The China's Terracotta Army in Atlanta

The Terracotta Army from China is probably the second most recognized Chinese treasure after the Great Wall. Mr. Rojo and I were fortunate to visit China many moons ago but we didn't have enough time to visit the Terracotta Army. And it's probably almost impossible to make a trip to visit China anytime in the near future. So we were pretty excited when the High Museum in Atlanta had an exhibit of the Terracotta Army on loan from the British Museum.

To fly to London and see the exhibit there ourselves is probably doable.. but the cost saving of seeing it locally is uncomparable. We were so procasinate that we waited till the last weekend to visit. If it weren't for Mr. Rojo who pushed for it, we might have missed it and I might have kicked myself for not taking this great opportunity.

So we packed up the kids after soccer practice and tracked downtown to visit the High. I guess a lot of people felt the same way of the last weekend before they left.. It was pretty busy.. We decided to join the High membership which allowed us to go through the express lane.. Now this is my kind of membership. :) We spent extra money to get the audio tour. I'm glad we did. Both kids enjoy the audio tour so much. It kept them interested and entertained throughout the exhibit.

The exhibit started with the history of the First Emperor and his time. We learned about the life of the chinese during that time. Once we got to the life-size terracotta army, I was speechless. The details and the expression on each figure was remarkable. This was probably the first assembly line in existance. They created the figure individually and each part was created by different group and then it was assembled and then customized to distinguish and make each figure different from the next. It was just amazing!

It was very mind-bloggling to see the map of the tomb and to learn that the excavation is still on going after 30 years after the first discovery. Not only, it's an on-going digging but the main tomb has yet been reached. I just can't wrap my little mind around how many men they will need to make something in that capacity. What kind of tool or technique they have to use.. ah.. I love history!

If you live in Santa Ana, CA then you are in luck. Don't miss a great opportunity to see one of the most amazing exhibit! You won't be disappointed.

The World of Coca-Cola

When you live in Atlanta metro area, you can't help but see or hear about Coca Cola. After all, it's the birthplace and headquarter of this mega company. The new World of Coca-Cola has been opened for quite sometimes. Until recently, we had a chance to visit on a nice sunny Saturday.

The new World of Coca Cola is conveniently located next to the Georgia Aquarium and the Imagine It! Children's Museum. Across the street is the Centennial Olympic Park. So it's a perfect location to have a full day of all Atlanta favorite tourist spots. When we got there, there were a few field trips but the line to get the tickets was short.

Once we got in, we waited at the lobby area and checked out the amazing Coke bottle artwork around the world. The detail and representation for each of this bottle is amazing. A short wait and then we were directed to see the short film 'Inside the Happiness Factory'. It was pretty nice and fun short film to give you the glimpse of what Coca Cola wants us to know about their factory..

Then we walked to the Hub which we waited in line to meet the Coca-Cola Polar Bear. I think it was well planned that they timed the guests in group so there wasn't a long wait and if you aren't interested in the picture, you can head directly to the next gallery.

One of the things I always do when I go to the World of Coca-Cola is to hunt for the Coke sign in Thai. Coca-Cola is pretty popular in Thailand so I'm sure we are a pretty good customer. And they didn't disappoint me when I found a sign in Thai language. It was amazing to see how globalize Coke is.. It's everywhere!

My next favorite part was the Bottle Works. This is where we got to see a real bottling line and see Coke being made right in front of us. Having an industrial engineer background, I love to see all these machines come to life. We probably spent a good 20 minutes watching the Packaging Robot doing his job. And do you know he has a name.. 'Fizzybot' is his name..

We then headed to the 4-D theatre to watch 'The Secret Formula' show. It was pretty interactive and I don't think small children will enjoy it much. The chair can shake pretty violently and I heard a few small kids cried. But Mr. Z and Miss J did enjoy them. The 4-D effects was really thought out.. the water, the air, the movement.. It felt like we were at one of the Disney ride.

