In the past week or so, we have hit a few different playgrounds, rather than sticking strictly to Lithuania Park.
It has been some time since we have visited Baird Playground. It was a nice change for the kids! The sand is similar to the sand found on tropical beaches, and the kids were quick to rid themselves of their shoes. (And although I helped Leila rid herself of her shoes too, I soon had to put them back on. Turns out the sand was not only as soft, but also as hot as the sand you might find on a tropical beach!)
See this Little Tykes toddler slide Thomas is sitting on in the photo above? Well, although he started innocently enough, sliding down, he later mastered jumping down. Not only did he jump, again and again, from the top of this little slide (which is quite a high jump for a little guy), he actually jumped the length of the orange slide each time. I was amazed he could jump that far! Thomas really is all about jumping these days!
Well, now that the heat wave is long over, the wading pool is absolutely frigid! No longer is this daycare provider arriving at the pool ready to swim with the kids! Riley seems to dislike the water temperature too, and prefers to play on the outskirts of the pool. One kid accidentally splashed her and she was not pleased. Noah and B. are just wild and crazy, and get fully soaked. And little Thomas boldly, yet slowly and steadily, wades in up to his tummy. Then he turns around and walks out. He does this again and again, as if daring himself to tread a little deeper each time.
For the longest time, Riley and B. bathed this baby in the bucket. Sometimes the dolly was right side up, and sometimes her legs were sticking out of the bucket. Nonetheless, they did not tire in their effort to thoroughly clean her, and the teamwork they demonstrated was admirable.
Finally, Leila requested to go in the wagon. Perhaps this was her way of saying "Pack it up folks. I've got a Jello popsicle at home with my name on it!"
Earlier in the week, we had gone to Vine Parkette. This park is known to the older kids as "The Choo Choo Playground", because freight trains and Go Trains can be seen running directly beside it. It adds an extra element of excitement for the kids. Usually, when a train is heard approaching, all play stops. Play is resumed only when the train has passed by....or when the train is going so slowly that even the biggest train afficianado would lose interest.
One of the other great things about Vine Parkette is that there are lots of ride-on toys for kids to enjoy.
Because Vine Parkette is quite a ways from the daycare, we also packed the bigger boys into an extra wagon I have. Unfortunately after two trips in this wagon, the wheel started to come off, and it is currently out of service. At least it finally gave some truth to the song "Bumpin' Up and Down in my Little Red Wagon", by Raffi (if you happen to know the words, you'll know what I mean). We are going to try to fix the wagon, but I fear the wagon is trying to tell us not to put boys of that size into it!
We finished our adventure with a trip to "Ice Cream Junction". Actually, Noah and I have a bad/good habit of going there every time we go to the Choo Choo Playground.
I don't think anyone enjoyed their ice cream more than Thomas did, or at least it appeared that way. He was SO in his happy place.
He made it through his entire ice cream, and then, feeling completely relaxed and at peace with the world, drifted off to sleep in the wagon.
It was a great day!
