Weekend of Wonders Day 1: Pretend City

One of the great things about being a parent is getting the chance to revisit all the fun stuff you loved as a child, such as blowing bubbles, visiting Disneyland, and sitting on Santa's lap (for most kids, anyway - not so much for Benjamin). In addition to the cool things we had when we were little, there's a slew of new activities for today's lucky youngsters. We managed to cram several of these into one very busy weekend, which will henceforth be referred to as the "Weekend of Wonders." On Day 1 of W.O.W., we headed down to Irvine with Kayla and Sheila to check out Pretend City.

.

Pretend City is exactly what it sounds like it would be - a miniature version of a real city scaled down to toddler size. Pretend City includes many of the things you might find in an actual city - a fire station, a grocery store, a farm, a beach, a marina, an art studio, a theater, and a Persian restaurant. No, I'm not joking. Pretend City has an actual pretend Persian restaurant. Wait, is that a contradiction in terms?

.

I was wondering if there would be Pretend City Cabbage Patch which I could use explain the facts of life to an increasingly inquisitive Benjamin ("Mama no have pee pee?"), but alas, there was none. Instead, there was something that looked like a padded garden with padded walls, floors, and flower petals. It was meant for babies, but it got me thinking that perhaps I should pad one of the rooms in my house to use when I'm feeling a little crazy.

.

Just off of the town square was an ampitheater complete with lights, soundbooth, and costumes. Kayla and Benjamin had fun dressing up as a gypsy princess and tambourine-wielding pimp.
.

But out of all of Pretend City's attractions, the kids enjoyed the art studio the most.
.
In addition to the de rigeur paper and play-doh present in any kiddie art studio, this one also had two wall-sized plexiglass windows which begged to be splashed, sprayed, and swathed in paint.

.

Lots of paint!
.

All that playing and dancing and painting really worked up our appetites, so we headed to the Spectrum for a healthy lunch. We followed that up with not-so-healthy funnel cakes slathered with strawberries and whipped cream.
.

As Sheila and I caught up on girl talk over our sinfully delicious desserts, Vince took the kids for a ride on the choo choo train. They were lucky enough to get seats in the caboose where they waved enthusiastically to everyone they saw. After the train ride concluded, we piled into our cars where both kids, happy and exhausted, fell asleep on the ride home.

.

Stay tuned for Weekend of Wonders Day 2!