King Tut at DeYoung Museum in SF

From June 27, 2009 - March 28, 2010, King Tutankhamun's treasures will be on display. I saw many of these artifacts years ago in Southern California, but somehow, I am enticed to see it again as an adult. His popularity is partly due to the fact that it is the most complete Ancient Egyptian royal tomb ever found. Dr. Carter made a spectacular find in 1922 of which many have seen and continue to see. For more info, see deYoung museum. Tickets can be bought at Costco for a discount which includes the audio tour and is definitely worthwhile!

For books for the entire family on ancient Egypt, check out some of these:

Young Readers

(5-8 years)
Tut's Mummy Lost...and Found - Donnelly
In an Egyptian City - Eldash
Muti's Necklace - Hawes
Tutankhamen's Gift - Sabuda

(9-12 years)
The Mummy's Curse - Dixon
Cry of the Benu Bird - Greger
Curse of the Pharaohs - Hawass
The Akhenaten Adventure - Kerr
Casting the Gods Adrift - McCaughrean
Ancient Egypt: Archaeology Unlocks the Secrets of Egypt's Past - Rubalcaba

Advanced Readers

(ages 12 and up)
Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt - David
The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt - Dodson
King Tut: The Treasures of the Tomb - Hawass
Realm of the Pharaohs - Hawass
Akhenaten and the Religion of Light - Hornung
Red Land, Black Land - Mertz
In the Valley of the Kings - Meyerson
Nefertiti - Tyldesley
The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt - Wilkinson

Amusement Park Discounts

Amusement parks are a great way to round out the summer. And, there are discounts out there for these oftentimes expensive destinations. However, there are ways to get discounts.


1. AAA has discounts for many amusement parks including Great America, Vallejo Discovery Kingdom, Disneyland and Legoland. Check their web site for more details.

2. If you have a contact person at your school's PTA, they often have coupons for Legoland, SeaWorld and Great America. The front office will have them too, but obviously, schools are closed until the end of August so you would have had to plan ahead. Check the PTA web site for any additional info on discounts.

3. Many amusement parks have online discounts. Gilroy Gardens has an online discount of $29.99 for everyone. That is a $3 discount for kids and a $13 discount for adults. A family of four could save $32 on admission! Six Flags Discovery Kingdom also has an online ticket special of $29.99. That saves a family of four $30 on admission. Great America now has an online deal of only $99.99 for four tickets which is less than $25 per ticket! Great deals out there! Go get 'em before the summer ends!

Activities This Weekend

We are quickly coming upon the last month of summer...how did it go this fast?! If you would like to make the most of the month of August, here are a few suggestions for the first weekend in August. Lots of fun things to choose from if the beach, parks and zoos are no longer entertaining...

August 1st -

Bank of America - Museums on Us Weekend. Choose from Contemporary Jewish Museum, deYoung Museum, Legion of Honor, Museum of African Diaspora in SF, San Jose Museum of Art and the San Jose Tech Museum. For more info, see Bank of America Museums. FREE ADMISSION FOR B OF A CUSTOMERS. Also on August 2nd. As a note: the deYoung Museum has a special "Doing and Viewing Art" project with families who first view the galleries on Saturday. Ages 4-6 and 7-12.

Day Out With Thomas - Roaring Camp Railroad in Felton from 8:30 am - 5 pm. Take a ride on Thomas the Tank Engine through San Lorenzo Valley River Gorge and Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Price - $18; 2 and under are free. For more info, visit Roaring Camp Railroad. Also on August 2nd.

Summer Gardening Fair - SF Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum, Golden Gate Park, Ninth Avenue at Lincoln Way. From 10 am - 3 pm. Learn about plants and get tips from local experts. Experience butterflies close up and look inside a bee hive. FREE ADMISSION. For more info visit the SF Botanical Garden.

San Francisco Aloha Festival - Presidio Main Post, Parade Grounds in SF. From 10 am- 5 pm with music, dancing and food celebrating the cultural diversity of the Hawaiian Islands. FREE ADMISSION. For more info, visit www.pica-org/alohafest/index.html.

Fremont Festival of the Arts - at Mowry and Paseo Padre Parkway in Fremont from 10 am - 6 pm. Arts and crafts, food, Kid City and three stages with entertainment. FREE ADMISSION. For more information, visit Fremont Festival. Also on August 2nd.

Mega Science at Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley from 10:30-noon. Make things go "pop", go on a scavenger hunt and create bags of slimy goo. Snack provided. Ages 7-12. $6 for EBRPD residents; $8 non-resident. For more info, visit the East Bay Parks site.

Puppet Show at Fairyland - The Fisherman and his Wife performed by Benjamin Blake and repeats on Sunday, Aug 2nd at 11 am, 2pm and 4pm. Free with $7 admission. http://www.fairyland.org/ for more info.

Sid the Science Kid is at Lawrence Hall of Science: Meet Sid the Science Kid, star of the popular animated PBS science show! Sid will model science play in the LHS KidsLab, the exhibit designed especially for kindergarten and younger scientists. Educators from LHS and KQED will share resources on supporting your preschooler’s science learning. Free with admission. For more information, see Lawrence Hall of Science site.

Weekly Art Classes for Kids at the Lakeshore Learning Center, 1144 Montague Ave, San Leandro. From 11 am - 3 pm. This week's theme: Friendship Frame. Classes are also held in Walnut Creek at 1929 Mt. Diablo Blvd. at the same time. Ages 3 and up. FREE ADMISSION. For more info: http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/.

Coyote Point Museum Free Museum Day - 1651 Coyote Point Drive in San Mateo from 12-5. Visit with coyotes, raccoons and river otters. Learn about California's native animals and plants with the help of a ranger. For more info, visit their web site.

