Roseville, CA > Fun and Fireworks 4th of July 2009

The beginning of Summer marks a fun time for your kids but it can also be stressful on the parents if there aren’t sufficient activities to keep them busy.

Though Memorial Day is the official start, many kids look forward to 4th of July activities and fireworks. This year the best information for Roseville activities and fireworks is here.

After the 4th of July celebrations you’ll need many more ideas to keep the kids busy.

This year, in particular, will be different for many parents due to the economy.  The reality is that most families will either not be traveling at all or will at least reduce their amount of travel.  The cost of necessities (food and fuel) is way up again even after a steep fall just a few months ago.  This is pinching the budgets of Summer travelers and forcing them to stay home this year.

So you’ve canceled that 1-2 week beach vacation and now the kids need some fun things to do or at least some activities to look forward to.  There are many fun things for your kids you just have to research a bit.

One obvious option is Disneyland.  We’ve held season passes for a number of years but a 6 hour drive from Roseville to Anaheim plus the cost of a single admission will really start to add up particularly when gas is hovering around $3/gallon soon to be $4.  This makes for a very expensive trip when packing up 3 kids and cargo in the SUV.

There are other options.  We’ve signed up our children for activities ranging from basketball camp to local art classes.  These types of activities typically run 1-2 weeks and are on a set schedule.  This is nice because you can plan your day around it.

But there are other days when there are no scheduled activities.  This is a great time to hit the swimming pool if you or one of your friends have one, particularly when it gets hot.  If you don’t have access to a pool there are other fun indoor activities for kids that are more open-play meaning you don’t have to schedule them to attend.

We’ve been to a number of indoor playgrounds from bounce houses to climbing centers.  They’re all great and work perfectly when you and your kids need a break for a couple of hours.  If you’re looking for something more along the lines of a half-a-day then try John’s incredible pizza company.

If you haven’t taken your kid’s to John’s it’s a must-try.  Our “picky eaters” like it because they have an all-you-can-eat buffet of pizzas, pasta and salad.  Beyond that, the biggest attraction will be the indoor rides.  They actually have the best bumper cars I’ve been in and believe it or not, an indoor roller coaster.

They also have new video games that your kids can handle and some retro video games (galaga is my childhood favorite) for the parents.

Our first visit to John’s was for a birthday party.  Our daughters friend had invited about 20 people.  It’s nice how they set it up because the facility is huge but the birthday party rooms are private.  It creates a nice, brief getaway from the action to cut the cake and open presents.  Plus, the varying tastes of 20 children were met with their extensive buffet.

Be prepared this Summer, particularly if you plan to skip the expensive vacation.  Come up with a variety of ideas.  Consider signing up your kids for a 1-2 week scheduled activity like arts and crafts or a camp of some sort then remember to fill that in with on-the-fly activities like swimming or a visit to John’s pizza company.

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Summer Vacation Activities > Kids Roseville, CA

April 29, 2009
Fun Kids Activities and Things To Do in Roseville, CA

Summer starts in precisely 6 weeks.  Do you have kids?  If so, are you ready for Summer activities?

Summer schedules fill up fast so if you plan on signing up your kids for activities, now is the time to do it. Soccer, ju jitsu, basketball, arts and crafts, day camps, you name it and it exists for your kids so do a bit of research.

We recommend selecting one arts oriented activity (music, crafts etc.) and one physical activity (soccer, gymnastics etc.) to create some balance for your kids.  Don’t pick too many things to do because your kids will be overloaded and the Summer is supposed to be about relaxation and fun, not tight schedules and running from activity to activity.

Cost of activities could be an issue particularly given the condition of our economy.  But even if you’re strapped for money or recently lost a job, you can still do fun things with the kids.  For physical activities, play with your kids!  Take the time to go outside on family walks, kick the soccer ball, play hide and seek.  Any activity that can be paid for can also be done at home for nothing.

Arts and crafts is another one that if you do a bit of research on-line you’ll find great, inexpensive ideas that are fun for the kids but will also keep them busy and focused.

At some point during the Summer, your kids will want to have some theme park style fun.  Disneyland comes to mind first but the prices seem to have risen exponentially, add in parking, food and whatever else you buy there and the total bill will be close to a several day beach vacation.

