Wet ‘n’ Wild Phoenix

Wet ‘n’ Wild is a theme water park with slides, wave pool, lazy river, and a children water/splash playground. It is very hot in Arizona, therefore visiting a water park is recommended. We took our toddler to Wet ‘n’ Wild water park 2 weeks ago and we had a good time. 

Admission is $40 per adult and is free for children under 3. Children below 42 inches pay $30. Tickets prices are for two days admission. Admission costs are somewhat expensive but we really wanted to visit the theme water park so we decided to “splurge.”

Our son enjoyed the lazy river and the wave pool the most. He had an okay time at Wet ‘n’ Wild. He was a little scared of the wave pool and of the kiddie water slides. The lines to the bigger slides were VERY long so we just did the kiddie water activities. I’m not sure if I would recommend Wet ‘n’ Wild for a family with young children. Wet ‘n’ Wild is catered more towards school-aged children and adolescents. The best part of the theme park was the beach like environment it creates but other than that I’m not sure if I would recommend it to families with young children, especially considering the high costs of admissions and other cheaper options for water activities for young children in AZ.

For more information on Wet ‘n’ Wild- follow this link: http://www.wetnwildphoenix.com/

Happy summer travels!

Ahwatukee- Toy Town

I took my son to Toy Town for the first time this past week. Toy Town is a young children’s play center with toddler-size playhouses- doctors’ office, pizza shop, kitchen, playhouse, etc. They also have dress up clothes for the children. Toy town is located in Phoenix, AZ (in Ahwatukee). I purchased a $20 Groupon coupon which gave us 5 days of play. 

My son loved Toy Town and didn’t want to leave. We were there for a of couple hours. My only complaint is towards other parents who were overly involved in the children's play. Several moms were very overprotective of their children and did not allow their children to play on their own. Their control issues over the children rubbed me the wrong way.

Overall, it’s a good play place for young children. To learn more about Toy Town follow this link:http://aztoytown.com/Home_Page.html

On Finding Meaning As A Mother

“It does not really matter what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us” –Viktor Frankl

I am reading Viktor Frankl’s book, “Man's Search for Meaning” and I find that line very powerful as I struggle with my new role as a stay at home mother. I graduated with master’s degree in social work last month and I have been experiencing difficulty adjusting to being home with my son. My emotions gravitate from boredom to anxiety and even jealousy (with some positive feelings once in awhile). Overall there is this strong sense of boredom and unrest. I wake up early everyday and from the moment I wake up, my life is consumed with taking care of my son. As soon as I get up from bed, I am aware of the long list of daily things to do- changing his diaper, feeding him, dressing him, playing with him, doing dishes, cooking, cleaning, picking up, telling him not to get in the fridge, telling him not to throw his toys… the list goes on and on. It becomes overwhelming. This is my life 24/7, 365 days a year. I look at my peers who are working and I experience feelings of jealousy. Why can’t I have a job where I make money? Why I am stuck home and I have no money? I also become jealous of my husband. I want to go to work and talk to adults and just take a break from my son. I want to make money and I want to be tired from being at work instead of being tired from being home. Oh how I wish that Fridays had some meaning to me. You get the idea of my mental unrest. This is where this powerful line comes in.

When I read that line it didn’t hit me right away. It didn’t hit me until today when I was taking a bath; I contemplated about it and finally understood how its powerful message relates to my current life situation. Let me re-state it: “It does not matter what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us.” So I asked myself, what does life expect from me? Viktor Frankl states, “The meaning of life is not general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment.” Frankl compares the meaning of life to playing chess where there is no best move. The best move depends of the current situation. I then asked myself, what is my current life situation? I mentally answered myself, "I am mother of a 2 year old boy-that is my life situation." What does life expect out of me? The response to that question came rather quickly as it would to most parents. Then I had an epiphany. If I know what life expects out of me, then it does not matter what I expect out of life. What a powerful statement to accept. If I can accept that life wants me to be a mother above all- that’s all there is to it. There is no need to desire what is not asked of me and there is no need to be jealous of others whose life is asking something else out of them.

