Farm Days is April 9-11! DON'T MISS IT!

OK, so I nearly forgot. Thanks to a mommy friend of mine, we are going to Farm Animal Days tomorrow at N.C. State. It will run Wednesday thru Friday (April 9-11). For more information, visit their website.

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/farmanimaldays/

If I had time to tell you about all the great things I would, but here are my cliffs notes  from last year.

1. The Baby Chicks are a MUST-SEE but it gets very crowded.
2. The Free Ice Cream Is Amazing, So Get Some For Yourself, too.
3. Milk the Fake Cow!
4. You May Have To Go Twice -- It's That Fun!

Farm Animal Days is FANTASTIC! (2013)

NC State Farm Animal Days is wonderful! You can hold baby chicks (total highlight), see and pet sheep and lambs, rabbits, practice milking a cow (though not a real one), see adult and baby horses, eat free delicious ice cream and pose on a tractor.

Honestly, it's really a great experience and one my children wouldn't otherwise get. It's well organized, but busy, so if you can go at the recommended times.

Jones Park in Holly Springs - All New Playground Equipment

It used to be just softball, baseball fields, but they recently finished two sections of playground and a sheltered eating area with three picnic benches, and Jones Park in Holly Springs (off of Holly Springs Road behind the elementary school) is fantastic!

It looks beautiful and is clearly a wonderful addition to Holly Springs' Park & Recreation Department. However, the potties were a bit of a hike, which was unfortunate for me on my first visit because I was forced to change a blowout diaper on a towel on the ground and ended up with it on my pants, hands, the towel and more and no place to wash my hands (that I could find). Any potty trainers may have had a rough time, too.

Also, and this is an unavoidable issue in year-round school areas, but there were at least three huge groups of kids that came to the park, nearly knocking over the toddlers and certainly dominating the once (but briefly) quiet playground.

So when the big groups came we jumped on a trail and walked around a bit. It was definitely worth the chaos, and the trail was revisited and biked by my 3 and 4 year olds. And the trail led to Veterans Park and pond, which is wonderful for those looking for a scenic walk with a stroller.

All in all it was a great morning. We loved the mini monkey bars, different ways to climb, balance, slide and more. For once it was nice not to have swings because I don't love pushing the whole time. But it would have been nice to see a sandbox. Just my two cents.

I'm excited about this park, go there on a regular basis now, and recently heard about the renovations to Womble Park. I hear it's much nicer. Can't wait to try it out again! I do have some misgivings about Womble, but that's a blog for another day!

P.S. IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK!

405 School Days Lane 
Holly Springs, NC 27540

HIGHLIGHTS: Fantastic turf (not grass) that you can play in just after it rains - still gets wet but not muddy, great little sidewalks for kids to run around, playground equipment for most sizes and lots of hanging things.

LOW LIGHTS: It gets a little crowded at times, but nothing like Kelly Road Park or Womble, a My kids love sandboxes, and there are none here - nor are there swings (but for some that is a highlight cuz some of us moms don't like to push swings for hours on end!) and the potties are a bit of a hike from the playground.

COST: Free!