OT: What I'm rocking out to lately

Forest Hills

Forest Hills Sprayground. Catching up on some activities we've done in the past few weeks. I think it's impossible to get a good picture of 3 year olds! 

Great Sprayground! Hanging out with M is always fun, Calais even ran into her friend Tate!

I'm thankful that the parks with spraygrounds here keep the water on till mid October.

Riverview

Finally got Calais and her bike (and of course Olin) over to Riverview Park . Was hoping to attach the Burley to my bike and tote Olin along, but my tires are flat and I can't find the attachment piece for my bike.

Eventually, we will try it again. I've been dying to go for a good bike ride and I'll get around to it, maybe it'll coincide with the weather becoming nicer (aka cooler)!

 Holy moly, there were a ton of runners...the kind I used to see in Oregon. Super skinny, marathon runners. I overheard one dude say he just finished 16 miles. WHAAATTTT!?!?! I was not blessed with any sort of running genes :(

It was super humid the day we went (we also went at 7:30 in the morning) and after the hour out I was ready for a/c.

We also passed Riverside and we will have to eat lunch there one day after an outing!

Day in Pics

Pen Park Fitness/Nature Trail

Did y'all know that Pen Park also had a fitness and nature trail? I heard about it a few months ago, but the few times we have been to the park I didn't see it. Finally, I went online and found where to go. The turn is right before the tennis courts and it'll take you down to the picnic shelters and a separate baseball field (not the ones by the park).

We hit the trail around 8:00 the morning. We ran across 1 man running the fitness trail and 1 woman walking her dog, other than that, silence (perfection). We did the fitness trail. I wish there were signs at each inidvidual station (as opposed to just the start). Calais wanted to try several of the stations and I had to make up what they were supposed to be used for.

I would love to do the nature trail, but not sure the kiddos could sit in a stroller for an hour. Calais could probably walk it/stroll, but it's probably past Olin's comfort level now that he is walking.

Maybe next time we will come back and do the correct stations!

*Was able to get my phone syncing again with Picassa! So I've added photos back in.

Pen Park, an Old Favorite

 Both kiddos woke up early last Tuesday morning (6:15).  So I decided we would grab an early breakfast and visit a park we haven't been to in a while.

While living at Foxbrook we would frequent this one. The nice thing about it is it's pretty open. You will see any kids running away, etc. It also has a spongy surface which was perfect when Olin was crawling. Another bonus now that he is walking!

The morning was pretty hazy and started raining after being there for 20 minutes. (we were also the only ones there!)

Regardless of the rain and the  emptiness the kiddos had fun. Calais was able to push herself on one of the lower swings and Olin just loves watching Calais and trying to climb up the stairs and the steps.

It's nice having Greenleaf Park so close to us, but sometimes it's nice to just re-visit one of our old favorites.

Flying High at Darden Towe

Last Tuesday night was rough. I didn't have to get Olin (he woke up 3 times but was able to put himself back to sleep). He woke up around 5:30 and just kind of moaned until 6:30 when I let Calais get him. Calais on the other hand, man oh man. She didn't want to fall asleep last night, and got up around 5:15. I went in and told her it was still dark out and she went back to sleep for about 30 min, or at least she was quiet! I let her play in her room until it was time to get Olin. Needless to say my head was pounding this morning. It was also raining off and on, so we didn't get out until after Olin's nap.

Around 10:30 we headed out to Darden Towe park. I think I went here many, many, many years ago to catch a soccer game of Jake's. Our goal was to find the water, the playground and one trail. We drove into the main gate and took a left and drove down to the softball fields (where there was a Masters Softball game going on). We parked at the playground and unloaded. Decent playground, not huge, no swings, but some great slides. Unfortunately we were the only ones there. Calais and Olin both had tons of fun. Calais loves jumping off things, so she set out to find the slide, the stairs on the rocks to jump off. Olin was happy just following big sister and laughing at her.

We played for about 20  minutes then took off to find the water and the trails. I noticed on the map before that there were paved trails around the perimeter of the park. We walked around (2x) a small green lake with a fountain and saw many butterflies and even more geese poop! We then made our way down to the boat launch. No boats, however we came across many items of clothing. I was a little sketched out, I saw shoes with socks, hats, shirts, pants, but no people. Pretty area of the river though, so maybe that's why people hang out there naked??

Next, we continued along the paved path. It was hot out! It had rained most of the morning which made it super steamy when the sun came out. Regardless of the heat it was really pretty and quiet outside. As we walked I noticed a private residence sign. Seems strange to have a home in the middle of a park. May need to learn more about that! We also saw a hull of a ship, which I also thought was strange. I did notice on our way out that there is a Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center, so maybe it had something to do with that.

We finally hoofed our way back to the playground and I let the kiddos play for another 20 minutes. Then we headed back home. (Just as two other kids arrived!)

We will definitely be back, it's a nice change of pace from the normal parks we hit up.