Last Sunday my family and I went for a hike, and as always with little kids, we visited the Little Farm.  Here are some pictures from our visit.

You Gotta Do This!

Sunday, 3/4 - Family Day from noon until 2:30pm. Back by popular demand, is the AMAZING Lawrence Lemon. If you haven’t seen him yet, go check him out. He is simply unbelievable! They will have balloons for the kids, kid combos, and of course their famous chalk wall!  And now they serve beer.  Get some tater tots and a milk shake, pull up a chair, and enjoy the tunes.

www.philssliders.com
2024 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley.

I know, lots of food posts.  But… You Gotta Do This!

The Kensington Circus Pub

Ah yes, it is true, I heard it from the horse’s mouth.  On Sunday night we ventured to the Kensington Circus Pub with friends for some good beer, good food, and good fun.  {With young kids, this is the B E S T place to go for dinner}  While there we asked the manager for the scoop, and he said that they are expecting the new owners to take over March 15th.  Although the new owners intend to manage the pub themselves, not much else is expected to change.  Sure enough, posted on the infamous pub’s Facebook page, is the announcement.

http://elcerrito.patch.com/articles/kensington-circus-pub-being-sold-will-continue-owner-says.

Thank goodness it isn’t closing…these were the rumors in the rumor mill for a bit.

You gotta eat this: bangers and mash, fish-n-chips, shepherd’s pie, and a pitcher of Boddinton’s.

The pub is located at

(510) 524-8814

Sign, The Circus Pub

Berkeley Rose Garden

Friday was a gorgeous day and I decided to take my girls to play and hike at Cordonices Park and check out the Berkeley Rose Garden.  It was a magical day, full of fun, adventure, and sliding.

Bridges of Cordonices Park

If you haven’t been over to Cordonices, you should really check it out.  On the backside of the park there are tons of paths for hiking and bridges for crossing.  My 4 year old was pretty certain there were fairies frolicking about.  In looking at the pictures, she might be right!

The park itself is one-of-a-kind.  There is a long and windy cement slide.  Grab a piece of cardboard, sit down, and go!  Be careful though, this thing goes fast!  Take your tot into the gated totlot and go for a train ride.  Bring your bikes, a soccer ball, and a picnic and you can spend hours here.

Rose Garden in February

Through the tunnel and adjacent to the tennis courts you will find the Rose Garden.  Magical is the only way to describe this place.  From up above there are views of the bay, down below there is a babbling stream melodically singing through the air.  I have never been at this time of the year, when there aren’t blooms on the roses.  But I am so glad I went because I was able to see behind the scent and abundant color of the roses to find a mystical, almost enchanting, forest.  And to have done it with my girls was the greatest gift.

My girl Melia!

I went to register my daughter for kindergarten and while looking through the AUSD website I saw that the Albany Swim Center is finished, staffed, and ready for happy swimmers!  February 15th will be the swim center’s grand opening, with the Albany High Swim Team and Aquatic Center staff geared up for the first dip.  After that it will be open for the general public.

The new swim center includes an indoor and outdoor pool and will offer group and private swim lessons, open swim, lap swim, exercise classes.

Click here to scroll through the photo gallery from the Albany Patch: http://albany.patch.com/articles/photo-gallery-albany-pool-construction-updates#photo-8979463

Gong Hay Fat Choy!  The Fourth Street shopping district will be having a Chinese New Year celebration this Saturday, February 4th, from 12-4.  Participating merchants will be handing out candy for the kids, and there will be martial arts demonstrations and dances throughout the afternoon.  For a schedule of events click here: http://www.fourthstreet.com/loft26.html

In addition to experiencing art and culture there will be fun events for children and adults of all ages.  Tooling Metal Art?  YES!  Junk-A-Sketch?  Oh yah!  Click here for a schedule of the free, hands-on workshops that will be offered: http://www.el-cerrito.org/gov/artsdayworkshops.html

Meet and talk with painters, photographers, jewelry makers, film makers and musicians, plus artists that create origami, wooden African Art sculptures, Lego models and more. Some items on display will be available for purchase.

If you are an artist and would like to showcase your work, or for more information, click here: http://www.el-cerrito.org/gov/artsday.html

This event is being held in conjunction with California Arts Day.

Last year the carnival was a great success.  This year they have taken the successes and added in more bang.  In addition to the typical carnival games like milk bottle knock-down, cake walks, tic-tac-toe, and golf putt-putt, the Harding Dads Club filled in the blanks by adding elements to appease not only the kiddies, but parents, too.  Clearly they are trying to cater to the parental crowd because every postcard I saw had a sticker on the front that said “beer garden.”  So, without further ado, this year’s added attractions include a beer garden sponsored by the new El Cerrito brewery, Elevation 66, live music, and a pumpkin patch with pumpkins donated by Marvin Gardens Real Estate.

So come one, come all!  Tickets are $5 for guests ages 5 and up, and I think I saw somewhere that you get one ticket free if you bring a baked good.

DooF-a-Palooza, the crazy, food-backwards, table-to-source, food educational experience for kids and adults of all ages took place at Jack London Square yesterday.  It included contests, games, entertainment and fun hands-on activities with growers, chefs, purveyors, businesses, and cookbook authors all filmed and streamed live online.

It was a truly unique event.

Kids got to make butter with Organic Valley, toss pizza dough into the air at the Lanesplitter booth, make pasta dough with Chef Gino, go bowling with coconuts, design and create a custom cereal box with Nature’s Path cereal products, and even make a smoothie by pedaling a bike on a bike blender.

Where else can my 4 year old do something like this?

Only in the Bay Area.