Fun at Freedom Park

When it's a nearly 70 degree, sunny day, we are destined to spend it outside.  I had a rambunctious Jackson to entertain and was in the mood for an adventure.  We headed to a huge park (i.e. 98 acres) about half an hour away.  While there are at least four parks that I know of within a 15 minute radius of our house, the park we went to today has everything you can think of.   

Before we even got out of the van, Jackson yelled, "Look!  Train!"  I unloaded the babies into the wagon, then freed Jackson from his carseat so he could run around.  There is an actual steam engine permanently on display that you can walk around and even go inside.  Here's our little conductor.

James and Amelia enjoyed the train, too.  Notice that my sweet babies have grown so much they no longer fit all three in the back.  Maddie was in the front seat, supported with a blanket.

The weather and scenery made for a perfect fall day.  Jackson insisted on pulling the wagon, until he reached a hill and realized how heavy it was.  He let go midway up the hill so I had to chase after the wagon full of babies.  Eeek!

This wagon was such a great gift.  Even though I've used it a dozen times, I just now realized today that there is a huge bag in the back for storage.  Normally I'm toting around a diaper bag, camera, phone, water bottle, and car keys.  I just tossed it all in the bag and enjoyed the freedom of not being weighed down.

After playing on the train and lots of walking along trails, Jackson enjoyed sliding and swinging on the playground.  I fed the babies while he played.  Of course, it's impossible to go unnoticed, so I ended up conversing with numerous mothers, nannies, and passersby. 

Our next destination was to find a shady spot by the lake where we could settle down and rest for a bit.  James, Amelia, and Maddie had tummy time before I laid them down to take a nap.

Seriously, can we just stop and admire God's creation?  LOVE!

The number one reason we went to this particular park was to feed the geese.  Unfortunately, after cleaning out the van the other morning, we must have thrown out our bag of moldy bread.  Thank goodness Jackson had four crackers left from his snack that we were able to use to feed the geese.  Otherwise, things could have gone downhill quickly! 

The hidden gem of this park is the Panther's NFL obstacle course.  It was just installed two months ago, so it was new to us and a blast to explore!  The whole time I kept thinking, "We've got to come back with Jesse.  He'd love this."

Jackson mustered up all the energy he had left to run over hurdles, 

push past the football dummies,

climb over the walls,

 and run up the curved walls,

before collapsing on the finish line. 

There were other obstacles not pictured that he also completed, such as a timed 40-meter dash, spinning tires, agility ladders, and rock wall.  I did my best to participate with him, though the babies were getting restless. 

Needless to say, Jackson fell asleep in the van and took a two hour nap once home.  The babies did likewise.

What a fun day!