Often, we do not want to accept what life expects from us. Instead, we focus on what we expect from life. This causes much pain and misery. Don’t get me wrong, it is good to have aspirations but I think that when we fail to see and accept what life wants out of us, we undoubtedly experience mental distress. Frankl describes mental health as the gap between who you are and who you wish to be. The bigger the gap, the more mental distress you experience. Let me share a personal story. My husband didn’t have a relationship with his father. His father stepped out of the picture when he was a young child. As I read this quote, I immediately thought about my husband’s father. Life asked him to be a father but he chose not to accept what life asked out of him. In the end, my husband’s father died alone. His own children did not visit him while he was dying and they didn't go to his funeral. I lament his death and I pray that he made peace with himself before parting. His story is a tragic reminder of not accepting what life asks from us. Sadly, there are many stories similar to that of my husband’s father. For many of us the story is not as obvious. It could be something as small as not accepting your child for who he is. In conclusion, what do you think life wants out of you right now?

Tempe- Escalante Pool

I have decided to write reviews of different things to do in Arizona with young children on my blog at least once a week. This is my first of many reviews to come :)

This last week, my husband, son, and I visited Escalante pool in Tempe, Arizona. We had a great time. I loved the baby pool and the splash areas. I felt my son was very safe and he enjoyed being there. I highly recommend taking babies and toddlers to Escalante pool. Admission is free for children under six and adults only pay $1.25 each.

Here are some pictures of our time at the pool. Happy travels!

For hours and directions, follow this link: http://www.tempe.gov/escalante/Escalante%20Swimming%20Pool.htm

San Diego and Carlsbad

San Diego is only a six hour drive from Phoenix, Arizona. For the third year in a row, we have taken our little guy to San Diego. The city has many children attractions including the beach, world-renowned zoo, and theme parks. 

Here are a few pictures of our little guy in San Diego when he was seven months old. We took him to the San Diego Zoo and to Pacific Beach. He loved both the zoo and the beach. It was his first time playing with sand as you can see from his facial expression.

San Diego Zoo

Pacific Beach (San Diego)

When our son was 1 and a half old we took him back to San Diego. We stayed at the San Diego Hilton Bayfront. It is a very nice hotel. It had a great pool and many amenities. We again visited the San Diego zoo. This time we visited Legoland which is in Carlsbad (near San Diego). Legoland was ok. Our son was a little too young for many of the rides. I would recommend holding off on Legoland until your child is four, as most of the rides are catered for that age group. Our son’s admission was free but adult tickets are pricey. I didn’t find the admission costs worth the price. We also visited Coronado Island Beach. The sand is very nice and soft at Coronado Beach and the waves for some reason are not as high. Coronado Island Beach is the family friendly beach. We also took our son to a Padres Game and walked around Gaslamp District. Padres Games are so much fun in SD. They have a sand box tickets that are as low as $5 per person.I think under 3 years old are free but I'm not certain.

San Diego Zoo

Legoland

Legoland

Gaslamp District

Padres Game

We just returned from San Diego. We left on June 4^th and spent four days/three nights.We booked a hotel at Best Western Mission Bay. It was a nice affordable hotel. We went back to Coronado Island Beach. We also took our son to Sea World. He enjoyed Sea World especially running around Sesame Place. However, after a while, he became bored with some of the shows. We bought a summer season pass so we visited Sea World for two days, to break it up. Sea World was fun but our son had more fun visiting Disneyland. Disneyland has more rides and toddler activities than Sea World. Sea World is great for younger children who aren’t walking or sitting as there is so much to observe there.

Sea World

Sea World- Sesame Place

Sea World- he loved meeting Elmo!

Beach at Coronado Island

The drives to San Diego from have always been pleasant. Our son does very well sitting in his car seat. When he was seven months he would just sit there, observe, and nap. When he was a year and a half, we would get a little fussy at times. He would cry that he wanted out of the seat but would quickly calm down and stop crying. Our last car ride to San Diego (now that our son is a little over 2 years old) was great. Our son didn't cry at all! I played his music CD which helped. Other than that, we just sat there observing the road and napped half of the ride there. Maybe all this traveling is paying off after all :-)!

Happy beach travels!