Valley Village Park

Breaking the cabin fever we dashed out of the house yesterday to venture to a park never graced by our presence, the Valley Village Park. This is a cute (yes, I said cute, I live with 3 females, give me a break) little park is nestled in a cute (there it is again!) neighborhood. You would never know it was there unless you searched for it.

Great playground with what appears to be semi new equiptment

Beautiful trees and open fields

Some shade over the playground

Port-o-potties for the out of commission bathrooms

A running/walking/biking trail

Pros and Cons

Pros

Not very crowded

Nice semi new playground equipment

Lots of trees for shade

Close Bathrooms (hopefully the real bathrooms become operational soon)

Cons

Next to a freeway so freeway noise is always present

From a Parent's Perspective this a great little park. It's safe, convenient and provides opportunities for kids to be kids. There is plenty of space for them to explore on the playground equipment as well as explore nature.

From a Kid's perspective what's not to love? Minus the "Yucky" port o potties this park is perfect. Trees to climb, new things to do on the playground that we haven't seen before and not too many kids so it feels like the park is all ours!

Address: 200 Westpark Dr, North Hollywood, CA 91601

Anthony C. Beilenson Park AKA Balboa Park

We packed our backpack full of snacks, sprayed our sunscreen and hit the road to Balboa Park today. We love this park and frequent it often. Bike rides, runs, picnics, a couple birthday parties, you name it, we've done it all here.

Beautiful scenery! 

Seems there is always 1 bathroom out of order. And they are tiny!

Beautiful grounds. We do photoshoots here all the time! 

This ice-cream truck is ALWAYS here!

Pros and Cons

Pros
Huge Park!
Lots of picnic and BBQ Areas
"Big kids" playground and "Little kids" playground
Close Bathrooms
Lots of parking
Extra activities like biking, fishing, walking, ect.

Cons
Bathrooms are small and kinda gross with outdoor hand washing stations
Really busy on weekends
A little shade here and there but 50% of playground is not shaded.

Parents Perspective
It's great! Lots of parking, it feels completely safe (unless you're walking with a small child next to the lake and fear they will fall in!). There is a sensory wall in between playgrounds for the little ones and shady trees.

Kid's Perspective
What's not to love? Tons of swings, ducks, planes flying overhead is a major plus.

Address: 6300 Balboa Blvd., Van Nuys, CA 91316


Hours:
Sunrise to Sunset Daily

Phone: (818)756-9743

Cheers!
-marc

Los Angeles Museum of Natural History

Today we ventured out of the house to Downtown LA and visited the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History! We went today because, a.) it was free, b.) our friend gave us the heads up, c.) we had nothing else planned for the afternoon!

We're super glad we went, we had a good time even if we got a little hangry* in the middle of the trip. 

Dad's favorite part - the DINOSAURS!  

It's always fun explaining things to the girls. I explained how this gold is melted down and made into mommy's necklaces!

We wanted to bring a spider home for mom, but they wouldn't let us take any home.

Kid's activity area. 

A little wading pool for the kids, only an inch or so of water so just enough to cool us off, but not enough to get us drenched. No need to bring a towel!

This cool little outdoor space had a wooden hut, compost to play in and trees for shade.

Indie loved the butterflies.

Pros and Cons:

Pros:
Free at least once a month!
Lots of activities (drawing, microscopes, gardens, water play) for the kids. Kids were NEVER bored.
Air conditioned.
Family Bathrooms.
Butterfly Exhibit (open April-September) the kids loved!
Stroller friendly.

Cons:
$10 parking (closest we could find)
Expensive snack bar
Crowded (especially on a free day I assume)

From a kids perspective I think this place is awesome. There is so much to look at, touch, and experience that you can stay all day and never be bored. Plus the Butterfly Exhibit is especially exciting for kids - what kid doesn't love butterflies?

From a parents perspective I loved it for it's ease of accessibility, educational opportunities for the kiddos and the wow factor for adults.

We tried to venture to Exposition Park but ran out of time. We'll hit that up later this summer!

*hangry = hungry and angry

Thanks for taking this adventure with us! More to come this summer!

-marc, zoë & indie


The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is the largest natural and historical museum in the western United States, and its collections include nearly 35 million specimens and artifacts and cover 4.5 billion years of history. Wikipedia

Address: 900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007

Hours:
Monday 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
Friday 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday 9:30 am – 5:00 pm

Phone: (213) 763-3466

2.