Free Kid's Workshop at Home Depot

Honestly, I do not go to Home Depot very often. I wish I could be more DIY but Home Depot is definitely my husband's domain. We stopped by the Snohomish location and as we were checking out, the cashier told us about a Kids Workshop that was going on and that we should check it out. They offer these workshops the first Saturday of each month for kids to work on a project (build birdhouses, wooden toy trucks, cork bulletin boards, etc) and best of all, it's FREE. The workshop goes from 9am to 12pm but we walked up closer to 12:30. They were wrapping things up but still gave us the kits to take home. The girls LOVED it and we will definitely be doing it again!  Click here for for more info about the Kids Workshops on the Home Depot website.

The girls loved the signature orange aprons and wore them the rest of the day.

The workshops are designed for kids ages 5-12. My younger daughter is 3 1/2 but since we took the kit home, her savvy daddy was able to assist her in the fun.

The paint was my husband's idea and didn't come with the kit but since we were doing the project at home, we tweaked it a bit :)

Paint is currently drying so check back for the finished project!

to be continued.....




Here it is!! The finished project- a wooden moving truck!

Lynnwood Recreation Center

We were tired of the cold, rainy weather so we went swimming.... indoors of course! The older kids didn't have school on Friday March, 23rd so we made it a late-night and went to the evening swim session on Thursday at the rec center in Lynnwood. The swim schedule changes every few months so make sure to check times before you go. We had so much fun! Our swim session definitely was not free but it was affordable. A flat-rate family admission is available as my fellow savvy mommy of 4 got her troop in for $15. Following a massive renovation, this is one of the best public swimming spots around and even boasts water slides, a lazy river, children's swim area, hot tub, and a lap pool.

Know before you go:
- ARRIVE EARLY. I cannot stress this enough especially during busy times. The swim sessions fill very quickly and once they are full, they DO NOT let anyone else in (even as people leave). We arrived about 30 minutes prior to our planned session to quite a few other people doing the same. Depending on which swim areas are open for a particular session, they let in 150 or 300 people total.
- life jackets are abundantly available in various sizes and are free of charge. Lifeguards are also on duty.
- children age 6 and under must be accompanied by an adult in the water at all times. I have 2 kids and my friend has 4 so we were reminded of this rule more than once so needless to say, we were confined to the "kiddie pool" most of the time.
-check which areas are open before you go! Believe it or not, during my very first visit, we came during a session when the slides and lazy river were not open.
-ample parking, however, it fills quickly.
-the only source of food for purchase is the vending machines (and they take credit cards!)