Archives for August 2017

I want to remind our Lacey and Olympia area readers  that it’s almost time for Olympia Harbor Days!

Oh, and if you live somewhere else? This fun and free festival is super family friendly and well worth the trip! It’s a great option if you’re looking for a fun Labor Day weekend activity for the kids that’s more affordable than a trip out of town or other spendy options.

They’ve expanded the kids offerings by a bunch this year, too.

There will be the ever popular tugboat races plus crafts and hands on fun for kids, the Giant Purple Slide, and much more.

I would bring some money for vendors, but the event itself is free. Do check the schedule here to make sure you go on the day you want.

You can also find more information here at their site

or here at their Facebook page.

It runs Labor Day weekend, September 1st-3rd!

Are you working on your summer bucket list? If you haven’t been to a Rainiers Game, it’s a great addition, but hurry, because there are just three home games left this summer!

My kids love going to Rainiers games, and seeing as I’m SouthSoundforlife, I was super excited to get to go on a behind the scenes tour of everything new and awesome in Rainiers Land earlier this summer.

It truly is a beautiful ballpark, and for families especially, it’s a great venue, and it’s just so much easier doing a game here than trekking to Seattle where you’ll have to take out a loan just to park the darn car!

Here are our best tips for Rainiers going.  I know many of you are regulars and have been to lots this summer, so feel free to add yours, too!

• Go a little early for your pick of parking. Parking in the lot is 10.00, and in my opinion, it’s well worth it. I do suggest going a bit early so you can have your pick of spots.
• Play at the playground! Don’t forget to check out the playground. Did you know it’s open to the public during non game times, too? It’s true! We wrote a bit more about it in our post on toddler friendly playgrounds here.
• Score a deal! We think the 4 for 44.00 package is the best deal going. The Chik Fil A deal is also solid. Note-There aren’t any more of these offers this year, but keep them on your radar (along with the fireworks nights!) for next year. You can still get tickets to the remaining games for as little as 7.00 each!

Know before you go

• The bathrooms are reasonably clean.
• There are a lot more food options, including gluten free choices and lighter menu items. It’s ballpark food, so you’re not getting a bargain, but if you choose wisely, you can fill up and feel like you’ve gotten your money’s worth. Can I tempt you with a little eye candy from the Red Hot? #Getinmybelly

Want to go to one of the remaining games?

I just checked, and there are still tickets to each of the remaining three games. The cheapest seats are on the grass. No seats here-you bring a blanket. It’s a great family atmosphere in this section, the view is good, and you’re right by the playground. You may even get a fly ball!

You can go here to purchase tickets, or quite a few of our readers have said they prefer to purchase by phone.

Here’s some more on your options:

We’re working on fully updating our guide to the Washington State Fair, or as we’re still stubbornly calling it….The Puyallup.

In the meantime, we did want to share one easy, peasy way for locals to score free tickets. There are quite a few options for kids to get free fair tickets, but free entry coupons for grown ups are harder to come by, so we’re excited to share this one.

WA State Fair

What’s the deal? Simply spend 5.00 at a downtown area merchant (see map below) and take your receipt to the Puyallup Main Street Association booth at the Farmer’s Market. They’ll give you your free ticket!

Here’s the scoop straight from their fb page:

FREE FAIR TICKETS ARE BACK!

Show your receipt from a DOWNTOWN MERCHANT (located within the area on map below) totaling $5 or more and receive a free ticket to the fair! One ticket per person, per receipt.

Bring your receipt to the Main Street booth at the Farmer’s Market the first four Saturdays in September.

This is sort of a spend money to save money type thing, but if you were needing or planning to do some shopping downtown anyway, it’s sort of a no-brainer! And if you haven’t been to the Puyallup Farmer’s Market yet this summer, it really is a great one.

Stay tuned for more on the fair-including what’s new this year, what’s FREE, and as always, how to get the most out of your fair going. You can read more about this offer here. Make sure you’ve, “Liked,” our page, too while you’re at it. 

The weather is beautiful, and we’re down to just a few precious summer weekends! Let’s make fun the priority today, shall we? We’ve got a great list this weekend, with free events for kids in Tacoma, Graham,  Kent, Edgewood…..and just about everywhere else in the South Sound you might be looking for something fun to do.

There are more than 60 family events this weekend (not kidding!) so if you’re reading this from the home page, you’ll need to do one more click. I promise it’s worth it!

[Read more…]

Are you ready for football?

If anyone at your house is a fan, you should definitely make a point of going to the Gridiron Glory exhibit while it’s at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma.

It’s a 6,000 sq. ft. exhibit of items from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. If this is a, “Some day,” destination for you, guess what? You can see the best of it right now, right in Tacoma!

[Read more…]

If you are looking for a paved, stroller-friendly and mostly flat walk in the Milton/Fife area, then this hike is for you! The trail head is actually located in Fife at  1705 70th Ave E, Fife, WA 98424. Here you will find a small parking lot, bench and trash can–but no bathrooms. This is the south end of the 2.5-mile trail and the first quarter mile is close to busy 70th Ave so there is quite a bit of traffic noise.

70th St trail head

After about a quarter mile, you will enter a quiet, forested area that is really pretty. The trail runs next to Sweetwater Creek, but I wasn’t able to see the water.

Helpful signs in the path itself let you know you are on the right trail

About 3/4 of a mile in, there is a Port-O-Potty on the left, as well as a picnic table and benches. This was the only facility that I saw, so take note!

Soon after you pass the Port-O-Potty you will cross two streets fairly close together to continue on the trail. These are well marked and you can push a button to turn on a flashing light and cross safely.

Kids will love this, and if yours are anything like mine, each one will want a chance to push the button! There are two of these crossings on the way in, and you will come back the same way so there are two more chances for button pushing on the way back.

We saw some pretty scenery-lots of huge trees with hanging moss and ivy. We met a few dog walkers, joggers and bikers but it wasn’t super crowded on a weekday. I imagine there will be more traffic on weekends.

There was also a nice mix of coniferous and deciduous trees and some leaves were already dropping during my August walk. I’ll bet this makes a fabulous autumn walk. It is dog friendly too!

This out-and-back trail is 2.5 miles long, so be sure and turn around early if you don’t feel like a 5-mile hike. I went twice and both times I turned around at the 2-mile mark. This path is great because if you or the kiddos get tired, just make a U-turn!

Check photos and a trail map here.

Do you need something great to do with the kids this weekend? If you happen to live in Tacoma, Puyallup, Bonney Lake, or Milton, it’s a particularly great weekend for family fun near you. Don’t worry if you live elsewhere-we have dozens of ideas all around the South Sound. It’s probably the best weekend of the summer if you like FREE fun things to do around the 253!

There are more than 60 family events this weekend (not kidding!) so if you’re reading this from the home page, you’ll need to do one more click. I promise it’s worth it!

[Read more…]