West Rattlesnake Mountain Hike

For Mother's Day I wanted to spend the day outdoors with my little ones so we chose a child friendly hike close to home.  Today we choice West Rattlesnake Mountain in Holderness. It was a perfect hike for our little family.

Information on West Rattlesnake - including driving directions, trail information, etc.  can be found here. 

Sassy Sis started out strong, walking up the well cared for trail.  She lasted about half way of the way up before she rode in trustworthy Ergo on Daddy's back. 

Overall, the trail was VERY well maintained.  During a large portion of the trail there were steps made right into the trail.  It made it very easy for my two to navigate their way up the trail.

Once at the top the views are AMAZING...you can see all of Squam Lake and many of the surrounding mountain ranges.

 It makes a perfect backdrop for a Mother's Day photo.

However....BEWARE....the top is all rock ledge that drops right off.  Our rule quickly became, if you're roaming around, you MUST be holding an adult's hand! 

The rocks are a perfect place to stop and have a snack, enjoy the view, breathe it all in, and then pinch yourself when you realize this is your backyard!!

Overall, this is a great hike for families.  Even though Sassy Sis ended up in the carrier, the Owl did made it up and back on his own, quite easily.  The trail is well maintained and even though it is a steady climb up it is very doable for young children.  The views from the top are breathtaking. From car seat to car seat - with a sizable break at the summit, it took us just under two hours.

Happy Trails! 

Shaving Cream Fun!

Back in the day when I was still a classroom teacher I loved pulling out the shaving cream. The kids always looked at me like I had gone mad. They couldn't believe it - shaving cream during spelling time. Of course! It was perfect for practicing our spelling/site words, working on fine motor skills, and cleaning our desks. It always ended with happy kids, clean desks, a fresh smelling classroom, and a smiling teacher!

I hadn't pulled out the shaving cream with my two yet and with our new easel, thought it was about time. I figured we could use the shaving cream as "paint" for Sassy Sis' new easel.

(See post here.)

First, I squirted shaving cream in a 6 hole muffin pan. Then I added a few drops of food coloring to each container. ( If you don't want died hands use liquid water color.) It was perfect - a palate of shaving cream "paint".

The kids went to town. They loved painting right on the easel.

They thought it was pretty funny to see each other through the "window"......

When they were done with a scene or needed more room, we just hosed down the easel and started painting again. Masterpieces were created over and over again.

After painting, we decided to play a bit more with our shaving cream. It was perfect for driving our cars into and the Owl spent a considerable amount of time with the tray of shaving cream.

Now that I'm reminded how much fun playing with shaving cream can be I think we'll have to try out some of these fabulous shaving cream ideas:

Little Wonders Days shows a step by step tutorial to make these shaving cream eggs here. Easter is over, but I think we'll use the same technique to make some spring flowers or

umbrellas or leaves in the fall!

I Can Teach My Child has a shaving cream cloud activity that is perfect for after reading Eric Carle's Little Cloud.

Happy Hooligans has a great car wash activity that I know both of my little two would love!

Outdoor Easel

A few weeks ago, while visiting a good friend, we were talking about Sassy Sis' upcoming birthday. Of course the topic of presents came along. My friend's DH is a talented DIYer and I threw out the suggestion of an outdoor easel for Sassy Sis. Now, let it be known that Mr. H has a soft spot for Sassy Sis - and a few days later an easel was built and ready to be delivered for her party.

All I showed Mr. H. was this picture:

It is from one Play At Home Mom one of my favorite blogs - so many great ideas!

And this is what arrived at Sassy Sis' 2nd birthday party:

It was perfect!

The "glass" is plexi-glass so you can paint directly on it and then hose it down! Mr. H. used outdoor paint so it will be perfect to spend the summer outdoors. He even included a paint holder on each side so both the Owl and Sassy Sis can paint at the same time.

Now don't worry, if you are like me and need DETAILED instructions to make anything! There are numerous examples of these outdoor easels online. Take a look on my pinterest board for more ideas and detailed tutorials.

Mud Pie Kitchen

Ok, I'll admit it. I L.O.V.E. Pinterest! I'm a visual person and love all of the ideas! Lately, we've been working to create more play areas for our little ones in the backyard. I've noticed lots of ideas on how to create a mud pie kitchen. Perfect. The Owl LOVES mud!

We had play house that wasn't getting too much use. I was actually contemplating selling it to make more room in our backyard. Then I realized it was perfect to convert to a mud pie kitchen.

All it took to transform our playhouse to a mud pie kitchen was a quick trip to the dollar store and my cupboards! The Owl helped me hit some nails into the inside walls to hang some of our new spoons and measuring cups. We added a bucket of play sand, some bowls, a bucket of water, and some old cake and cupcake pans. Easy peasy.

