Park Season Begins

Considering today was the first 80 degree day, we were practically required to spend it outside. It only took a few texts to friends to make afternoon plans at a large park. All of my mom friends bring bags of sand toys, bubbles, lawn chairs, blankets, and sunscreen. I, on the other hand, am proud of myself if all four kids are wearing shoes and I have enough water and snacks for everyone. I guess that's the difference between having one kid vs four kids. 

This park has playgrounds, a sandbox, volleyball and tennis courts, mini-golf, a lake, trails, and wildlife. We took advantage of as much as we could. 

I unbuckled the trio, but fed them their lunch while they sat in the shaded wagon. They were so focused on eating, they didn't even attempt to climb out onto the playground equipment. I had to walk them over to the sandbox. James and Maddie played in the sand but Amelia was quite upset that sand got in her jelly shoes.

The one problem with this park is the trails are covered in thick gravel, making it quite difficult to push/pull strollers and wagons. Jackson's friends are always fascinated with the wagon, so they attempted to pull it along the lake. Of course, I had to takeover pretty quickly.

There are signs posted along the lake that say, "Bread kills wildlife!" The signs did not deter me from feeding the fowls bread last year. I don't know if I've gained some kind of moral conscious regarding birds, but I've recently started bringing lettuce instead of bread to feed them. The boys were well occupied with tearing and tossing lettuce into the lake.

Our last adventure was climbing the rocks. Since there's a steep hill that leads to the lake, I only let the trio out of the wagon one at a time. James was the most curious and the only one of the three who actually climbed rocks. Jackson had a sudden meltdown after scraping his shin and he demanded we leave. We left our friends and headed back to the parking lot.

We are so fortunate to have dozens of exceptional parks within a 30 minute radius. Each one offers something unique. I look forward to more park adventures this week since there are several warm, sunny days in the forecast.