After the theatre, we headed to the most anticipate room.. the Tasting room.. This was the room that the kids got to drink Coca-Cola products from all around the world. They group the drinks into regions.. Some were pretty good.. some were not so good (ok.. it was really bad). But you have gotta try them all, right?

Each guest can pick up a bottle as they headed out to the gift shop. It was one of those place that you have to visit once..

Afternoon Fun at Centennial Olympic Park

A fun stop during our visit to downtown Atlanta at the Centennial Olympic Park new playground. This playground has a few unique structures that you won't find them in typical playground. The kids love to slide and climb up on the pseudo rock climbing wall built for little one. They also enjoyed the rocking bench! The shade is a huge plus for a hot day in Atlanta.. The location is ideal for family who visit the Georgia Aquarium or the World of Coca Cola for a quick break.

Mr. Z had a blast climbing up and sliding down the slide. The cool feature is the standing slide that roll down make you feel like you are on the roller skate.. Fun time!

This post is part of Photo Friday hosted at Delicious Baby. Check out other participants here.

Fun day at I.N.K

After a whole day of doing nothing yesterday, I felt horribly guilty so I decided to take the kids out on the cold day. We headed North to I.N.K. - it's the kid's hand-on museum that kids get a chance to pretend to live like us adults. There are multiple rooms to recreate the real world ranging from grocery store, bank, doctor office, restaurant, salon and many more. It's not too far from our house and we have our reciprocal membership that we got from Chattanooga so we got in for free.

It is a small museum but is packed full of things for kids to do and run around. It was actually my first time but Miss J has been there a couple times with her school field trip and Mr. Z had been there once as well. So they actually showed me where things are.

Mr. Z didn't waste anytime and ran straight to the train section. If I didn't force him to come with us to other rooms or station, he would probably spend his whole afternoon there.

Then we backtracked to the mail room. We stopped to send mail to Santa. Hopefully it's not too late. :) After that, we headed to the back room that has the airplane. What a cool room!!! I love it as much as the kid. How often do I get to sit on the small plane like that..


Miss J couldn't get enough of the ATM machine. That's the girl after my own heart! She knows where the money is. :) They gave us the real ATM card that works with Suntrust machine. She got to enter the code, select language, select transaction type.. The only exception is it doesn't give out any money.

After a while, I just let them play on their own.. They didn't seem to want to leave so I had to round them up and promise a return trip with daddy. After all, we don't have to pay for the fee so we can go back as often as we would like. What a fun day we had!!

A Day in The City

I would like to think that we are the 'City' people living in the suburb of Atlanta. But the reaction of my kids when we drove to midtown made me realized that we are far from city people.


Mr. Z: "Mommy, look at that tall building!!"

Miss J: "Daddy, look at that sign!!"

Mr. Z: "Mommy! Daddy! Look!!!"


This conversation went on and on almost as soon as we approached midtown. I guess we haven't been to downtown often enough.


This past weekend we had a little adventure to midtown. I wanted to get the Nutcracker tickets. I have learned from my friend and just noticed how expensive Ticket Master charged for the "Convenient Fee" I decided to make a day trip and went down to the Fox Theatre ourselves and buy our tickets in person.


We parked our car at IKEA and took a free shuttle bus to the Marta station. Then we got on the Marta to the North Avenue station. This was probably one of the highlighted for Mr. Z. We could have driven down there and park somewhere but then where is the fun. The Marta station isn't that far from the theatre just a short walk. It wouldn't be so bad. After we got our tickets, we headed back to IKEA and had lunch.


Typically, we don't have much luck in checking them in at IKEA playland. They have very limited space but that day we were lucky. So we were able to walk around with no kids and .. well, I don't know if it's good or bad because we were able to pick up a few stuffs for our house.


I have found one of my favorite thing this season - Non Breakable Christmas Ornaments!!! I love it. When you have kids, I think it's a must in every household. It looks just like glass ornaments but it doesn't break when they drop it on the floor.

