Jetty Island

Today I headed out to Jetty Island with Isabel to meet up with a mommy play group.  Jetty Island is a long strip of land in the bay off the coast of Everett, WA.  I've heard from a few co-workers that it was a great place to bring your kids but I never made the journey before.  For one, it would have been just Izzy and I and it's not as fun without other kids to join in.  Since The North shore mommy play group planned to met there it was the perfect opportunity to check it out.

There is a short ferry ride to and from the island which is free.  There is limited seating so I would suggest getting there early to get a ticket.  There also isn't a fee for parking except Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  So there is even more incentive to go during the week.  Once you get to the island pick up your tickets right away they go fast and you don't want to get stuck there until the late afternoon.

I packed spare clothes for warm and cool weather, light lunch, snacks, towel, water bottle, sunscreen, first aid stuff, bathing suit for Iz, water/sand toys, a kite and a empty bag.  The sun came out during our stay and there wasn't any place to get out of the sun.  Fortunately, there was a breeze or the sun would have been unbearable.  Next time I'll bring a umbrella or sun shade.  The kite was a hit with all the kids there and with the constant breeze I was able to tie it up to my water bottle and just let it fly.  There is only one bathroom but it's more of a porta potty so the sanitizing hand gel and extra baby wipes helped with cleaning up.

Iz had a blast with the shallow pools and I didn't have to worry about having to fish her out of the water.  We have a great time and this is definitely a place I would come back to again.

Pros - location, no cost, great place for water and sand activities
Cons - only one bathroom, no shade, distance to carry stuff from the ferry dock

Don't Check Out of Parenting

My sister and I took the kids over to Play Town to let the kids get in some fun and burn off energy.  Play Town is a local business that caterers to families with children under the age of 5.  It's a large room filled with activities. You can find a inflatable jumpers, slides, mini roller coasters, a playhouse, toy cars, bikes, etc.  I think Play Town and other businesses like it are GREAT!  It gives parents, like me, a chance to let their child play in an air conditioned and safe place with equipment that typical families wouldn't spend their money on.  These places also give our children the opportunity to socialize with other kids around their age or observe ones that are older.

However, and that is a BIG however, these places ARE NOT DAY CARE CENTERS!  My biggest pet peeve are the parents that bring their children to these places and then checkout of parenting.  They are the ones that are on their cell phones, reading, on their lap tops, or engrossed in a conversation and hardly even look up to see what their child is doing.  I'm not saying that they can't do those things but they still need to parent.  Moms/Dads you still need to watch your child's behavior.  You still need to intervene when they are being rude, pushy or otherwise acting up.

Now that I'm done ranting, let me explain.  As I was saying my sister and I headed over to Play Town with the kiddies in tow.  The place was PACKED!  There had to have been at least 35 kids of all ages running amok. We were there for about 10 minutes when a boy ran a bike into Izzy's foot while horsing around.  Yes, I was PISSED and yes, I corrected him.  Did I see the parents?  NEGATIVE.

Forty-five minutes later another boy was kicking a beach ball around HARD.  I personally saw him hit 2 other kids in the head with it and he also kicked the ball right into my 8 month pregnant sister's stomach.  As before I corrected him and asked him not to kick the ball indoors.  I never saw the mom. About 15 minutes later that same boy was still kicking the ball dangerously close to Izzy.  I told him "Please don't kick the ball indoors, someone can get hurt."  I don't know if he's ever been corrected before but he started to cry.  I asked him where his mommy was and it turns out she was a few feet away and not once corrected his behavior.  She gave me a dirty look as she swept him up in her arms.  Look lady, if your child runs amok and is or will hurt Izzy I have no problem correcting them.