JR Pony Farm

Place: JR Pony Farm (north Las Vegas)
http://www.jrponyparties.com/
This is a small pony farm up in north Las Vegas.  It took about a half an hour to get there.  Back east, driving a half an hour for a playdate or to take the kiddos somewhere new was normal.  In Las Vegas, it feels like we are traveling a world away.  In addition to the ponies they have some other animals.  First we checked out the chickens and then the turtles

Cost: $5 per person (child or adult)
Hours: select Tuesdays from 10am-12pm (also open on some school holidays and I believe they offer camps in the summer in addition to birthday parties throughout the year)

Best for kids age: 1.5-8
Jocelyn was just a little too young basically because she isn't walking by herself.  My little love would have loved nothing more then crawl around with the goats.  I didn't put her on a pony this time but hopefully next time

She wanted to hug this goat just like she would if he were Rascal

On the plus side: Let's just start with the simple fact that you can ride the ponies over and over and over during this time and the cost is $5 no matter how many times you ride.

Charlie refused to even let the lady put him on the pony at first.

I had to hold his hand for the first lap but he quickly got the hang of it.

Attempting to say cheese

Going for a second ride on Nevada Bell.  I think we might need to get a cowboy hat?!?!

They have a great little play area for kids.  It has pony rocking horses, which Jocelyn enjoyed.  And a small "town" setup.  Charlie liked putting dirt in the toy kitchen

JR Pony Farms also has picnic tables set up so we packed a picnic lunch.  We had to cut our lunch short because Jocelyn started to have a meltdown.  (She is transitioning out of her morning nap.  Some days she is fine without it and other days not so much)

On the down side: I'm not a huge germaphobe but despite hand sanitizing wipes I was a little worried when we had lunch.

Suggestions: I can imagine that this place is pretty packed on school holidays so I would definitely suggest that parents with little ones try and go on a Tuesday.  As was recommended by members of the moms group we went with, bring an extra set of clothes.  We didn't have a problem today but I can certainly see how they might necessary on any given day.  As for the Pony Farm itself, it would be great if they had a bigger sign outside the farm and directing you were to park.  Thank God for GPS!

Rating (on a scale of 1-5 stars) 5 stars

Go again? Absolutely!  Jocelyn loves animals.  I can't wait until she can ride on the pony.  And in the meantime I know she will be happy just petting the bunny!

Just a little sidenote to this adventure.  We have joined two mom's groups since moving into our new house.  I actually signed up for a couple more, but we have it narrowed down to two.   I came across this website called www.meetup.com when looking for a mom's group.  It's fantastic!
This was our first meetup with Southwest Vegas Mommies.  I think I am going to LOVE this group!  All members of the group seem to stay pretty active.  It's wonderful because they have about 4 or 5 meetups scheduled each week and many of them are during the day.   The group has been around for a year or two so they are very organized.  Jocelyn, Charlie, and I are going to have fun exploring Las Vegas with this group!
The other group we joined is Mountain's Edge Moms and Kids.  Mountain's Edge is where we live and I love that they offer evening meetups at the playground so our whole family can go.