A Day at the Amicalola Falls

Recently, we just took a quick trip to visit Amicalola Falls in Dawsonville. It was about 45 minutes from our house. The trip was a really pleasant drive in the mountain with blue sky and colorful trees along side of the road. I was glad Mr. Rojo did the driving so I could enjoy the scenary. We went there with a couple of families friends. At first we stopped by at the pumpkin patch. After that, we headed to the Falls. We planned to picnic there and do a little hike to enjoy the leaves color in the mountain.

It was a really busy weekend. There were so many cars there but the rangers were very good at helping us parking and answering any questions. We parked and headed to the playground area. The kids were off to the playground and the adults digged in on the food. I love the Fall weather.. the cool, crisp air...

After a while, we packed up and decided to check out the Falls. We drove up to the West Ridge Falls access trail.. Ok.. We cheated, ok? We had 4 kids and 1 baby so we needed a little bit of an easy trail. This trail is perfect for any family as the trail is built with recycled tire. It was very easy to walk. There was pretty much no elevation at all.. We could even push the stroller on this trail. The trail was pretty manageable for small kids as well. I think it took us about 10-15 minutes to get from the parking lot to the viewing point of the Falls. Maybe next year we can try to hike from the base.. hehe..

Then we went up to the top of the Falls to check out the Lodge. It was a great place to stay in the park. It has an amazing view and a great restaurant with reasonable price buffet. We didn't plan to eat there but it was too good to pass up. But before dinner, we found out that the park had the Hayride every 15 minutes for free.. Did I hear someone mention 'Free'? Without hesitation, we all headed out to wait in line for the hayride. It was pretty neat ride. The ranger took us on the trail off road. The kids got a kick out of the bouncing up and down on the tractor and the fallen leaves.

Back from the hayride we headed down to check out the amazing view from the Lodge. Then off to dinner.. Food was great, friendship was even better.. We truly enjoyed our day out with our friends. It was one of the fun weekend trip we have had this year.

The park has different kinds of accomodation. There are hike-in Inn (as the name you can't drive there), the cabin, the hotel.. We really liked it there that we were thinking about vacationing there together. Now we just have to find the time that will work for everyone.

Photo Friday: Amicalola Fall

A beautiful Amicalola Falls in North Georgia mountain. This fall is practically in my neck of the wood. Well, maybe about an hour away from my house but it's close enough. The first time we went there was last year in Summer. It was a really nice small enough falls to enjoy with young kids. You can hike up the falls from the base or you can drive up to the different parking spot for easier trail. At the top of the Falls there is a lodge with beautiful view of the Sunset. There is also a great resturant just in case you want to fill up your energy before the hike or after the hike.

If you are not the hiking type, there are several picnic area that you can enjoy with your friends and let the kids have fun at the playground. Or just sit by the creek and let go of all your worries.

We really enjoyed a day there and we are thinking about getting a cabin with a few friends to stay there over night. There are many hiking trails to check out. The fall weather is so perfect for a day out. Just look at that beautiful colors of the leaves. In the next couple weeks the leaves will probably change color even more so.. Here is the little gem in my home state - Georgia.

This post is part of Photo Friday hosting at Delicious Baby. Be sure to check out other great photo from around the world.

Six Flags Over Georgia

A couple weekend ago we took Miss J and Mr. Z to Six Flags Over Georgia. It was our and their first time there. Fortunately, Mr. Rojo's friend has a season pass so he was able to get us the discount tickets. We met them up at McD nearby to grap lunch and carpooled to the park. It helped to save the parking fee which costs $15.

Once we got there, the kids quickly took out the map to check out where they wanted to go. But we already knew where we would end up. Our main purpose to go there was to check out the new Thomas Town. So we started head toward the back of the park for Thomas Town. It was during the Halloween weeks so it was nice and spooky to see all the decoration with bones and skeletons. A quick detour to the kiddie free-fall ride was in order. I think Mr. Z wasn't sure at first. I was worried that he would cry. But.. Nope.. He was a dare devil and giggled about it the whole time.

