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Salem Sunday Streets...

8/26/2014

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Salem Sunday Streets is coming to
downtown Salem in September!


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Open to all ages.... Salem Sunday Streets
is a fun, free, community event designed to promote healthy and active living by opening up city streets for people to play and explore together. This year’s event will feature: food carts, farmer’s market, music on a pedal-powered stage, interactive art projects, hula hooping, disc golf, yoga, and more...
       
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Bonus: You can join a neighborhood bike caravan and get to Salem Sunday Streets in a healthy, fun, sustainable way!
Bike caravan routes lead from four Salem locations.
Routes can be found at http://goo.gl/0QIvXT.
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Join your neighbors and enjoy the ride, Salem!


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Back to School Traditions...

8/10/2014

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      Each year, as we prepare for the new school year, my boys and I have a tradition. We go school shopping one-on-one. A rare chance to be alone with Mom, my boys choose their supplies and then have the rare treat of 'going out for a doughnut'.
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I'd like to say they love the one-on-one part, but I'm pretty sure it's the doughnut part that they find most exciting. Either way, we get a chance to talk about the year ahead; their concerns, their hopes and expectations.

We started this tradition in preschool and I've cherished it every year. As the years pass, the crayons have been replaced with a compass and protractor, but the marking of another year gets me every time.
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Brick a Mania...

10/12/2013

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It was ALL LEGO® - ALL day for us this Saturday!

   
First, we headed to LEGO® KidsFest at the Oregon Convention Center. For those who have 8 year-olds and no plans for Sunday - I recommend it highly.


    My boys were looking forward to it for weeks. The event did not disappoint. My youngest even created a 'must see' list.

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Here's a few snapshots of the fun activities:
Brick Pile!
Activity Area
LEGO Technic
Monochromatic Build
Art Gallery
LEGO Castle

Then, on the way home form the event we stopped at Bricks and Minifigs in Canby. Wowza!


This ALL LEGO store offers buying, selling, and trading of the beloved bricks in all shapes and sizes. As soon as I heard of this store, I knew my boys would want to visit.


After almost an hour of oohing and ahhing around the store, our boys pooled their allowance for a small batch of bulk bricks (that they don't already have at home) and a few StarWars mini-figures
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Here's a few of the store's great offerings:
Sets - New & Used!
Mini-figures Galore!
Bulk Bricks!
Specialty Mini-figures
      Now, we're home and our our LEGO day continues. I'm sleepily sipping a cup of hot cider (with my feet up) while the boys are busy building with their new bricks. With their new purchases, and the  'mini-set' prizes they received at KIDSFEST, I'm not sure when they'll be ready for bed. Our eight year old keep announcing, "This is such a fun day!"

Who ever imagined that such small bricks could bring such joy and contentment to so many?
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Congrats to Cara...

9/18/2013

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Congratulations to
Cara and her two boys!


They will be enjoying LEGO® KidsFest in Portland on October 12th with two free tickets generously provided by event organizers.


For others who want to join the fun - you can still purchase tickets at: http://www.legokidsfest.com/portland/tickets.html.
In addition: Here's a link to a discount code for $2 dollars off.

Right now all the sessions are open, but this could change
as sessions will fill as the event date nears. Get your tickets soon!
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It turns out that LEGO is the contraction of two Danish words, "leg godt" meaning "play well." With Lego-brick-loving-boys (like Cara and I have), my guess is the event will include just that.

Thank you LEGO®!
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GIVEAWAY – LEGO® KidsFest Tickets!

9/9/2013

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       Hooray for the kind folks at LEGO® KidsFest who gave my family free tickets for the Portland 2013 event. Double “Hooray” - because they also gave me a pair of tickets to pass on to another local family who wants to attend this fun event!
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Ticket winners will receive two, free admission passes for the Saturday, October 12th, 9am to 1:30pm session.

LEGO KidsFest includes:
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LEGO Model Gallery: Dozens of life-sized models made entirely from LEGO bricks.
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LEGO Master Builders: 
Live demonstrations and activities from the crew who get paid to play.
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Monochromatic Builds:
Bricks of a single color  to foster group creativity.
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LEGO Brick Pile:
A gigantic pile full of LEGO bricks for creative play.
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LEGO Games Arena:
Roll the dice to play LEGO board games.
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Race  Ramps:
Build your own custom car, then race it down the ramp.

To enter the drawing for these two passes--
just leave a comment to this post.


If you’d like additional chances: You can mention this giveaway on your own blog (please provide the link to your post with your comment) or spread the word to your friends and family (as I’ll give you additional chances anytime anyone mentions your name in their own post. Ie..“Jennifer K. told me about this giveaway!”).

