Sprayground Season Subsides

Like most public pools, the local spray grounds are open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. That means this is the final week for us to enjoy free water fun. I suggested a playdate to Nevin Park, which continues to be my favorite sprayground. Unlike the last time we went, we were the only people there for the first fifteen minutes. The large canopy provided such generous shade that it was actually pretty cold.

Jackson was initially enthusiastic and headed straight for the fountains. He was immediately blasted with cold water. It took him over an hour to recover. He wrapped himself up in a towel, sat in the sun, ignored his friends, and ate graham crackers. Amelia and Maddie refused to touch a drop of water. In fact, she preferred to seclude herself behind the stroller. The trio played with one of Jack's playmates, who is a little mother's helper in training. Contrary to the girls, James frequently crawled full force directly into the water. I don't know when children begin to understand cause and effect, but James certainly has not. Each time he'd go into the water, he appeared genuinely shocked that he became soaked. I took better pictures of Jackson's friends, who were actually playing in the water, than I did of my own kids.

The spray grounds are completely separate from the playgrounds. Today was the first time we checked out the playground. It was a huge hit. The entire playground was car themed. There was a track, car equipment, a wall of carved out tools, etc. Jackson had a smile on his face the entire time!

Since I hadn't planned on going to the playground, I didn't bring shoes for the trio to wear. They still pulled up, crawled, and climbed. The toddler playground is completely covered in rubber surfacing, which makes it so much easier for the babies to get around. Today was probably the first time James, Amelia, and Maddie actually played independently on playground equipment. One area had shallow, winding stairs that the trio loved. There weren't any drop offs so they could never have fallen more than one step. (For the record, I knew they were fine because each of them can go up and down the single stair of our landing at home). I just had to stand guard at the slide to make sure they didn't tumble down. It was a lot of fun!

This park is definitely on my list of places to take the trio after I drop Jackson off at preschool. This is the first playground I've found that can safely accommodate multiple toddlers without requiring multiple adults.