Once we got to Thomas Town, I had to say I was quite disappointed. I was glad we didn't have to pay for the full price to get in. I would be really upset. It was just a big playground with Thomas Theme and a small train ride. I mean that's it!!! So here is my warning to all parents with Thomas obsession kids, don't waste your money there. Six Flags is for bigger kids or even adult. Thomas Town isn't worth it if you want to bring your little kids there. However, we managed to spend a good hour there just for them to run around and ride on the train. I guess for them it was enough with a train ride with Thomas. I still couldn't get the Thomas theme song out of my head.

Surprisingly, Mr. Z loved the go-karts race which was right next to Thomas. He was too young to drive by himself of course. But he could ride with Mr. Rojo. Man.. He hung on to his dear life during the race. :) After Thomas and go-karts, we started to walk around the park with no particular plan. Mr. Rojo did get on the Ninja ride with his friend. I was too chicken to go on any ride. hehe.. Then we went to the Dodge City Bumper cars. It was a downer for Mr. Z as he was only a couple inches too short to ride. I felt so bad for him.. He was crying and very upset.

So we looked for some other kid friendly rides for him. We headed to the Riverview Carousel. There we found the perfect ride for them, the Hanson Cars. It was so neat for them as they could ride the car by themselves. I think it was one of their favorite ride. Mr. Z and Miss J still talked about it from time to time. Then we went to the Wile E. Coyote Canyon Blaster. The ride would be a fun ride if we didn't have to wait in line for almost an hour for a 45 seconds ride. I had to admit.. I could barely handle this ride. I think I scream as loud or louder than Miss J. hehe.. We noticed that there seemed to be busier than this morning. You would think that as the day passed, it would be less people. But I guess since it was the Halloween weeks and some people just came for the night time it made it busier.

Now it was dinner break. We dined at DeeJay's Diner. Nothing food couldn't cure. After a full tummy, we headed to the Railroad station for a nice, relaxing train ride. This was a great way to get to see the park without using your energy. It was getting dark and I knew that we would probably need to wrap up soon. We headed to the USA Games Area and played some games. Mr. Rojo won a basket ball! Before we headed out, we stopped by for the Dipping Dots for the kids and I was so looking forward to the Funnel Cake. But I wasn't going to wait in line for another hour for a funnel cake. I guess I will just have to find it somewhere else.

At the end of the day, I asked Miss J what was her favorite part. She loved the Hanson Car because she got to drive it herself. As for Mr. Z, he loved the go-karts. Guess he has the need for speed. Farewell Six Flags, we probably won't see you anytime soon until they both are at least 52" tall. :)

Freebie: Museum Day

Thanks to Sarah @ Fiddledeedee about this upcoming free admission to nationwide museum.

The Smithsonian Free Museum day is coming up on Saturday - September 27, 2008. So mark your calendar and download your free admission card here. There are hundred of museums participated nationwide. Check out your local museums and plan your fun free family day with your kids.

I know I will.. I plan to take them to the Center for Puppetry Arts this year. We went to the High Museum last year. It will be fun! I can't wait.

Celebrating the 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!!

What a fun day we had this year! It might be something about living in a small town that make me want to participate and check out all these activities that they have to offer. We have never been to any parade when we lived in Florida. Don't know why.. Maybe now that we have kids we want them to experience different things growing up. Or maybe the small town has its own charm that attracts us more..

Today we woke up earlier than our usual routine for a holiday. We headed out to downtown Cumming again. This time it was for the 4th of July parade. And it wasn't just a typical parade. It was the Steam Engines parade. Anyone who knows Mr. Z knows that he is obsessed with steam engine. He would have a blast here.

We got there right in time to catch the beginning of the parade. I have had several tips regarding the noise and yup.. It's L-O-U-D.. We didn't get there in time to get the ear plugs. But we brought with us one of Mr. Rojo headset. It did help Miss J. Ironically, Mr. Z didn't seem to mind the noise at all.

The parade was really long. I was amazed at how many steam engines participated. Each one has its own style. Some look so new. You will think they just roll it out of the dealership. Some look so old and you will think that they just come straight from the field. I think I enjoyed seeing it as much as the kids.