Comics Workshop - learn to draw comics with Oliver Chin. FREE at the Dublin Public Library - 200 Civic Plaza, Dublin at 3pm.

Les Miserables (School Edition) at the Julia Morgan Young Peoples Performing Arts Center, 2640 College Ave., Berkeley at 7pm. Repeats on Sunday, Aug 2nd at 2pm. $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and $8 for children. For more info, see brown paper tickets.

Comedy of Errors - Amador Valley Community Park at Santa Rita Rd and Black Ave in Pleasanton at 7:30 pm. Shakespeare in the park presented by the SF Shakespeare Festival. Repeats on Sunday, Aug 2nd. FREE ADMISSION! See http://www.sfshakes.org/ for more info.

Peter Pan - Bankhead Theater, 2400 First St. in Livermore on Sat and Sunday at 8pm by Tri-Valley Repertory Theater. Tickets range from $26-34. For more info, see http://www.livermoreperformingarts.org/.

August 2nd -

Family Hike up Mt. Diablo in Clayton from 9-11 am. Take a walk in the morning sun with Dave Husted. Reservations required yet PARTICIPATION IS FREE. Dave@outsideinterests.com.

Bay to Barkers Dog Walk Festival - Golden Gate Fields Racetrack at 1100 Eastshore Hwy in Albany from 10 am to 1 pm. A one mile dog walk, games, conests and prizes. Proceeds benefit Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society.

Help Feed the Animals at Ardenwood Historic Farm - 34600 Ardenwood Blvd, Fremont at 3pm. Meet the animals on the farm and feed them a tasty snack. Repeats Thur-Sun through August. Free with admission - $5 for adults and $4 for ages 4-17. For info see: http://www.ebparks.org/.

Yoga for Children - at the Asian Art Museum at 200 Larkin St. in SF. From 2-3 pm, learn different animal poses inspired by sculptures in the museum. FREE ADMISSION AND LESSON. For more info, see Asian Art Museum web site.

Have fun!

Wiggles Coming to San Jose!

The Wiggles are on tour again and coming to San Jose! They will be at the San Jose HP Pavilion on Wednesday, July 22nd at 3pm and 6:30 pm. Ticket prices vary. For more info, check out the HP Pavilion events page. Get Wiggley!

Free Car Seat Inspections - Sat, July 18th

Habitot in Berkeley has free child car seat inspections this Saturday, July 18th at the Allston Way Garage on the 5th Floor - 2061 Allston Way between Milva and Shattuck in downtown Berkeley. Inspections show that 4 out of 5 car seats are installed incorrectly. Many serious injuries could be avoided with the proper installation of a child car seat. If you are not sure if yours is secure, try to stop by on Saturday and make sure! Our children are our most precious cargo. For more information, see the Habitot web site.

Target sponsors cultural events

Target is always supportive of the schools and cultural events. There are several concerts it is sponsoring and many museums you can visit for free because of their support. Whether you are in your home town or visiting others in different parts of the country, you can check out the programs on Target's art and culture web page by simply choosing the city of your choice. Have fun everyone!

Is Date Night a Thing of the Past?

For many of us, there is seldom time to get out with our spouse and catch up on some much needed couple time. Oftentimes, it is only on anniversaries and birthdays, if that, that we can "make the argument" that we should get out for dinner and drinks or a movie or even an overnight. And, it is not only time that is difficult to find, but oftentimes money is hard to budget too. The more kids you have, the more expensive the babysitting. Add up the babysitter with the night's activities of dinner, drinks, movie or coffee and you have easily spent over $100. Yikes! No wonder we drag our feet on setting up our date nights! Well, a few ideas to help make the costs lower and the opportunities greater:

Babysitting Co-ops: Many people are starting babysitting co-ops to help defray the costs of babysitting. You babysit a friend's or neighbor's children and they return the favor by babysitting your kids another night. It may not be idea (different cities, number of kids, behavior of kids etc). But, let's face it, there is never a perfect way to get out for a date night. For more on babysitting co-ops and creating one, visit this Twitter Moms post.

Taking a Date Night When Visiting Family: Why not let family or close relatives get to know your little ones a bit better while you have a nice dinner for a couple of hours? It isn't as sneaky as it sounds...oftentimes, the relatives would love to play a game, go to a museum, take your kids to pizza while you are out having some quality couple time. If you ask nicely, most family will be happy to give you a little "down time".

Make Daytime Dates with Your Spouse: Dates are not just for night time. And, there may be more chances to steal away together for a few hours during the day. As your children get older, the birthday parties are "drop off" vs. chaperoned and then certain weekend activities such as practices or classes may allow you the opportunity to set up a carpool with other families to give you some free time once or twice a month. If you schedule it right, you could find time together that you didn't even know you had on the weekends!

Movies for Free!

Most everyone has heard of Netflix, the revolutionary DVD lending company that is based in Los Gatos and started the idea of receiving and returning DVDs through the mail without any late fees. Well, I am a big fan of Netflix and have been a loyal customer for many years. They have treated me well too - lowered my fees as a loyal customer when their fees overall went down. How many of you can say that about any other company? Most companies give the best rates and deals to the new customers, not the loyal ones...well, enough about that. The latest and greatest from Netflix is that you can watch movies for free! With your monthly subscription, you get access to the Netflix library of movies to watch instantly and without any additional charge on your computer! The other night I watched a movie for free! Wow! That is a nice thing in today's economy...free movies! Check it out!

Online Searching = Fundraising

How does THAT work?! Well, there is a company called Goodsearch.com that provides a portion of its search engine proceeds to a registered charity of your choice. And, if you are like me and have to deal with the faltering public school system, it allows you to even register your school and they get money for each search you do!!! It doesn't get much easier than that! Sign up today!