SwimAmerica Davis

After 3 months of procrastinating and going back and forth in my head about it, I finally enrolled Big Sis in swim lessons at SwimAmerica. I think a conversation with a longtime resident gave me the final push I needed. She said that older children have a difficult time in Davis if they are not "into something". Big Sis is really "into" dance but I don't know how long that will last. Plus, the warm water calms her down and makes for a happy afternoon.

Our first lesson was a huge success. She remembered most of what she learned last summer. We went mid-day- there were only 2 kids in the whole facility. The pool is indoor and heated. (The above photo is from last summer)

The teacher was a no-nonsense young woman who seemed to know what she was doing. They have a basket of goggles to borrow; hot showers; and very clean bathrooms. Big Sis keeps asking when we're going back.

We considered keeping mum for a while to surprise Hubby with her skills this summer but I'm rotten at keeping secrets so we had to share her wonderful experience. I am so excited for her to be water-safe because this summer will be my first experience being outnumbered in the pool.

Information:
About $75/month for once a week
Thurs mid-day and Friday night are open swim (around $5 per person)
They also offer intensive summer swim lessons (4x/week for $89), summer camps and birthday parties

Arden Fair Mall

I never thought I would say this, but I miss having a mall nearby. There are just some days when I don't feel like doing anything but going to the mall, where everything is at my fingertips and the climate is controlled.

There are no malls or department stores in Davis, probably all due to an effort to "Keep Davis Boring" (see http://daviswiki.org/Keep_Davis_Boring). The closest mall worth visiting is Arden Fair in Sacramento. We've made the trek (25 miles) out there twice in the last three months.

Because I'm a notorious non-shopper, I rank malls according to how much entertainment there is for kids versus the quality of the stores. And there's not much at Arden Fair: a carousel, the LEGO store, and Pottery Barn Kids. So, we made our own entertainment. We stopped at the tea store Teavana and had some (caffeine-free) samples, got a haircut at MasterCuts(Big Sis loves to be pampered), peeked in Naartjie for some deals on dresses for Big Sis, and played a little at the LEGO store. That ate up several hours, including an early dinner, and we were ready to go home.

Next time we need our mall fix, we'll head over to Westfield Solano Shopping Mall in Fairfield: looks like they have a kids' play area, storytime, and family lounge, and it's only about 5 miles further than Arden Fair (in the opposite direction).

http://www.ardenfair.com/
http://westfield.com/solano/

Putah Creek Riparian Reserve

Friends of ours took us to the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve one beautiful weekday afternoon for a little hiking. We parked at the County Road 98 entrance. I had Little Bro snuggled up in my Ergo carrier; my friend had her infant in her rugged stroller and the big kids hiked. I was really impressed with Big Sis who, with some peer pressure, hiked for about 2 hours with breaks here and there. It's not an *amazing* hike but it's pretty enough and there are a few things of interest to distract the kids. There's a small airport nearby so planes fly overhead every once in a while. We hiked until we reached a man-made beehive. I wouldn't normally get too close to something like that but my friend is a biologist so I was a little braver than usual. We decided to head back after our encounter with the bees because the kids were tired.
There are no restrooms at this entrance.
I'll probably head back here but park at a different entrance to hike other parts of the trail
Information:
Free
http://putahcreek.ucdavis.edu/about-the-reserve

Exploring West Davis

West Davis is an interesting part of Davis to explore. It's home to the West Davis Pond, The Village Homes subdivision, Stonegate Country Club, Arroyo Pool, Aspen Greenbelt, and numerous parks, among other things that I have yet to discover.

The West Davis Pond is a nature preserve flanked on one side by a paved path that's pleasant to bike or walk. You're sure to spot some wildlife; binoculars will allow you an up close view.


The paved path continues across the street from the pond and winds through the Village Homes. To your right, there are vegetable gardens and chicken coops, to your left, the Village Homes. The residents share their outdoor space. The homes, outdoor areas, sidewalks & garages (or lack thereof) were all designed to be energy-efficient. I haven't explored as much as I'd like because I'm usually with our dog & the baby & I'd rather avoid the off-leash dogs playing in the (unfenced) dog park.


Stonegate Country Club is a few blocks away & apparently offers good tennis lessons. Big Sis will probably start group lessons in a few weeks ($7 for 45 min- not a bad deal).

I hope to discover other things in this area as time goes by.

Information:
http://www.villagehomesdavis.org/
http://daviswiki.org/West_Pond
http://daviswiki.org/Friends_of_West_Pond
http://cityofdavis.org/cs/aquatics/recreationalswimming.cfm
http://www.stonegatecc.com/

Explorit

On my quest for museums in Davis I found Explorit, the only children's museum in Yolo County (*please correct me if I'm wrong*). The first floor has some basic hands-on physics, chemistry and biology experiments. The top floor has a rotating exhibit - the day we went it was "Space", right now it's "Wild Planet". There is an arts and crafts room on the top floor where children can make recycled art. We also attended the daily science demonstration which Big Sis enjoyed.
Overall, not an "out of world" experience but good for entertaining kids older than 4 for a couple of hours.
If we go back, I won't bring Little Bro so I can focus more energy on Big Sis

Information:
$4
http://www.explorit.org/

Nugget Market

Big Sis' preschool organized a guided tour of Nugget Market. Nugget Market has the best service of any grocery store I've ever been in, their bakery is to die for & they have a good selection of organic foods. I don't shop here as often as I should because it's several miles from our house *gasp*:)(Davisites are not fond of driving farther than they can walk)
I wouldn't normally think to write about a grocery store but this is really a special place. Seems like Davis is full of those.
The tour included nutrition education, a pineapple coring demo, a visit into the giant freezer, a stop at the bakery where we saw them assemble challot (braided bread) and several samples along the way.
Even if you don't go on a tour, visit this grocery store if you want to be treated like family. They are INSISTENT on helping you to your car if you have a squealing 8 month old & a cranky 5 year old- they even wait for you to get both kids strapped in. I love, love, love this place but I still miss Trader Joe's.

Information:
http://www.nuggetmarket.com/

Children's theatre in Davis & Surrounding Areas

Just like I love taking the kids to anything "nature-y", my husband loves taking Big Sis to children's theatre. It's not that he particularly enjoys children's theatre, he just loves watching her enjoy it and also spending that special time with her one-on-one. I find the shows, he takes her- what a convenient arrangement!
This post is about theatres they've been to, and theatres I'm planning for them to go to in the future. We're big fans of tickets under $10.

One Sunday, the happy couple headed over to City Theatre (Sacramento City College's on campus theatre) where they saw "Beauty and The Beast". This production had a twist on the original version, with the "Beast" being a man with a dog's head (and also behaving like a dog). Apparently it was cute - how can you go wrong for $5? The audience, however, may include some rowdy college kids.

The Aladdin production at Woodland Opera House was a favorite. "Jasmine is the most beautiful princess ever!" Big Sis said when I asked her about it. The kids were able to meet Jasmine after the show

Our biggest splurge was the "Disney on Ice" production at the Arco Arena. It was soon after we moved to Davis, and thought it might take Big Sis' mind off missing her friends. Of course she loved it. What can I say, it's Disney - they know how to entertain little girls.

There are plenty more productions coming up and I have them written in our calendar. I will post as we see them. For now, I've included the information below for some of the theatres that do children's productions.

Information:
City Theatre $5 http://www.citytheatre.net/shows.html

Woodland Opera House $5-16 http://thewoodlandoperahouse.art.officelive.com/default.aspx

Runaway Stage http://runawaystage.com/

Davis Musical Theater Company http://www.dmtc.org/