There were other types of engine in the parade as well. There were Golf cart, horse carriage, tractors and Firetrucks. One of the firetruck was an antique firetruck from 1937! How neat is that!

My favorite one has to be this pink engine. It's not the steam engine but who can resist the pink tractor! We need more of these cute color tractors on the field. Imagine how the cows would react if they see pink tractor. :)

If you ask my kids what they did on the 4th, they will say.. getting a lot of candies.. Candies were thrown almost constantly. Make sure you look and duck when you see it coming. These little piece of sugar are a real weapon. Mr. Rojo got hit a few times. :)

By 11:30am, we were done. It was a great day in Cumming. We were tired and ready for a nap. But.. no.. we didn't nap.. We headed out again to the Outlet mall for some shopping therapy. I wouldn't think we were in retail troubles seeing how many people shop there. Must be tourists!

So how was your 4th of July? Let me know what fun things you did with your family.

Firework Forsyth Style

What a busy long weekend for us. And we didn't even go out of town this year. I admitted I'm such a newbie in watching firework in person. Actually, I have never been to the 4th of July firework in my life!! This is our first year ever as a family and a first year for me as well.

In our town, the firework actually was held on the 3rd. So yesterday we all packed up and headed to downtown Cumming for the annual Firework for the 4th of July celebration. I liked it!!! We live in a small town so it wasn't too big and too crowd.

We headed there around 7pm and walked to the fairground. Along the way, we stopped to check out all the steam engines that will be part of the parade tomorrow. It was so neat to get to see these engines up close and personal. I could feel the heat from the steam engine. I couldn't imagine how hot for the farmer back then to operate and run it!

Once we got to the fairground, Mr. Rojo met up with his co-worker. She showed us the best seat in town. And sure enough it was the best seat. I packed a little snacks for the kids to hold them down till the firework started. It was AMAZING!!! I mean it might not be as big and as extravagent as Disney World but it sure had its own style. The weather was perfect. No cloud. The kids really enjoyed the firework. Before we knew it, it was done!

This will be our new family ritual. It was such a fun activity to do as a family!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

Take Me Out to the Crowd...

We did just that last weekend. It was the Braves VS the Phillies game. And it was the HOT-HOT day. We bought the ticket over a month ago so I couldn't ask my crystal ball on the weather forecast. Who would have thought it will be this hot in June? Did I already mention that it was HOT?

We went to the Sunday game. The game started at 1pm. I don't even know what was the temperature at that time. I don't think it's really matter. Buying the ticket online with parking ticket has it benefit. The parking fee is cheaper than paying at the gate. Also we got to park in the Green zone which is pretty close to the main entrance.

One thing that I like about Turner Field is the Cartoon Network area. They know that ball game is a family event and kids need place to release their energy. I think if your kids can sit through the whole game, you should contact a doctor for a check-up. Seriously! This game was the third game in a serie and the Phillies already won the first two games. So Mr. Rojo was in a much relaxing mood. He even told us to check out the Cartoon Network first before we got to our seats. Sweet!! Well, after a few minutes Miss J complained about her shoes. She happened to pick a pair of shoe that she hardly wears and it hurted her feet. So we went out and checked the store for some socks. Braves sock - checked. Not sure if Mr. Rojo will want us to keep it after today. He is a die-hard Philly fan, you see.

We bought the cheapest tickets available and we paid for it. It was up at the nose-bleed section. Don't lean or sneeze near the rail or you might fall over to the ground. The view was really nice though. Got the whole Atlanta downtown city skyline there. For a minute, I thought we could do this.. It wasn't bad. There was breeze.. We could do it. I sent Mr. Rojo to get some frozen lemonade and soda. No healthy food here at the ball game. It's illegal! I did pack a couple of the water bottle fan. It was sure a big hit for the kids. Only .. they sprayed to the front row (no one there).. Kids.. you won't feel cool if you spray the water to the air!

