Freedom Park with Friends

Conversation with Jackson and I in the van:

J: Are we going on an adventure?

Me: Yes, we're going to the park.

J: What park are we going to?

Me: Your favorite park!

J: Tell me.

Me: It has an obstacle course.

J: We're going to the obstacle course park! Will my friends be there?

Me: Yes

J: Yay! I love my friends.

It literally took all summer, but Jackson finally considers his regular playmates his friends. As much as we love Freedom Park, we had even more fun with friends. Jackson immediately ran to the obstacle course upon arrival. It's impossible to capture it in one photo, but I found an aerial diagram of the NFL course.

The trio were hesitant to explore their surroundings.

They warmed up to the only girl of the preschool group who happily played peekaboo with them.

It's hard to get the boys to pose, so I was elated to get a semi-decent shot at the end of the course.

After running, climbing, and spinning at the obstacle course, we walked around the lake. We planned ahead for a picnic lunch.

The boys fed the ducks and looked for turtles.

Our next stop was a more traditional playground. Jackson recharged after a bit of quiet solace in a tunnel.

Finally, the kids played in the train. It was endearing for me to watch Jackson actually initiate play.

James reclaimed his title as resident wagon napper. At one point he swayed to the other side. Maddie kept poking him and laughing.

It was another gorgeous day with great weather and company. I'm curious to see if Jackson will continue to strengthen his friendships once our playdates become less frequent. Preschool resumes next week and the babies need their afternoon naps. I'm not sure that we can maintain our social calendar. Either way, I'm enjoying our time together this week!

Silly Headshots at the Park

Yesterday our family of six took advantage of the unseasonably cooler weather and headed to my favorite park. This was the first time Jesse had ever been to Freedom Park, or as Jackson calls it, "the obstacle course park". We leisurely enjoyed a picnic lunch in the shade.  Since my father-in-law's camera is still on loan, I snapped some close-ups of my favorite crazy expressions the kids make. 

This was the first time the trio could safely sit in the wagon now that Jesse has installed the seat belts. The three sat still and seemed to enjoy the ride.

We brought moldy bread so Jackson could feed the ducks. He was especially fond of the tiny baby ducks.

After feeding the ducks we played on the obstacle course. Jackson eagerly showed Jesse around the various obstacles while I struggled to keep mulch out of James' mouth and the girls from being trampled over by big kids.

Exhaustion began to set in so we strapped the babies back into the wagon. I seized the opportunity for one more close-up of my favorite one-year-olds.

And of course, we had to see the train on the way back to the parking lot.

The van was full of four sleeping children on the ride home.

Go, Go, Go, Go on an Adventure

I'm not in a blogging mood but wanted to share some pictures from our day. As usual, I took a ridiculous amount of pictures during the five hours that we were out and about playing. We went to the playset warehouse for free play, then headed to Freedom Park for a picnic lunch and obstacle course. Jesse and Jack attempted to pick up a dishwasher after dinner (such a disaster!) while I bathed the babies and put them to bed.  Of course there are more details to share, but that will be another post.

Jackson the Monkey

Each baby had a turn on the trampoline

There was a perfectly secluded spot by the creek.

All four shared graham crackers, cheese, and fruit

Summer dresses

After completing the Panther's obstacle course

Silliness in the bath

Park Deja Vu

The weather was perfect yesterday. Clear, sunny skies.  Warm but not hot or humid yet.  The babies were happy and playful as always.  Jackson was energetic and "ready to go" by 8 a.m.  Those conditions created the ideal time to go to my favorite park.  This park is a bit of a drive, but it has everything.  It's like the Central Park of Charlotte.  Since it is a good 30 minutes away, I like to pack a lunch and spend a few hours there having a picnic, feeding the ducks, playing on the playground and train, walking on the trails, and completing the obstacle course.  I psyched myself up for what an amazing day we were going to have on the drive there.

