If you are looking for a break from the loud playgrounds and busy water parks, the Bellevue Botanical Garden may offer up the mellower respite you desire. With its 53-acres of cultivated gardens, restored woodlands, and natural wetlands, little explorers will have plenty to discover and enjoy. And with a new Visitor Center, this beautiful, serene experience can be an educational one too.

Where to Start?
Begin your visit at the Visitor Center, with its interactive displays, Education Center, and courtyard gardens. You may even want to pop into the Trillium Store, filled to the brim with garden-themed gifts and keepsakes, including a cool selection of kids’ books, toys, and gardening tools.

Be sure to pick up the “Stop! Look! Listen! A Treasure Hunt for Children” pamphlet, a fun and easy activity for kids to help them explore the vast gardens and find special hidden surprises. Can you find the stone lanterns? How about the baby tree growing on a tree? What sounds can you hear in the Garden?

Which Trail to Choose?
Depending on how much you and your crew feel like walking, you could stick to the inner Garden loops, which wind through several picturesque, smaller gardens and structures, or go big and do the half-mile Tateuchi Loop Trail, which covers the perimeter of the entire property, as well as the smaller ones within. Psst! The trails are all either paved or gravel-covered, so you’ll definitely want to wear comfy walking shoes.

Not to Miss
See the Rock Garden’s wildflowers and the native plants at the Nature Discovery Gardens, go over the awesome suspension bridge at the Ravine Experience, and enter the traditional Japanese gate into the Yao Garden, which honors the sister city relationship between Bellevue and Yao, Japan.

Learning in the Garden
This is the Eastside after all, so the Garden has an interactive aspect! Your little horticulturist might find it pretty cool to use a mobile device to “tap or scan” the markers throughout the Garden, and learn more details about the plants.

Take a Load Off
Need some down time for a snack or picnic lunch? The Garden has a courtyard with tables and chairs, a pretty lawn, as well as many benches in hidden little coves, that are perfect for whatever yummy food you’ve brought with you. And no worries about restrooms — the Visitor Center has a large, modern facility.

Good to Know:
Every Saturday and Sunday (through October), you can take the fam on a guided tour through the Garden and delight your senses with its ever-changing colors, fragrances, and textures. If you’re expecting out-of-town guests, you can also arrange a free guided tour of the Garden for your group. Weekend tours start at 2 p.m. Who knows… your kiddo may even happen upon a gnome’s house!

Bellevue Botanical Garden
12001 Main St.
Bellevue, Wa 98005
425-452-2750
Online: bellevuebotanical.org

Hours: Open daily from dawn to dusk; Visitor Center open 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Admission: Free. Check online for classes, lectures, and events; some may require registration and/or a fee.

Mark your calendars: The Bellevue Botanical Garden is home to Garden d’Lights during the holiday season. This blossoming, winter wonderland is a must-see for kids and parents alike.

Have you been to the Bellevue Botanical Garden? Share your experience in the Comments.

– Myriam Gabriel-Pollock

Photos by MGPollock

 

You’ve likely heard the “Flappy Bird” story. Guy builds gaming app, app becomes the most popular mobile game on the Apple app store, players spend countless hours on game, creator receives complaints and nasty tweets, guy shuts down game, gamers are angry, phones with “Flappy Bird” installed go for thousands of dollars on ebay.

Since game developer Dong Nguyen shut down his operation, numerous copycat games have cropped up hoping to capitalize on people’s desire to lead a bird through a series of obstacles (well, and their penchant for spending hours on a mobile device). Recently, one creative knockoff called “Flappy Bert” caught our eye. Created by the folks at Sesame Street, “Flappy Bert” allows gamers to lead Bert through moving pipes along with his bestie Ernie and a bluebird. The interface is simple–use your mouse to elevate Bert and guide him through the obstacle course. Hit a pipe and the game is over.

Play the game by clicking here.

What are your thoughts on this copycat game by the creators of “Sesame Street”? Love it or over it? 

— Erin Lem

Red Tricycle, a digital city guide for parents, is hiring a Website & Newsletter Producer to lead its efforts in managing all digital content for the company’s website and email newsletters. This position will be responsible for content and advertising management of the website as well as the operations of daily local and national newsletters.