Seriously, less than $10 and it brought new life to a forgotten "toy". My two have spent HOURS in the last few days pouring, scoping, mixing, making, decorating mud pies.

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They have worked together in their kitchen - chatting away about their creations. I love listening to their little escapades. It is times like this I will cherish forever.

Mud pie anyone? They are delicious....

Now don't worry if you do have a play house-they are many easy ideas on how to make a mud pie kitchen in your own backyard. Most just require a little space, a rummage through your garage and a trip to your local thrift store.

Check out my pinterest outdoor/summer play board here for mud pie kitchen ideas as well as other ideas for back yard fun!

Waukewan Highlands

We're back - from bouts of the stomach flu, celebrating birthdays and holidays, hosting parties and egg hunts, and the regular craziness of life.

Our weekly walks, exploring new places in the area, have commenced!

Yesterday we visited Waukewan Highlands Community Park. It is located off of Rt 106 in Meredith and is a great place for little ones to explore.

There are a few different trails you can take. The mailbox

was empty of trail guides, but there is a great interpretative guide you can download and print off from here. The guide is geared perfectly for little hikers.

We took the white trail down to the pond. It was all down hill and an easy stroll. Even my 24 month old could handle it easily. The little pond was perfect for throwing sticks, rocks, and pine cones into.

We easily spent 15- 20 minutes here....with each minute attempting to get that much closer to the water.

We then proceeded around Hart Pond and up the red trail. It is uphill the whole way, the Owl ( 43 months) did fine, but Sassy Sis (24 months) asked to be carried. The trail was covered with dead leaves, which made it a bit slippery.

Luckily big brother carried our pack so I could carry sis.

Again, we're so lucky to have so many hiking areas to enjoy with the little ones right here in the Lakes Region! Happy Trails!

Diana's Bath Hike

Today was a gorgeous day - unseasonably warm and sunny. We decided to spend the day up north. No trip to North Conway is complete without a walk in the woods. Sassy Sis has been resisting the pack so we needed a hike that would be easy for her to walk.We decided on Diana's Bath - an easy .6 mile (one way) hike to a cascade of water falls.

Diana's Bath is a great hike for a young family. In the summer you can take a dip in the swimming hole - today we opted to just toss some rocks into the rapidly moving water.....and of course get our feet wet!

The trail was a bit more difficult today since it was still snow covered and slippery in places due to the melting and refreezing.

The water fall was moving at a good clip and mesmerized the little ones.

Sassy Sis walked the whole way in and spent a long time playing around at the falls.

She managed to walk for about 1/4 of the return hike. I was pretty proud of her - it was a valiant effort on her part, especially considering she had the stomach flu at the beginning of the week and it was bordering on nap time.

We'll look forward to heading back to Diana's Bath during the summer when we can picnic at the falls ( at the picnic tables nearby) and possibly even wet

our toes in the water!

Science Center Winter Walk

We LOVE Squam Lake Natural Science Center. It is one of our favorite places to visit during the spring, summer and fall months.

So, needless to say, I was thrilled to hear that they offered guided walks during the winter months. The good news is

the walk was GREAT, the bad news - today was the last day they offer their walks during this winter. However, don't worry they do have more events on their calendar before their season

opening, May 1st.

For example, did you know that the first Tuesday of every month they have a program for 4-6 year olds which covers the cycles found in nature?

WILD WINTER WALK

The Owl and I went on their 1pm walk. The Science Center charges $12 for nonmembers, $10 for members. They supplied snowshoes, but we brought our own.

The program started off in one of their classrooms.

Our guide showed us a 10 minute power point that talked about the adaptations animals use to survive during the winter season. Then it was time to head outside and gear up.

The path we took was modified from the path open to the public during their regular season and it is a guided walk. I've been to the center many times however, having a guide for our small group was very informative. I learned loads of informative tid-bits from the information she shared.

We were able to see: fisher cats, red fox, otters, mountain lions, bobcats, white tailed deer, owls, and some raptor birds. Since the animals do not have groups of visitors 7 days a week during the winter they were VERY active and VERY interested in us.

We walked mostly on the regular path, but did take some paths through the woods which Owl just loved.

Once back to the classroom the guide did a mini-talk about/with an opossum and of course Owl wouldn't let you forget the hot chocolate they had to offer!

As always the Science Center didn't disappoint and it was the perfect way to spend a fun afternoon, outdoors with my little guy!

We already have May 5th, New Hampshire Day, marked on our calendars for our first official visit to the center during the 2012 season however, I think , after looking at their calendar we will be taking part in a few more of their special programs between now and then!