Community Partners: Exploring All That Arlington Has To Offer (Also: Why We Love Girl Scouts)

I enrolled each of my girls in Girl Scouts right when they began kindergarten. I was a Girl Scout and really enjoying my scouting years; I hoped my girls would be able to enjoy their experiences with Girl Scouts, as well.

I love so very many aspects of Girl Scouting, but one of the things I love the most is partnering with providers all over the community to learn about some of the businesses that make Arlington (and the surrounding area) tick. Through the years, my Girl Scout troops have participated in tours and other activities at a variety of places, including the Arlington Police Station, Grand Prairie Police and Fire Department, the Arlington Humane Society, The Emergency Center of Arlington, MedExpress in Arlington, Natural Grocers in Fort Worth, Peter Piper Pizza in Arlington and the list goes on! We've had floats in several Arlington parades, participated in fun adventures at Medieval Times and iFly and learned about how to conserve energy while overnighting at a local hotel (we've also overnighted at Sea World and the Perot Museum!).

Yes, Girl Scouts has provided my girls so many opportunities to get to know businesses in the area. Most recently, one of my troops had the opportunity to check out The Emergency Center in Arlington to learn about the Center's services and how the doctors and nurses there help patients who come through the front doors. The Center was incredibly accommodating. The doctor there performed an ultrasound on one of the girls, showed us how to do an X-ray and an MRI, helped us make first aid kits to keep in backpacks and cars and so much more. The Center did this all free of charge. The staff there wanted to participate in community outreach, helping to engage with community members and show off what they do at the Center. How awesome is that?!

I'm spending some time today researching more local companies that have similar outreach programs, where different groups (school groups, church groups, Scout groups, etc.) are encouraged to come and learn more about the facility's offerings, take a tour and perhaps engage in some sort of extra-curricular activity (such as a needs drive). If you know of any local companies, restaurants, stores, etc., that offer programs like this, please let me know or tag them in this post. I love getting out and about in the area and learning about all the awesome businesses that make Arlington great!

Kids and Art at the Meadows Museum in Dallas

After our recent trip to Paris, my oldest daughter and I have tried to become a bit more knowledgeable about art. She has now seen the Mona Lisa in person, as well as a computer-generated recreation of Van Gogh's most famous works (hello Atelier des Lumieres). She's seen Degas' famous paintings of ballerinas and paid homage to Paris' most famous work of art, the Eiffel Tower. So now, we figured, is a good time to start learning about art that is right here in DFW!

We started yesterday with a trip to the Meadows Museum at SMU in Dallas, a museum that we honestly didn't know was there until recently. The museum, which opened in 2001, features temporary exhibits on a rotating basis as well as a long term exhibition on load from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and is $12 for adults and $4 for seniors (kids 12 and under are free). Parking is complimentary in a covered garage, and the museum features a gift shop. 

Meadows recently debuted activity bags geared toward children to get them thinking about, and engaging with, art. The girls and I went yesterday to try out these new activity bags and spend our Sunday expanding our horizons. 

These bags feature prompt cards, a book called Ish, a mirror, a journal and writing implements. The included instructions tell kiddos that there is no need to be quiet in the galleries (although, man!, were those galleries quiet) because art is meant to be talked about and enjoyed. The instructions encouraged us to find a spot (on the floor in the middle of the one of the galleries is totally fine!) and begin talking about art.

We started by reading the book, one we had never heard of. It spoke of a young boy trying to figure out what art is. The neatest part for us was that the book was in Spanish and English, so my oldest was able to read aloud to us in Spanish (we love her dual language school!) and then check the English text to make sure she had properly understood what she read. The text was also written in Braille. 

After reading the book, we talked a bit about the art on the walls, what the artists may have been thinking out when they were painting, why they painted what they painted and so on. My middle daughter got busy creating a self portrait with the supplied mirror and crayons. My youngest created figures with the included wax sticks. My oldest wandered from gallery to gallery writing down questions in her notebook to be Googled later. 

The museum was about a 30 minute drive from Arlington and we spent about 1.5 hours in the galleries and an additional 15 minutes checking out the sculptures in front of the museum. This was a nice Sunday getaway that was equally educational and fun for my girls. Thanks to the Meadows Museum for hosting us!

*Please note: we were provided free admission in exchange for this review. All thoughts and comments are my own.*

NTPA Presents The Addams Family

The Addams Family – Willow Bend Center of the Arts – NTPA Repertory Theatre If you’ve never been to a musical inside a mall, you’re missing out!

We had a chance to see The Addams Family, peformed by the NTPA Repertory Theatre, locateed inside the Willow Bend Center of the Arts in Plano- and it was a delight! Parking was easy in Structure D and led directly to the entrance of the theater. The concession stand was right at the ticket booth, and it had plenty snacks and drinks. The facility has multiple theaters so more than one show can be going on at a time - despite that, we only heard what was going on in our theater.

The theaters are intimate and the cast frequently ventured out into the audience, to the delight of many. The show, coming in at over 2 hours with an intermission, kept the attention of two 7-year-olds the day after Halloween! The cast was excellent, with Morticia and Wednesday as true powerhouses, however, the scene-stealer was Lurch, with great comedic timing and impressive stature (he’s 6’7'!). The costumes and makeup were delightful and worked well in tandem. We drove out to Plano from far west Fort Worth and south Arlington, and this is our ringing endorsement: it’s worth the drive!

For the upcoming holiday season, the NTPA will feature Scrooge'd. Go catch the show and support local theater!

*Please note: Everything Arlington received free tickets to this performance in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions belong to the article's author.*