\
Get more info and sign up HERE.

Free baby signs intro class next week

Learn how to communicate with your baby before he can talk with the free baby signs intro class at Bookmans on Tuesday (March 22, 2011) from 10-11am.
Bring your little one and learn how signing with babies work and tips on getting started.