Ashley’s First Birthday @ Laurel Hills

One month ago (yes, I’m so behind) we celebrated Ashley’s first birthday with wonderful family and friends at Laurel Hills Community Center.  Since we were in the middle of selling our house (btw, great house still for sale) there was no way I could plan a party around potential showings at our house.  And yes, of course, there happened to be last minute showings that day.

Laurel Hills is a great place to have a party.  We rented the dance studio on the bottom floor, which holds up to 30 people.  It has large windows on two sides of the room and mirrors on another side, which made the room seem larger than it was and gave the babies extra entertainment.  We brought a large basket of toys from home to keep the babies entertained and everyone played a part in the setup and cleanup.  My mom/aunt were in charge of toys/balloons, my mom-in-law was in charge of the flowers, and my sister had the decorations.  My wonderful neighbor who has a side catering business (and who has even done small events for VP Joe Biden) made delicious salmon and chicken/sweet potato sandwiches, salad with homemade balsamic vinegar dressing, and homemade iced-clove tea.  And everyone else either set-up food, hung streamers, hauled things to/from the car, hauled chairs/tables, or kept an eye on the birthday girl!

The celebrations really began on Friday night when we all met for dinner at Crowley’s, our neighborhood restaurant.  Saturday night the festivities continued at our house with more cake, grilled meats, potato casserole, yummy drinks, a bon fire, interesting political discussions, and Trivia Pursuit! Then, we finished up on Sunday with a yummy breakfast at the house organized by my mom-in-law.  We had wonderful family come from all over (CA, KS, MO, MD, and VA) to celebrate her little birthday; we were completely overjoyed and overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity.

Thumbs up: great party room for small events, close proximity to restrooms, free tables/chairs for self set-up/clean-up

Thumbs down: nothing at all 🙂

 

Laurel Hills Community Center

With the weather being overcast and uncertain we needed to find another indoor place to romp around.  So, on the 11th day of Raleigh Parks Christmas we went back to Laurel Hills Park to visit the community center for Tot Time.

The community center is two stories and has a few meeting rooms, art rooms, dance studio, fitness center, vending machines, and large gymnasium with two basketball courts.  The friendly staff in the lobby can help register you for classes and answer any questions you have about the facility.

The Tot Time program is for kids ages 5 and under and runs every Tues and Thurs from 10am-noon in the gymnasium.  And it’s FREE!  During Tot Time they put out large play mats, toddler slides, tot bikes, recreational equipment, and other fun toys for the kids to play with.  This is a fantastic place to bring the kids on a cold, rainy, or extremely hot day to burn off some energy.  Ashley crawled all over the gym and played with every toy.  She even tried going up the slides, slide first and crawled through the tunnels and played with the other tots. Tot time is a fantastic play option for the winter months, especially for the non-walkers!

There are several different Tot Times going on throughout the week allowing you to hop around to different places.  Here’s the schedule starting in Jan 2012. I know where we’ll be in the winter months!

  • Mon from 10:30am-noon: Glen Eden Park
  • Mon/Wed from 10:30am-12:30pm: Millbrook Exchange
  • Mon/Wed from 10am-1pm: Tarboro Rd Community Center
  • Tues/Thurs from 10:15am-12:15pm: Laurel Hills Community Center
  • Tues/Thurs from 10am-noon: Green Rd Community Center
  • Wed from 9:30-11:30am: Lake Lynn Community Center
  • Wed from 10-noon: Barwell Rd Community Center
  • Wed/Fri from 10:30am-noon: Optimist Community Center

Thumbs up: play equipment, large open space, FREE admission, indoor options for bad weather

Thumbs down: nothing to report