The ideal candidate needs to be a digital media pro with proven ability to deliver top notch results under tight deadlines. The candidate must be a laser-focused multi-tasker who thrives in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment.

Responsibilities include:
• Maintain, manage, and update web pages via our WordPress CMS
• Work within email marketing software to compile and manage all daily newsletters assets, including copy, photos and ads
• Manage ad trafficking operations using tools such as OpenX or Google DFP for managing display ad units on site
• Work fluidly with all departments, including editorial, ad sales, and marketing to ensure efficient and timely delivery of newsletters
• Use web analytic tools to run weekly reporting
▪ Inputting information into our internal trafficking system for initial & post campaign set up. Inputs include creative file uploads, editing & formatting of URLs, as well as updates to campaign targeting and budgets.
▪ Ensure ad campaigns are set up efficiently & accurately according to the clients signed contract.
▪ Examine and troubleshoot any set up issues as a result of technical capabilities and effectively translate information to both technical and non-technical teams.
▪ Perform quality assurance checks on advertising material to ensure that content, targeting, and creative are 100% accurate.
▪ Quickly learn operating systems, mobile device categorizations and capabilities, etc. to ensure proper targeting is applied to each campaign.
▪ Clearly express all workflow processes & company products involved in each campaign trafficked.
▪ Create and maintain campaign report s, analyze campaign performance and make recommendation for optimization

Required Skills:
▪ Must be highly organized, extremely detail-oriented, and able to multi-task in a fast-paced, deadline driven environment
▪ Exhibit excellent interpersonal skills and a comfort in working within a team
▪ Experience using DART/DFP and Google Analytics and eNewsletter servicing software, such as Contactology
▪ Solid MS Excel skills
▪ Experience in digital media and journalism, preferably producing content for media web sites.
• Familiarity with WordPress, Google Analytics/Webmaster Tools
• Basic knowledge of HTML and CSS
• Strong leadership skills and the ability to balance creative thinking with strong attention to detail
• Excellent grammar, organizational & communication skills.
• A self-starter with an entrepreneurial spirit and ability to be self-disciplined
• Operates well under pressure and tight deadlines
• Ability to work seamlessly with different departments

About You

If this all sounds exciting to you, you should come work with us. Here are some statements that should apply to you:

You are self-motivated and enjoy taking ownership of projects.

You feel comfortable doing things, even when no one is telling you exactly what to do.

You can execute with flexibility and speed.

You enjoy being part of small team, and understand your critical role in helping other team members and making the organization successful.

Your understand and thrive in the speed, chaos & vibrancy of a start-up environment.

You are solution-oriented and enjoy figuring out how to make things happen.

About Red Tricycle

Red Tricycle is the #1 resource for families planning their weekends. We offer inspiration, discovery and solutions to get people off of the sofa and onto their next family adventure. We serve a fast-growing online community of busy urban parents in 9 major markets. The company is continuing to scale at an aggressive pace, with the help of a commercial marketing deal with zulily and Series A financing (lead by Maveron), and is focused on improving our product offering and better engaging our already loyal community.

As a team, we work really hard, move fast and are focused on delivering an exceptional solutions to our community (readers, advertisers, partners, community)

If this sounds good, seriously, get in touch. We need your help. 
This is a full-time position located in our Sausalito, Ca office. Please submit a resume and cover letter to the email address above. Please, no phone calls.

How many times have you bought an app for your mobile device only to be dismayed that it’s not what you wanted? With thousands of kids apps out there, it’s hard to tell which ones are great. Well, thanks to our friends at Smart Apps Kids, the tedious task of trying to find family and kids apps just got very simple. Smart Apps Kids provides reviews for a variety of educational, free, and downright fun apps so you don’t have to worry about which apps are right for your family.

The mission of Smart Apps Kids is to be the most reliable and complete source for parents and educators who are looking for info on an app before a purchase. While most kids’ apps review sites only publish positive reviews, Smart Apps for Kids also posts negative reviews as well to help parents find the most accurate information they are looking for.

We love using Smart Apps Kids to find the best ipad and ipod apps for our kids and we definitely think you should check them out (whether you’re in the market to purchase an app or not).