Desiree's blog

Did you know that New Jersey is home to one of the largest and best areas in the country for late Cretaceous period fossils? And you don’t
even have to be a fancy archaeologist with special permits to search for fossils! So if your kids are like mine and get excited about walking in knee high water in search of 40-million-year-old treasure, just keep on reading…

Look on my kids' bookshelves and you will find tons of books about New York City. And not surprisingly, we do not have one book about New Jersey. I mean, what comes to mind when you think about New York? The Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, and there are even some who think of the Statue of Liberty (boo! it's on the Jersey side!). What comes to mind when you think about New Jersey? The weeds growing on the side of the turnpike? Well, Thomas Yezerski wrote a book for children called "Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story" and it celebrates just that... the neglected wetlands of New Jersey. Have you ever walked or boated through the Meadowlands? If you have, you will know why we were so excited about this book!

April showers are over and May blooms are finally here. This weekend we're wrapping up Earth Day with a Wild Earth Fest in Mountainside and an Ar-B-Que in Short Hills. Outdoor festivals are all over the Garden State with the NJ Marathon (including kid runs) in Long Branch, Rutgers Day in New Brunswick and Piscataway, and the Hoboken Arts and Musis Festival. A sure sign of spring is that sheep shearing begins this weekend at the Cory Miller House in Westfield and the ponies are out and offering free rides at the stables in Basking Ridge. Finally, the Newark Museum and the Morris Museum both are hosting dinosaur days with fossil digs. Welcome, spring!

This weekend you're sure to find a kid-friendly event that will suit everyone from theater-goers to nature nuts and history buffs to girly-girls. There's a Kids Trout Fishing Derby, a Martial Arts Expo, a Revolutionary themed weekend of events in Morristown, theater performances of favorite books like the Hungry Caterpillar and the Berenstain Bears, a fair at Grounds for Sculpture, and an Easter-themed Alice in Wonderland Chocolate tea party. And don't forget the many Earth Day events!

Break out the bikes! Springtime is the best weather for bike riding. Now that my kids have lost the training wheels and are able to ride the distance, we are ready to do some serious biking… starting this weekend with the Branchbrook Park Cherry Blossom Bike Tour in Newark! If you would rather keep both feet on the ground, there is also a nice offering of kid-only mountain biking events throughout New Jersey that you won’t want to miss. Don’t forget to wear your helmets!