Art that's educational and fun: Art In Island 3D Museum

Art can do many things for many different people. It can inspire. It can educate. It can spur people to action. It can calm them down. It can do all of those things, but art doesn't have to do any of them to justify its existence. Sometimes all art has to do is entertain!

Entertainment, not education, was foremost on our minds when we visited Art in Island, a 3D art museum in Quezon City. Unlike most art museums, visitors are encouraged to touch and explore -- in fact, that's where all the fun comes from! But we also managed to learn a thing or two about optical illusions and how your brain works.

Levi's Stadium: The good, the bad, the ugly.

This weekend Alfie is watching Manchester United play FC Barcelona in the International Champions Cup. I'm green with envy! These are two of the biggest football clubs in the world, and even if only a portion of their first team plays, it's going to be an amazing match. Hopefully he'll get to see the (un)holy trinity of strikers -- Messi, Suarez, and Neymar -- match skills against Van Persie, Rooney, Mata, and more. What's more, they'll be playing in one of the best new stadiums around: Levi's Stadium.

Palo Alto's Magical Bridge Playground: a place for everyone

One of the reasons I love living in Palo Alto is that we're living in a place that values innovation and change. Traffic lights and potholes and internet access (hello, city council, when are we getting city-wide free wifi?) notwithstanding, Palo Alto and Silicon Valley is always on the cutting edge. And we're not just talking hi-tech: check out Palo Alto's newest playground, the Magical Bridge Playground. It's the only playground in the Bay Area designed to accommodate kids of all abilities, and one of the few playgrounds in the country that is 100% wheelchair accessible.

I've already published write-ups on the playground on Silicon Valley Mamas, Red Tricycle (the article even got picked up by SF Gate!), and Mommynearest, but I had a few more photos of this wonderful playground that I wanted to share.

What to do in Bodega Bay

Bodega Bay is one of those places that people know because of the movies -- it was the setting for Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds. Don't worry, unlike the movie, Bodega Bay isn't a creepy place at all! It's a great place for Bay Area families to spend the day.

Practice makes Perfect: Introducing the Skills Bros Jr

Ball control is one of the most basic soccer skills, and my boys have been practicing keepy-ups (kicking the ball up with one or both feet without letting the ball touch the ground) since they were in first grade.  I remember when doing 5 keepy-ups was a challenge. They were so frustrated and impatient to do more, but Alfie and I reminded them of their experiences with the Shred Sled -- that they would only improve with practice.

So they practiced.

Where to find Dole Pineapple Whip in the Bay Area

If you read my blog or follow my Instagram/Twitter/Facebook feed, you'll know that I'm obsessed with the Dole Pineapple Whip Float. It's my favorite Disneyland treat, and I have one every time I visit the park. I love it so much I even searched high and low to find the perfect recipe for homemade Dole Pineapple Whip Float so I can make it myself when I'm craving the taste.

One of the things that makes the Dole Pineapple Whip Float (and the ice-cream-only version, the Dole Pineapple Whip) so special is that it's only available at Disneyland or Walt Disney World. Sure, I've heard of places outside the parks that claim to sell it. Apparently there's even one in San Francisco called Pineapples. But does it really taste like the real thing?

Totoro Claymation Movie

The Pea loves creating stop-motion animation videos, but I think this is one of her best yet.  She filmed during our recent visit to the Children's Creativity Museum. Their Animation Studio lets kids create figures out of clay, and provides sets, backdrops, cameras, and software so they can create a stop-motion video.

This was the longest we've ever spent inside the Animation Studio -- three whole hours! Even though Totoro is a relatively simple character, The Pea took her time and spared no attention to detail, so the results are truly adorable. I'm so proud of her!

Muir Woods: Best place in the Bay Area for a beginner's hike

Redwood groves are all around Northern California, and they're great places to take family and friends. One of the easiest to get to, is Muir Woods. It's just 12 miles north of San Francisco, but when you get there, it's like entering another world. We spent a couple of hours at Muir Woods over spring break, and it reminded me of how lucky I am to live in this area. The redwoods are truly majestic, amazing, awesome, and every other superlative adjective you can think of.

5 Things Tweens and Teens Will Love about the Children's Creativity Museum

Today I took the kids to the Children's Creativity Museum for a blog event. It has been a couple of years since we last visited, so I wasn't sure whether they would be bored. They did want to go to the Animation Studio exhibit, so I figured we could stay for a couple of hours, have lunch, then leave.

We ended up staying at the museum for SIX HOURS.  I guess playing with cool technology never gets old!  It's true that a large portion of the museum appeals to younger kids (the puppet theatre, the soft play area, the art center, the reading nook), but there's still so much that kids of all ages will enjoy. Here are our top 5 choices for exhibits at the Children's Creativity Center for older kids:

Good bye, grade school

Yesterday we said goodbye to the end of an era.  The Pea has graduated from middle school; next year she'll be starting high school.  3Po and Jammy have graduated from grade school; next year they'll be starting middle school.  We've closed the chapter on the elementary school years.