One fun place we’ve found is John’s Incredible Pizza in Roseville.  We like it because it offers everything we need for the kids i.e. food, fun and indoors.

Here are some other reasons we really enjoy John’s in Roseville:

1. John’s Incredible Pizza is giant! You’re not going to run out of space or fun things to do here. John’s is easily the largest indoor play area for kids (or adults) anywhere. Now you can even take an interactive look at what a typical John’s Pizza is like on the inside. If you’ve never been to a John’s Pizza, you’ll be surprised.

2. John’s has many indoor rides and games. These are real indoor rides for kids including the coolest bumper car setup we’ve seen anywhere.

3. They have interactive and fun video and other games

4. Multiple themed dining rooms. Themes range from music videos to cartoons, each is easily the size of a standard restaurant.

5. There is great need for multiple dining rooms due to the all-you-can-eat-buffet. The buffet ties the rides for our favorite part of John’s. Simply said John’s has more pizza flavors than you can imagine, tons of pasta variations and a fantastic salad bar for those seeking a lighter fare. Of course if you dine on the salad bar you’ll have room for the all-you-can-eat dessert section too, which includes soft-serve ice cream, cakes, cookies and more.

This Summer check out John’s Pizza in Roseville for super fun at a great price!

If you’ve never been to John’s, check out the virtual tour

John’s Incredible Pizza Company
384 N. Sunrise Ave.
Roseville, CA  95661
p.  (916) 772-1111

 

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Roseville, CA > Taking an “Economic” Break for Fun

The economy has taken its toll on everyone.  California, in particular, has been hit extremely hard after a housing boom that was unrivaled.  Now we have unemployment rates near 13% in some areas while the national average reached 8.1% today.

These are scary numbers that often can fuel panic and cause a tightening of further spending, which in turn, can spark a deeper decline in the retail market.  It’s a tough cycle to break and it’s extremely stressful.

At some point though, it’s important to take a break from the gloom and doom coming out of the media.  It’s important for parents but it’s also important for the kids. 

During the early 80’s, when times were arguably tougher than they are today and I was a kid, I don’t really recall any stress coming from my parents.  They were affected by the recession but they continue our activities as best they could so we never really felt the pain of it all.

Now I see us doing the same things for our kids during the current recession.  The last cuts we’ll make will be for kid’s activities.  We will however, be a bit more careful about where we spend our money.

Our favorite once-a-month, fun place to go has been John’s Incredible Pizza Co. in Roseville.  We first went to John’s when we were invited for a birthday party.  The kids had a blast so we decided to make it part of our kid’s fun-time budget.

My wife and I like it too for a number of reasons.  John’s is an entire amusement park indoors that includes all-you-can-eat food.  It’s the perfect combo that I’m surprised no one thought of sooner.  

We love the selection of food and variety of games that are fun for toddlers up to adults.  It keeps everyone happy for at least half a day.

Here are the main reasons we really enjoy John’s Pizza:

1. John’s Incredible Pizza is giant! You’re not going to run out of space or fun things to do here. John’s is easily the largest indoor play area for kids (or adults) anywhere. Now you can even take an interactive look at what a typical John’s Pizza is like on the inside. If you’ve never been to a John’s Pizza, you’ll be surprised.

2. John’s has many indoor rides and games. These are real indoor rides for kids including the coolest bumper car setup we’ve seen anywhere.

3. They have interactive and fun video and other games

4. Multiple themed dining rooms. Themes range from music videos to cartoons, each is easily the size of a standard restaurant.

5. There is great need for multiple dining rooms due to the all-you-can-eat-buffet. The buffet ties the rides for our favorite part of John’s. Simply said John’s has more pizza flavors than you can imagine, tons of pasta variations and a fantastic salad bar for those seeking a lighter fare. Of course if you dine on the salad bar you’ll have room for the all-you-can-eat dessert section too, which includes soft-serve ice cream, cakes, cookies and more.

If you’ve never been to John’s, check out the virtual tour

John’s Incredible Pizza Company
384 N. Sunrise Ave.
Roseville, CA  95661
p.  (916) 772-1111

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