Glowing Wild at Denver Zoo

If you’re looking for somewhere to spend a day filled with wonder, excitement and a wealth of wildlife, Denver Zoo is always a great choice. Right now, it’s also one of the most colorful places to visit, day or night. But only for a few more days.

Through May 4th, Denver Zoo is home to Glowing Wild; an awe inspiring exhibition filled with larger than life colorful lanterns by Tianyu Arts & Culture. 

Sixty unique scenes featuring various flora and fauna inspired lanterns light up the night on May 2nd through 4th, however, if you happen to visit the zoo during the day, you’ll also be in for a treat.

I visited Denver Zoo today with Mathilde’s class for a school field trip and had the pleasure of being able to see all of the Glowing Wild sculptures for myself.

Let’s take a look…

 

Snorkeling with Stingrays at SeaQuest Littleton

Have you ever snorkeled with stingrays before? It sounds a little terrifying doesn't it?  

As scary as it sounds, this is actually how Lola, Mathilde and I spent an afternoon last week, and it was any thing but terrifying. In fact, it wasn't at all scary in the slightest. It was such a magical experience being in the water with these beautiful creatures and we never wanted it to end

Ok, I know what you're thinking... we live in landlocked Colorado. There's no ocean. Where are the stingrays? They're at SeaQuest in Littleton!

SeaQuest Littleton is an interactive aquarium with over 300 species of animals on display. It's not all just sea creatures though, with reptiles, birds, and some furry friends on display too. While most of the animals are just on display for visitors to view, as they would be in any other aquarium or zoo, there are some critter friends that visitors are able to interact with. Visitors can purchase tokens to exchange for food for certain animals including the stingrays, ducks, chickens, rainbow lorikeets and a friendly tortoise. There are also add on activities available such as private tours, going behind the scenes to prepare food for certain animals, and of course, snorkeling with the stingrays.

Gift Guide for Adventure Loving Families

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Micro Kickboard. All photos and opinions are my own.

The holidays are just around the corner which means it's time to start thinking about gift ideas. 

I'm a big fan of giving gifts that encourage the kids to get outside and play, even more so if it's a gift that encourages the whole family to play together. So today, I'm sharing some of my favorite gift ideas for families that love exploring, spending time outdoors and doing adventurous things together. 

Stay tuned for a fun give away at the end!

Micro Kickboard Scooters

For our city living family, scooters are a handy way to get around town. They're faster than walking, more convenient than bike riding and they're a ton of fun! My big kids have been getting around by scooter for years, and thanks to Micro Kickboard, Mathilde and I have now joined them! 

Ava and Lola ride the Sprite scooter which is designed for older children through to adults. It's a classic style two wheeled scooter that comes in a large range of colors. It's light enough for the kids to easily ride, but strong enough that either Kim or I could jump on and take it for a spin. The girls love that it has a handy kickstand so they don't always have to find something to lean it against when they get off.  Because the Sprite is lightweight, it's easy for the kids to carry around when folded too.

Mathilde rides the three wheeled Mini Deluxe which is suitable for children aged 2 - 5. The Mini Deluxe steers by pushing on the handle rather than turning it. It took Mathilde no time at all to pick it up. Just like a big scooter it has a rear brake, which is something missing from other toddler scooters on the market. And trust me, she zooms pretty fast keeping up with her big sisters so that brake comes in handy! 

My scooter is the Micro Black which is the best selling scooter for adults. It's really comfortable to ride and adjusts to suit a large range of sizes which means that Kim is able to ride it too. One of my favorite things about my scooter is that my kids love that I'm joining in the fun with them instead of just watching from the side lines. 

One thing I love about our scooters is they make for the perfect day out of fun. They're so easy to throw in the trunk of the car and take on adventures with us. Because the larger scooters fold up they take up very little room which means we can even take them on longer road trips and camping trips too. They're so much more convenient than taking bikes on our adventures, and just as much fun.

Wouldn't scooters for the whole family would make such a fantastic gift? Head on over to microkickboard.com for some great Black Friday deals with up to 40% off scooters for the whole family starting November 22. Don't forget the helmets for the kids. 

Oh, and stay tuned for a fun giveaway at the end of this post!

San Diego Zoo

Spring break is just a few weeks away and I've been busy planning an exciting trip to Nevada, Utah and Arizona. I'm so excited about it, but before I focus on our upcoming trip too much, I feel like I really should finish sharing our Winter Break trip with you.

Back in December we took a road trip down to Southern California. I've already shared a few of the places that we visited in Los Angeles and San Diego (including The Broad, Legoland and The Queen Mary) as well as a couple of general posts about our trip (which you can read here and here) but I still have plenty to share with you. 

So let's get back to it and have a look at a bit more of our Winter Break vacation starting with our day spent at San Diego Zoo...

Zoo Lights at Oakland Zoo

Every December Oakland Zoo lights up the night in a festive way with its Zoo Lights display. We haven't made it there in the past but this year it happened to appear as an activity on our advent calendar. So one night last week we headed off to the zoo after dark and took in the spectacle of lights.

Lola loved the colorful lights

Oakland Zoo

A few weekends back we took the girls to the zoo. Oakland Zoo that is.

We're really lucky here in Berkeley to be surrounded by so many fabulous places to take the kids. There really is just so much to see in the Bay Area. And we don't just have one zoo within easy access, we've got two. Well, at least two that I know of. Every day a new and exciting place to take the kids pops up on my radar.

For Christmas last year my parents organised a membership for Oakland Zoo for our family. I love the idea of giving experiences as gifts so I was really excited about this particular present. As we live on the opposite side of the world to our family and have a relatively small apartment experiences really are the best gifts. No expensive postage costs from Australia, no extra clutter in the apartment and a great day out for the entire family. Perfect!

Ava climbs on a frog statue in the Children's Zoo

San Francisco Zoo

The weekend of Ava's birthday we took the girls to the San Francisco Zoo.
Wow - that was over a month ago already. Time sure is flying by!

This was Lola's first visit to a zoo. Ava has been to the Adelaide Zoo on quite a few occasions as well as the fantastic Singapore Zoo. Seeing wild animals up close is something I can't imagine Ava ever tiring of so the more zoo trips the better!

Ava and Lola with the flamingoes

Lola with the flamingoes