After the third inning, I started to look around for more shade area. And the kids started to fall apart. Mr. Rojo didn't admit it at that time but he didn't feel good either. See! We are not an outdoor type family!

Time to pack it up.. We headed down to the Cartoon Network area again. The kids got to run around. The slide was a big hit. I couldn't keep track how many times they went up and down. But I was a bit stressed out with the amount of kids running around and there was no security check at the entrance. So anyone could come and grap your kids anytime.. Not so comfortable about that. I was glad we had only 2 kids. I couldn't imagine how I would do with more.

Right before we headed out, Miss J asked for cotton candy. Oh.. sure.. why not. One more load of sugar won't do any harm. So we headed to the other side of the stadium with a mission - Cotton Candy. It was nice to walk around. We found the Braves Museum.. Guess what.. It has AC.. We were debating whether we wanted to spend 1 token to get in.. But we could just stay in the front area for free. Well, after a few minutes we felt that we should head out.

Finally, we found cotton candy and blue snowcones. Nothing save the day like sugar on ice!

Here is the picture to show where we sat. It was by the smaller yellow pole second row from the front. See how high we were!

Coming soon to GA Aquarium...

Georgia Aquarium is one of the world largest aquarium and now it will get even bigger! I have been to the Aquarium a few times since we moved here. But one thing that I feel missing from this aquarium is the dolphin show. I guess they must have heard about this via the grapevine because in 2010 the GA Aquarium will be welcoming a new addition to their already large family.

Check out the detail on this announcement here. I don't know about you but I'm excited!!!

Get out and enjoy free admission in Atlanta

There are a lot of things to do around Atlanta that doesn't cost much. But when they give out free admission on the special day it's even better of the deal! I have found several free admission days for several popular attractions around Atlanta. So clear your calendar and plan your Summer or weekend accordingly.

Imagine It! Children Museum - Target Free Second Tuesday : This is a year long promotion sponsored by Target. Every 2nd Tuesday the Children Museum will give out free admission from 1-4pm. I went there this past Tuesday. It was a long wait but it was fun! Check out my experience there here.

The Atlanta Botanical Garden - Earth Day in the Garden (April 22) : Celebrate Earth Day in the Garden with free admission to the Botanical Garden all day long. There will be series of fun and informative activities throughout the day. What would be better than start your Spring outing in the Garden?

High Museum of Art - BOGO ticket on Mother's day (May 11) : Take your mom out for a day in the High and save the admission fee by buying one adult ticket and get one free.

High Museum of Art - Target Free Family Fun day (June 15) : Celebrate Father's day with your dad in the High and free admission for the whole gang.

So that will get you busy for a few days. :)

Imagine It! Kids..

Oh! What a day we had today! I'm exhausted just to think about it. Today we went to the Imagine It! Children Museum Atlanta. As I have posted previously here about Target Free Second Tuesday admission. I knew that it will be quite a challenge since when it's free there will be a lot of people. Plus spring break doesn't really help when everyone is out at the same time. But I didn't think it will be this long. We got there around 12:15 and by that time the line was already a block. So we were literally at the corner.'

Fortunately, I have packed several snacks and drinks for the kids so they weren't so hungry. We had gold fish, mini carrots, brownies, cookies and sandwiches. But one thing I forgot was packing for the mommies. My friend and I were starving but I knew that there were Chick-Filet inside so that was our goal. Got in and ate.

Not so fast.. We waited and waited.. From a pretty chilly noon to fairly hot afternoon. We saw several families gave up and head to somewhere else.. That thought came to my mind as well. Luckily, the kids were pretty well behaved. Finally, we got in around 2pm. So we waited for about 1 and a half hour. I have to say it's pretty fun considering!

Once inside, we didn't waste any time. Mission #1 - Food! Red alert! The Chick-Filet was already closed. Bummer.. So my friend resourced to vending machine. My kids weren't that hungry anyway. Plus with all other stuffs there they were too busy trying to get to each of the station.