The drawing will be held Wednesday, Sept. 18th.
Feel free to email me with questions!
Good Luck!

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Salem Weekend Fun...

9/6/2013

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Attention Salem!
Two family fun activities are happening this weekend.

#1: Couch Racing at Bush Pasture Park
Cheer on your favorite local team as they hurl themselves (and their former living room furniture) down the soap box derby hill on Saturday, Sept. 7th. The fun begins at “high noon.” Food and drink for sale. Bring your friends. Stay 10 feet back from the track. Enjoy the show!
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#2: Sunday Streets Open for Bikes
A two-mile route (closed to motor vehicles) between Wallace Marine Park, Riverfront Park, and the Capitol Mall is the perfect spot for a family bike ride this Sunday, Sept. 8th. Activities and vendors available along the route. This is Salem’s bite-sized version of Portland Parkways. Grab your helmet and support active transportation here in the state capital.
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LEGO® KIDS FEST....

9/5/2013

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     Anyone who knows my boys, knows that LEGO® bricks are hugely popular at our house. They say that children around the world spend
5 billion hours a year playing with LEGO® bricks, and based on how my boys love to build  and rebuild their original creations, I'm not surprised. LEGO is a central part of my son's childhood. As a family, we've had the good fortune of visiting several LEGO related places. (Three cheers for LEGOLAND Billund; applause for LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago; hoots and hollers for FIRST LEGO League!) Lucky us: Now, I hear that LEGO KidsFest is coming to Oregon!
 
  The LEGO KidsFest is a giant traveling LEGO expo and it's coming to Portland October 11th -13th. Held at the Oregon Convention Center, this LEGO extravaganza promises to be the don't-miss-LEGO event of the year. I understand that the event is made up of three acres of LEGO activities, models, demonstrations, and games. I can already imagining my two happy boys sitting amidst millions of LEGO bricks: Happy boys, indeed!

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       Here's the official press release for those interested. There are 5 sessions available (4.5 hours in length and each featuring the same exhibits and activities). Tickets are $19 for kids and $21 for adults. All the official information can be found at: www.LEGOKidsFest.com

       With 915 million ways to combine six eight-­stud LEGO® bricks, this is the perfect opportunity for Oregon boys and girls to continue the fun. Check back here in a few days for more info. and the possibility of FREE tickets for one lucky family!
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Camp Westwind...

6/29/2013

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My children's school spent the last days of the school year at
Camp Westwind
(just north of Lincoln City). A good friend described Westwind as the Opal Creek of the Oregon Coast. I can only describe it as my favorite outdoor school excperience of all time! With amazing location and facilities, Westwind was perfect for our large group. It has it all: beach, river, sea, forest, tidepools, meadows, hiking trails, campfires, and hot showers!

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We entered camp by crossing the river at high tide!
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The beach was our beautifully secluded playground and classroom!
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We had to get an early start to explore the tidepools!
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The exposed caves were a sea star extravaganza!
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Our cabins were tucked among the trees!
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Our nature hike included amazing views!
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Our community adventure was learning at its very best!
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Bike Fair for Kids...

5/28/2013

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This came across my email today and I wanted to pass it along....
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On Your Feet Friday...

9/8/2012

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Three cheers for Gallagher Fitness in Salem for organizing Friday night fun in downtown Salem.
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     After catching a brief bit of the Amazing Race TV series last spring, I’ve been looking for a race(-ish) event within an urban venue for our family. A few options quickly emerged (Urban Dare and The Great Salem Race), but for one reason or another these programs didn’t quite for the bill. Then we found ‘On Your Feet Friday' in our very own backyard. Hooray!

Here's how it works:

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Folks gather in the parking lot next to Gallagher's between 5:30 and 6pm to sign-up and receive their 'passport.' This shows all the groovy downtown spaces you must visit before 7pm.

Next - folks run, jog, walk, skip and dance about downtown Salem. In the crowd you'll find serious joggers, walkers, families with strollers, and just about everything in between. All this fun is then followed by prize raffles. The more stores/attractions/viewpoints you visit - the better your chances of snagging a great giveaway.

At last month's event, we visited these great local stores -- and stopped for ice cream too (The ice cream wasn't on the official program, but it was along our route and screaming our name)!

Overall, I'd say 'On Your Feet Friday' offers the very best in downtown energy, family friendly exercise and urban fun. This event is also for a great cause!
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The next event is: Friday, September 14th. Let's go Salem- I'll see you there!
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