The blogging gig has given me a lot of opportunities I probably wouldn’t have gotten without it. I’ve gotten to try great new products. I’ve been to fun new places. Probably most importantly I’ve met amazing new people who I wouldn’t have met without being a chronic over-sharer who bears her life on the internet.

Most recently Mommyland has given me the opportunity to check out a brand new play area before the general public.

I’ll be honest, since moving to The Hill I don’t make the 35-45 minute journey up to the Exton Square Mall too frequently. But when I heard about this event I kept Logan out of school for the day and we checked things out.

The old play area at the mall was something I tried to avoid, it made me nervous when the boys were younger that they’d fall off of it and hurt themselves. The “big kids” were constantly running like crazy people with no regard for the little ones. Sure, the boys loved it but it made me nervous.

Time for something new.

When I walked up to the new play area I was in love. First of all there’s only one way in or out so it’s hard for the little people to escape. Next, everything is fairly low to the ground so when they do fall they’re not falling too far. There are a million little cubbies to put shoes in so I don’t get stuck holding those smelly little things. The best part for this mama is that there is plenty of comfy seating for parents to sit and watch their little ones run around. Before there were only a few benches which filled up fast.

They did it right!

Hats off to the mall administration for a fun grand opening event. The sneak peek party was nice with snacks and drinks for the invited guests (of which I was one…YAY). There was a man on stilts making balloon animals for the kids, and an amazing face painter. It was great that the kids at the sneak peek got to get their balloon animals and faces painted before the bedlam of the public event.

After the sneak peek they opened the new play area with an official ribbon cutting.

Other fun activities that were part of the event were a Mummers band, The Franklin Institute’s Traveling Science Show (Cameron would have loved that), and The Philadelphia Zoo on Wheels.

The Exton Square Mall put together a great event to introduce their play area to the local community.

But…

I love the new play area and I will definitely be back for Logan to play. The down side is that Cameron is too big for the 42 inch height limit. Poor Cameron isn’t really a big kid but he’s not a little guy either and now there isn’t anywhere for him to let off some steam at the mall.

I enjoyed the new play area at the Exton Square Mall, and so did Logan!

What do you think?

Have you ever rewarded your kid’s good behavior at the mall by letting them play on the mall’s playground? Does your local mall even have a kid’s play area?

For more on what I think of the new play area at the Exton Square Mall check out Chester County Moms. 

This isn’t the first time I’ve sung the praises of Longwood Gardens. It truly is one of our favorite places to go, of course it’s helpful that it’s right around the corner.

Here, in no particular order are our top five reason for loving Longwood Gardens.

1) It gets us out in the fresh air. The kids love to run around outside but often get bored if they’re in the backyard. Longwood offers them a place to play that is much cooler than our backyard. If you’ve seen our backyard you’ll know that’s saying a lot.

2) There is plenty for the kids to see and do so they NEVER get bored. Between the Children’s garden, the tree houses and all the other interesting things going on we can see something a little different every time we visit. Whenever I ask the boys if they want to go to Longwood they ALWAYS say yes!

3) It’s three minutes from the house. Something close to home AND fun, talk about a win win for someone with active little boys. There is very little planning that needs to go into a trip to the gardens for us.

4) Everyone is so friendly! You know when you go places and there are people working that must hate life because they’re so miserable? I have NEVER found anyone at Longwood Gardens like that. Every single employee is friendly and more than willing to talk to you about whatever it is you happen to be looking at. They’re also extremely knowledgeable and full of fun facts. The best part…They’re great with kids.

Even the cat is friendly at Longwood Gardens!

5) No matter what time of year it is there is always something to see. I overheard an employee telling another employee that they have two seasons at Longwood Gardens, fireworks and Christmas lights. I thought that was a great way to put it. All summer long there are fireworks and fountain shows. This summer we were lucky enough to have a magnificent light display by British artist Bruce Munro. Nothing short of amazing. The wintertime is great to visit the awesome train display and of course the lights.

We love Longwood Gardens and have been members there for a past few years. If you’re local, buy a membership and go often, you won’t be sorry you did.

Not local? Do you have any fun places like Longwood Gardens near you?