Unfortunately, Jackson fell asleep on the way there, and he couldn't quite recover from his pissy mood after I awoke him.  He rode in the stroller and demanded I take him to the obstacle course.  Once he saw how many kids were playing, he said, "No! No! No!  I not like it.  It yucky.  I go see train."  I strolled to the train and he had the same reaction. "I don't want the train.  Take me to the swing.  The train's gross." We repeated this nonsense with the slide, swing, and ducks, until my optimistic outlook fizzled out.  Desperate to enjoy the nice weather, I attempted a picnic by the lake.  I spread out the blanket and laid the babies down.

Jackson ran away.  I started to follow him but he stopped about 100 feet away and sulked under a tree.  I calmly talked to him and remained positive about what a beautiful day it was and all the fun things we could do.  

After convincing Mr. Grumpy to join us, he decided to walk.  He then yelled at me, "Stop! Move the stroller off my head."  Sometimes you just can't win...

Determined to not let the tiny dictator ruin my mood, I took the babies out to play in our favorite section.  James had so much fun on the climbing wall.  Obviously he couldn't do much, but his face lit up and he laughed continuously while holding himself up to a standing position.

Our plump Amelia tackled the dummies.

And all three raced laid down towards the finish line, exhausted. 

I knew if I waited it out Jackson would join in on the fun.  An hour after we arrived, he was back to his silly, energetic self.  We spent another entire hour retracing our steps, but actually enjoyed everything the second time around.

A Day of Surprises

The past 24 hours have been full of very random, unexpected occurrences. 

Yesterday, I was quite agitated to discover that the only volunteer in the church nursery was a woman who was not physically capable of getting on the floor or picking up babies.  This meant I had to stay in the nursery with my four kids (who were the ONLY kids in the nursery) the entire service.  I missed the Christmas cantata so I could watch my own kids. 

The next random discovery was how easy and delicious these no-bake lactation cookies are.  I'd been looking for an alternative to the standard chocolate chip oatmeal lactation cookies, and was pleasantly surprised to find this recipe.  I won't tell you how many I ate today, but if they work, I should become part cow.

I was able to bake, clean, and get all four kids dressed, fed, and at the library for weekly storytime  by 10:30.  Once we arrived, I was certainly not expecting to see a notice on the door stating, "Storytime is cancelled for the month of December.  It will resume January 6."  Oh well.  We had fun putting on a puppet show, playing with the magnetic letters, and reading about firemen.

The next surprise was the sunny, 60° weather.  (I guess this wouldn't have been a surprise had I checked the weather report, but seriously, it's mid-December.)  We took advantage of the gorgeous weather by spending the afternoon outside at our favorite park.  Jackson sprinted across the fields.

I think today was the first time Jack discovered his shadow.  I was highly amused watching him lift his right hand, then his left, all the while staring at his shadow.  He kept saying, "Look, Mommy!  I make it move!"

Amelia ended up falling asleep on James, while Maddie napped in the Ergo.  All three were asleep by the time we walked to the lake.

 James awoke especially happy!  This kid has the most contagious laugh.

The most unusual surprise by far was being stopped at the park by a local news anchor.  Of all things, she asked if she could interview me about soap!  The interview was about the safety of antibacterial soaps and whether or not I would continue to use it despite concerns from the FDA.  I ended up informally talking to the woman for nearly 20 minutes about a variety of topics, mostly pertaining to the kids.  They must be desperate for stories since we made the 5:30 news.

Another surprise was seeing how ridiculously large a Whopper is from Burger King.  I had a "buy one, get one free" coupon that was going to expire within a week.  I'm not a huge Burger King fan and I've never ordered a Whopper.  It was literally the size of Jackson's head!

The best surprise of the day was being able to donate some of my frozen milk to a local mom in need.  Even though I'm having to supplement, I still have a respectable freezer stash.  In an international Facebook group of over 1,000 women who exclusively pump, I just so happened to read a post from a local mom who was having a temporary medical emergency.  She needed 30 oz of milk for her infant who has a feeding tube and doesn't tolerate full formula feeds.  I met her at a church halfway between our homes and was able to deliver my milk.  I feel honored and blessed to be able to share with her.

If the rest of the week follows suit, we're in for an eventful week.

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!