Family trips to the local farmers' market are the best. There's just nothing that quite compares to walking past stands stocked with colorful produce and local treasures and knowing that whatever you bring home is going to be fresh, seasonal, and bursting with flavor. It's also a great way to encourage healthy eating with your kids; I know mine loves to pick out fresh fruits and vegetables to bring home each week!

No matter where you live in the greater Houston area, there's a farmers' market nearby. The city is also home to several farms where you can pick your own produce! Now, what are you waiting for - check out these local gems.

Catch 'em before they disappear again! For the first time since 2012, an animatronic dinosaur exhibit will be on loan to the Franklin Park Zoo. Destination Dino will feature more than a dozen moving, roaring, life-sized dinos, on display from May 26 through December 3. It's like Dino Dan or Dana come to life...right here in Boston.

Kids ages 3 and up can fly like their favorite superheroes at iFLY, New Jersey's first indoor skydiving center. iFLY Paramus, which opened its Route 4 facility on March 30, a couple of weeks head of schedule, offers kids and grown-ups alike a chance to experience the sensation of skydiving—no plane or parachute required.

The City of Angels is all about highbrow food in casual, comfortable settings, and nowhere is that more evident than the food truck scene. LA's food trucks offer up every cuisine mash-up imaginable, and between the trucks' websites, Twitter, and Instagram, it's easy to track down your favorites. A truck at a festival can be a little culinary surprise, but there's also a thriving, family-friendly, deliciously casual scene that pops up at regular local gatherings like the Santa Monica Food truck lot, Abbot Kinney’s First Fridays, Natural History Museum First Fridays, and others. A bonus for us with food trucks is no worrying about the inevitable mess left behind by my little whirlwind, or trying to keep her butt in a high chair.

Here are the LA trucks I most enjoy tracking down with my tiny food critic.

We're finally seeing the first signs of spring! On the farm at this time of year there is new life everywhere, and the sheep are due for haircuts. That means it's shearing festival time. Locally, Gore Place and North Andover are celebrating sheepshearing season with big shindigs. (It’s not that strange—think of the big deal you made about your child’s first haircut.) If you want to make a fun family day trip or even a weekend getaway out of it, there are also sheepshearing and wool festivals in nearby Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Western Massachusetts.

Storyteller's Cottage is the place for the book loving, imagination-driven, creative and inspired child. A one-of-a-kind destination for kids, the owners have taken a turn-of-the-century home and turned it into a place where children can dig deeply into their love for all things books. Love Harry Potter? Come to a class in the Magical Castle Common-room. Adore knights and swords? There's a special classroom for you behind the hidden door in the wall. Love Narnia? Yes. There is a wardrobe! And while you are in town check out the other cool things to do as well.

History runs deep in Eastern Connecticut. From the first settlements in the late 1600's, through the battles of the American Revolution, and into modern times, Eastern Connecticut bares the marks of those who made significant contributions in the arts, military, manufacturing and more!  Just check out the amazing places you can experience a step back in time with your kiddos!

Over a million visitors flock to Sesame Place each year, giving young children a chance to spend the day with some of their favorite Sesame Street characters. Now, the 14-acre park offers something else for kids – and their parents – to love. Sesame Place has recently become the world’s first theme park to be named a Certified Autism Center.