Karilyn Owen

Packing Tips for Travel with Toddlers

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After more than 20 international and domestic trips with my toddler, I have almost perfected our list of what to take with us, no matter where we are going, San Francisco, Ireland or India. Much of our travel to this point has been to developing countries, therefore many of my recommendations are based on that.  However, … Read more

Travel Activities for Kids Without Using Electronics

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We are not an electronic free family, but for much of our travel, our son has not been very interested in watching movies or playing on the iPad. This has meant coming up with lots of ideas on how to keep him entertained on our long trans-atlantic flights or our 7 hour car journey between … Read more

Packing List for a Toddler’s Travel Bag

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When we travel I always follow the same packing list for my son’s travel bag. It contains all of the things that he will need during the flight (car, bus or train journey). I refresh the bag with supplies as needed for each of the major legs of our trip. By packing the same things every … Read more

Monrovia Canyon Falls: The Perfect Family Hike

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I have finally found the perfect family hike and I am so excited to share it with anyone who will listen! Monrovia Canyon Falls is my new favorite hike to do with my toddler (and his friends). It has everything you want in a hike: short and long options, wild animals, plenty of shade and … Read more

Free Splash Pads on the East Side

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It’s summer and summer means water play, especially on the Eastside where our summer temperatures soar. For us it’s even more important because we don’t have central air at our house, so we *must* get out in the afternoons to cool down! Here are our go to free splash pads and water play areas on the … Read more

Trash for Teaching | Recycled: Materials for art, play and learning

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My son’s preschool teacher told me about Trash for Teaching, which is basically a recycling center where you can buy random bits and bobs for art projects or as my son says “engineering” projects.  They source clean safe recycled materials from local company’s who would otherwise discard these items to the landfill. Items you can … Read more

California Adventure Rides for Toddlers

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California Adventure Rides for Toddlers

California Adventure is my pick for a toddler’s first visit to a Disney theme park. California Adventure is smaller than Disneyland and feels much more manageable to do with a toddler. The California Adventure rides for toddlers are mellow and have less ‘scary’ characters. Additionally, the park feels more spread out which helps with children who get overwhelmed easily.

Our experience at California Adventure tends to lean more towards rides rather than the classic “Disney” experience. However, you will see Disney characters, perhaps just not as much as you would at Disneyland.

After many many visits with our toddler, we have developed our guide to California Adventure rides for toddlers which will help you map out your day and choose what to see and what to skip. If this is your first visit to a Disney park, make sure to read our planning a trip to Disneyland post first!

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Sunset Ranch & Hollywood Sign Hike for Horse-loving Kids

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Today I suggested my toddler and I get some ice cream after his nap. Shockingly, he said he would rather go for a “hike and see horses”.  Hmm. Yeah that’s what I meant! What better place to go for a short hike and see horses than Sunset Ranch at the top of Beachwood Canyon. It’s … Read more

Family Friendly Summer Fun at Barnsdall Park

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It was our first summer in LA and a Friday night summer tradition began – Barnsdall.  Barnsdall Park hosts a wine tasting night on the west lawn of the Hollyhock House, every Friday night from Labor Day weekend through the end of August. Wine tasting is provided by Silverlake Wines, a DJ (often from KCRW) spins … Read more

Trash Trucks – LA Sanitation Department’s Open House

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Does your kid love ‘trash truck day’? My toddler is obsessed with trash pickup, trash trucks, trash cans and all things trash. He was watching YouTube videos of trash trucks at a local diner one morning when a kid in the next booth began telling him about all of the different types of trash trucks. … Read more

Top Tips for Flying with Toddlers

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Top tips for flying with toddlers

Top Tips for Flying with Toddlers

I am constantly peppered with questions on how to travel with a toddler. Our son has been on over 30 flights in his first 2.5 years, so he is already a seasoned traveler but it didn’t come without some trials along the way. Here are our top tips for flying with toddlers whether it is short domestic flight or across the world.

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Family Hike: Dante’s Peak, Griffith Park

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Everyone outside of LA have these really negative mental images of what LA is all about – terrible traffic, lots of plastic surgery, expensive shops, totally fake people, strip mall central, etc. And yes a lot of that exists, but there is so much more here than that we have come to realize. In our … Read more

The Never Ending Los Angeles Bucket List for Families

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Mommy Poppins’s website has a great Los Angeles bucket list for families. Since we are new to LA, it has become the perfect base for many of our local explorations. As we learn more about the city, we continue to add to this list as well as cross things off. Obviously we have quite a bit of time to … Read more