The City of Raleigh hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the newest playground in the parks system last week. The playground at Barwell Road Park was completed in part due to a generous donation by the Carolina Panthers. It features 2 traditional play structures and swings. The real jewel of the park though is the Panthers Play 60 Challenge Course! The Challenge Course is designed for ages 13+. Our kids are 12 and 6, but still managed to enjoy it. Just plan to be aware and ready to stand by to assist little ones. Next to the Challenge Course, is a 40 yard dash track with a timer (the timer w ..read more

The playground at Blue Jay Point County Park reopened this spring with all new equipment and redesigned play space! Similar to the previous equipment, the section closest to the restroom building can be accessed via a walkway at the upper level. From there, everything is new and different. There are two main play structures featuring various climbing options and slides. They are connected by a squishy rubber surface area. Off to two sides are mulched spaces with natural element (logs and stones) to practice balancing or stepping across. The playground also has swings, a sand area, and picnic ..read more

Page Farms has added a new event to their farm schedule – a Sunflower Festival! Along with walking through the field of sunflowers, there are plenty of activities you might recognize if you’ve visited the farm during the fall. The large slides that are generally open in the middle of the fall cornfield, are now open and surrounded by sunflowers instead. Families can stop to watch the animals that live on the farm. Kids will enjoy the corn crib reimagined as a sandbox filled with large toy trucks, the tire horse swings, and a hula hoop ring toss where you try to catch a bull. What to bring ..read more

The City of Raleigh has relocated their popular annual sunflowers from the greenway to a larger site at Dorothea Dix Park. The new location is easier to access, allows for beautiful views of downtown, and is home to more flowers than the smaller previous location allowed. Comfortable walking shoes are highly recommended. There are designated parking areas throughout the park and all require a short walk to the sunflower field. Then you can freely roam the paths through the fields, enjoy the sunflowers, and take photos. Note that commercial film or photography will need permit and no one is al ..read more

The newest visiting exhibit at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences is hands-on fun for all ages. Mazes & Brain Games features, as the name would imply, a variety of mazes as well as a few fun games to challenge your brain. We took our 8 and 3 year old kids a couple weeks ago and could have spent the entire day just enjoying the exhibit. A number of the mazes you can walk through, but don’t rush to find the way out. The varying twists & turns, and those dead ends – that’s where you’ll find even more fun. One of the smaller mazes (parents, duck your heads) is perfectly sized for kids and ..read more

I loved being pregnant. Loved it. Especially watching my belly grow. There was something magical about it. But post babies? Let’s be honest – I want to get rid of the extra squish left behind from getting stretched out plus a few less than healthy calories I’ve enjoyed. Enter Body Back with Fit4Mom. I knew from experience when both of my kids were little that I enjoyed Fit4Mom’s Stroller Strides classes. They were the perfect opportunity to get out with my little one, get in a workout, and have a little social time with other moms. It was a bit of “mom sanity” especially in the days after my ..read more

Winter months are one of my favorite to explore parks. Yes, it might be cold, but there is still plenty to see and do as well as burn kid energy. In November, a couple of artists used chainsaws to create a piece of art from a fallen red oak tree at Umstead State Park. It’s been on my “to see” list since and, last weekend, we took advantage of the sun and 40 degree temperature to seek it out. The art is located adjacent to the Graylyn Multi-Use Trail. There are a number of ways to access this trail, but given the chilly temperature and small legs, we opted for the shortest route. We entered th ..read more

Cedarock Park in Burlington is located about 10 minutes south of interstates 40/85 and is a hidden jewel worth searching out. Sitting on 500 acres, Cedarock offers a variety of outdoor activities for all ages including a playground, trails, camping, disc golf, etc. We headed out one morning to explore the hiking trails. There are approximately 6 miles worth to follow. After a quick visit to the Visitor’s Center to pick up a map, we decided to start with an easier paved trail near the playground that leads back to a small waterfall. Unfortunately, due to lack of rain, the waterfall was nonexis ..read more

The NC Museum of Natural Sciences is currently hosting a very timely special exhibit entitled RACE: Are We So Different? My own family has a membership and makes a point to visit each and every special exhibit. Sometimes multiple times. Other things have come up on our schedule the past few months causing us to delay getting there for this one until this past weekend. Following difficult news, we felt it was necessary to make time to visit. My kids are 8 and 2-1/2. Both somewhat still oblivious to race. The youngest joyously just sees people as people and loves on her teachers and friends at ..read more

Last summer I started noticing photos of sunflowers popping up throughout my social media feeds. They were all local and all coming from one spot just southeast of Raleigh along the Neuse River Greenway Trail. Curious, my husband, kids, and I headed out to see them for ourselves. The City of Raleigh has been growing these sunflowers annually. They are more than just a beautiful sight in the summer, the flowers are doing work too helping to keep nitrogen-rich soil in this biosolids application site from washing into nearby streams and rivers. Afterwards, the City harvests the sunflower seeds t ..read more