September Visit to the Forest

Today was our day to go back to DinoQuest and the Fontenelle Forest. Asher at 21 months says, "Dino!" and points to each dinosaur as we approach them. Both Addison and Asher like to touch all the things on the signs, too. Addison likes Acorn Acres best and can care less about the dinos. She likes to dig for fossils best. I tried to explain to them that the dinosaurs were no longer living and what happened to them. Oh, that opened a big can or whys from Addison. She could not grasp what happened to the dinosaurs. I left it with her that they were all sleeping forever. It was quite busy today for some reason, but we visited around lunch time today (during more showings) instead of in the early morning hours. We still had fun!

When planning a visit to the Forest, keep these things in mind:
1. Only the boardwalk is stroller friendly
2. Packs snacks, drinks, and hand wipes
3. Bring bug spray! The mosquitoes were horrible this month!
4. Bring well rested kiddos who are ready to play - it is a lot of fun!
5. Don't forget to play in the basement (take the elevator inside to the lower level). There is cool stuff down there, too!

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August Visit to the Fontenelle Forest/DinoQuest!

What a perfect day to go to the Fontenelle Forest (and we had to get out a second showing - yes, someone was coming to take a second look already! Unfortunately, they bought the house of the same model as ours but had a 3rd car garage. :( ). After walking Alivia to school, Addison, Asher and I headed to where else - Bellevue - to visit the Dinos. This was not our best visit. Addison, who declined going potty while inside, had to go potty as soon as we got really far away. She refused to go outside where there was not a potty, instead selected to whine through the Dino exhibits. UGH! Let's just say we have had more peaceful visits. The dinos are still there, and are still neat to see. After a brief potty break inside, we went back outside to play at the Acorn Acres. What we had missed at the Dino Open house is that the dirt in the Acorn Acres area has been converted to a rock and fossil digging area. How neat is that! Addison and Asher played there for at least a half hour!

Overall, it was a fun morning. We hope to visit at least one more time before the Dinos travel to another land.

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DinoQuest at the Fontenelle Forest

Friday, July 31, 2009

Last night we went to the member's open house Grand Opening for the Dino Quest at the Fontenelle Forest. We arrived 20 minutes before the open house began at 4 (highly recommended as the parking lot was full and people were parking in the streets!). It was an awesome event, featuring live turtles and snakes, fun dino crafts for the kids, lots and lots of food, drinks and snacks (lots of junk food!!), live music, face painting, and of course, the dinosaurs through the forest! It was so neat! Chris, who was dragging his feet on going, not wanting to deal with crowds after a busy week at work, was impressed, too!

We began with the main event...THE DINOSAURS! They were not life sized...but some were big and looked real as they stood in the forest. They are all along the boardwalk, so it is very stroller friendly. Some are in the dirt, some are in nests in trees, while one was actually "Flying," well, kind of. We told the kids we were on a dinosaur hunt, making it more fun to actually walk the trail. Asher had enough towards the end as he started to see people walking with trail mix and candy. He loves food and wanted a "SNACK!!"

Once back at the visitor center, the kids selected their pizza, fruit, lemonade, and TONS of snacks! Our kids do not eat like this normally! We were not so pleased about the over abundance of JUNK, but they had fun eating it! We went to the back of the center to work on crafts. Alivia played with dino stampers, made a dino habitat, and made her own little dino! It was so fun! Meanwhile, Addison and Asher played with the dino puzzles and toys.

We went back outside, listened to the music, decided against face painting, and touched the turtle and the snake (yuck!). We quickly peeked downstairs at the dino stuff down there (who knew they had such small brains!) before heading home.

Alivia said as we approached our van, which was luckily parked nearby, "Thank-you! That was such a fun party!" Oh, and it was!

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