First, they headed for the folk lift machine that they can control the ball. Yet again.. waiting in line. Growing up in Thailand, I'm used to that. Plus we are regular patron in Disney World. So I think my kids are well trained in waiting. This is nothing.

The favorite station for Miss J I have to say is the Moon Sand table. She was there for a really long time and even went back there for a second time. We ended up buying the moon sand bucket for her.

As for Mr. Z, I don't have to guess.. He loved the train table. Funny that he could have played that at home as well. I guess the tracks here are longer and it was more fun to play with other kids.

The station that surprised me was the grocery and loading station. They were running around loading grocery and produce for a good 15 minutes. Good for me to rest nearby.

By 4pm, I'm spent.. So we rounded up the kids and headed to the gift shop. There were several cute things there. I let each of them pick 2 items since we saved money on the admission. I know...I know... It's supposed to be free day out. Hey! I need an outlet for this long wait!

Overall, we had a blast and the traffic back home wasn't as bad as I thought. We headed out right at rush hour but I guess spring break save the day. I'm glad though that I didn't have to pay for the tickets. The place is much smaller than I imagine. So I wouldn't want to spend that much money in there.

Target Free Tuesday at Imagine It! Atlanta

This week is a spring break week here for us in Atlanta area. I will take Tuesday off to stay home for Miss J. So we are looking for something fun and budget-friendly to do around here.

My neighbor is thinking about going to Imagine It! Children's Museum. So I was checking out their website to see how much the ticket is and other info. I then found a link for Target Free Second Tuesdays. It's a promotion sponsor by my beloved Target for a free admission on Tuesday from 1-7pm. What a deal!!! I will be saving $33 in admisstion fee alone. I couldn't possibly pass that up.

I just hope that I can get in since with the deal like this and at the time of spring break it might be hard to fight for free tickets. Well, we will see!

Miss J got I.N.K.

Yesterday was Miss J's field trip with her kindergarten class. This trip they went to I.N.K. This is her 2nd trip there already. She went there last year with her Pre-K school. I have yet to make it there... What is I.N.K you asked?

I.N.K is for Interactive Neighborhood for Kids. It's a children museum in Gainesville, GA. The location is perfect as it's about 30 minutues from us and being in the suburb the admission price is more reasonable than says if it will be in downtown Atlanta.

The admission fee is $8 for any human being. Same price for adults or children. Fair enough. :)

As the name said, it's an interactive children museum that allows kids to be kids or even pretend to be adults if they desire. Miss J loves it there. I plan to take Mr. Z there one of this weekend. Since I'm sure he will love spend hours at the train section with 2 Thomas train tables. I know.. We have more than enough Thomas trains at home.. But I think it must be something about playing with others toys that more attractive than your own.

Five Finds for Friday - Free Things to Do in Atlanta

Aloha Friday!!! This weekend seems to be a nice weekend with a bit chilling weather ahead. But with Sunny sky on Sunday, it will be nice to plan your weekend for some free things to do in Atlanta.


1) Tour historic district on various cities around Atlanta : City of Decatur, Marietta Square, or Roswell Historic District. Don't forget to check various events throughout the year.


2) Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site : Tour the Birth Home of Dr. King with park ranger guide. Also check out the exhibit at the Visitor Center and pay respect to Dr. King at the Peace plaza.


3) Biking along the PATH various trails : Check out a network of off-road trails in and around Atlanta. These series of scenic greenways offer a great opportunities for your family to enjoy nature together free of charge!


4) Georgia Capitol Museum : Check out the State Capitol Museum with historic artifacts and exhibits. Attend the State Capitol tour to learn more about Georgia history.


5) Ride The Buc : The Buckhead free shuttle bus that allows you to explore exquisite homes, shopping and dining plaza. You can also check out the Governor's Mansion and the Atlanta History Center.

To also join Aloha Friday with An Island Life, here is my question 'What's your favorite weekend activity in your family?'

For us, we love to just hang out in our PJs as long as we could and then head out to a park or a bike ride in the neighborhood.