Baxter Bog: Anchorage

  It has been awhile since I've written a post! I only have one kid at home right now so I am going to try and catch up on the posts I've been wanting to write for months!  Since summer 2015, my kids and I have been going on weekly adventures with my wonderful friend Sarah and her kids. She runs Alaska Baby Rentals if you are looking for some sweet gear! Several women and their kids have now joined us on our adventures and I'd like to share the with you! I hope these posts encourage you and your kids to get outside! Alaska has so much to offer!

 

 

 It was a beautiful, bluebird day when we visited Baxter Bog. This is an easy, flat, stroller friendly trail that walks around a bog. This was perfect for my 2 year old to walk the whole way.

 

The bog is surrounded by a neighborhood so you only have to be on the lookout for an occasional moose. In the summertime there are raspberries to pick and carnivorous sundew plants to find.

 

  In the wintertime, you can walk out onto the bog. In the summertime, everything is wet and you can see the whole bog from a wooden platform.

  We found a crack in the ice from the huge earthquake we had a couple of weeks ago. It was fun for the kids to follow all the cracks. There was one area where the dirt was actually pushed up from the earthquake.

 Most of these kids are homeschooled so the cracks made for great lessons in science. Then the kids picked up sticks and started playing hockey with a pinecone. P.E. time! This photo shows the wooden platform that is a great place to see the whole bog in the summer time. Several species of birds frequent the area as well.

 

 

I love watching the kids play. Sticks, snow, rocks, and sleds make some of the greatest toys!

  Always places to hide from your friends!

 

The kids found 2 teepees in the woods and I enjoyed watching them use their imagination creating stories.

 

Even the littlest one got in on the fun!

 



 

If you are looking for a quick,easy hike to get outside, Baxter Bog is the place to be!

Fun Day at Kaleidoscape

 

  I get so excited when a new kid place opens, but then discouraged when it closes. Seems like this has happened to several places. So I was really excited when Kaleidoscape opened. Go check it out if you haven't been yet! Be sure to visit these local places to keep them in business! Rent for these businesses is no joke and they need our support.

 

 

  I've visited a couple of times now and have enjoyed each visit. Kaleidoscape recently had a flood so they had to fix all the water damage. It was a blessing in disguise because they made it even better then before!

 



 This last time I visited with my good friend Sarah from Alaska Baby Rentals and her kids. We got to see the new things Jennifer, owner of Kaleidoscape, had added. Jennifer is pictured above by the way. If you have a chance to talk to her, do! She has so much energy and a bazillion ideas. I love to see owners who invest in their visitors. Be sure to follow her on Facebook to see all the fun stuff going on.

 

 

  My 7 year old didn't really want to visit, but then he didn't want to leave. He was really upset because he wanted to finish his Rig A Ma Jig invention.  My 6, 4 and 13 month old had a blast as well. Luckily they were more compliant. The play studio is geared towards kids birth to 12.

 

  You can play at Kaleidoscape in blocks of time and its best to book online. This has its pros and cons. Pro is that it is not going to be so crowded that you freak out with kids everywhere. Con is your kids might not be ready to leave when your time is up or your kid might be ready to leave and you've only been there 10 minutes. You can just show up, but there is no guarantee that you will get to play. 

 

  The environment is so welcoming, colorful and fun. It's just enough to not be overwhelming. My 14 month old loved looking at the flags hanging. There is a nursing room in back so you can feed baby in private and not be distracted. I always appreciate when there is a place for mommas to feed their little ones. There are chairs for adults to sit on, but a lot of the adults were sitting on the floor playing with their kiddos. Rockstar parents!

 

 The exhibits are always changing. I love to see this! Something new each month to interact with. When we went, there was a mechanic set up, my girls loved it! Other kids would take turns sitting in the car and working on it. A new exhibit, that I didn't get to see yet, is a collaboration with the Alaska Native Heritage Center. There will be cultural awareness, history and Alaska fun for kiddos! Visit the website to find out the theme of the exhibits.

  Okay so I might be a dork, but I love how Jennifer turned these bins into faces. This is great for those germaphobes. Any toys that get some sort of child ickyness gets thrown in here to be cleaned. There are several on the walls around the play areas. Genius.

 

 There is so much more to discover here! You can put on a play on the stage, build with legos or blocks, or read. There is also a little corner for babies to play. On certain days, there are crafts that are included with the visit. Kaleidoscape also offers classes for kids or adults! Your kiddo can have a birthday party here as well!

 My only complaint is price. It's $10 per kid. Having 4 kids, it can get spendy, luckily baby is free. So we can only go once in awhile or when the big kids are in school. I'd love to see a sibling discount! Rent for businesses can be so expensive so I understand the price. Don't let the price deter you! We need to support local businesses so we have some place to take our kids!