The Davis Family: Go Play Outside Now!

We love to get outside and have adventures! Sometimes we wear ourselves out, but we always have a great time. This spring we've been on a couple of great outdoor adventures. It seems that big outdoor play parks are a bit of a trend right now, and we're happy to take advantage of that trend.

A few Fridays ago, the boys and I headed about 30 miles east to a place that is actually called "Go Play Outside Now". It was a big fenced park filled with ways to play It was one of those places that makes kids and adults alike want to play. They had huge tube slides, a laser tag park, a few sandboxes, a track for ride on toys, a huge tire swing, and more. The best part was, we were the only ones there!

The boys immediately ran toward the huge tube slides. Evan really wanted to go down, but he was a bit nervous. He actually hung out at the top of the slide for about 30 minutes before he was brave enough to slide down. And when I say "hung" he actually hung with his hands gripping the edge of the slide and legs dangling down in the tube. Finally, after seeing me go down about 3 times, he realized that he didn't have to go fast, and he slid down going so slowly that you really couldn't tell he was moving. He gradually warmed up to it though and was throwing balls down and sliding after them by the end of our day.

Benny wouldn't do the slide unless he was on my lap, but as always, he found the nearest sandbox and loved hanging out there. He found some little cars and enjoyed driving them around the sandbox. We played the whole day away and left tired and happy.

(Evan's first cautious trip down the slide)

(Ben shows off some caterpillars that he found...again, must work on being gentle!)

(Yay for tire swings!)

(Benny the monkey climbs.)

A few weeks later, we took Dad this time and went out on another adventure. This time it was about 30 miles north to a place that just opened called Three Bears Acres. It was the same sort of idea-getting kids outside to play. This time, Evan immediately headed toward the archery where his dad tried to teach him how to shoot an arrow. He also taught the rest of us because I realized I had never shot an arrow either. Ben quickly lost interest and headed toward the mud pie kitchen where we made all sorts of mud creations.

Next, Evan moved on to the huge "bounce pillow" where he jumped up and down with Dad. Ben and I played with the water wall until Dad let me have a turn on the bounce pillow. When I returned I couldn't find Ian and Ben until I turned around and looked in a huge rolling tube where they had been hiding. After Evan did some name art on the graffiti wall we took a break for lunch at the picnic tables near the lake.

Ben was feeling a bit punky and tired by that point, but he still wanted to explore. He wanted to check out the paddle boats. So, we headed over, put on our life jackets, and hopped in the boat. Evan tried his hand at steering while Mom and Dad pedaled. Needless to say, we drove in circles for a while. Meanwhile, Ben hung in the back of the boat and soaked up the scenery. I think he about fell asleep in the back of the boat. (Yes, the kid still really needs to take a nap in the middle of the day whether he will admit it or not.)

Once Ian finally took over steering, we parked the paddle boat and headed over to the fire pit to get some smores. It was the first time Evan actually ate all of the smore parts together instead of eating each separately. Ben on the other hand, just nibbled the marshmallow, but that's okay because I got to snack on what was left.

Our last stop was a treehouse and huge slide in the woods. Evan loved the punching bag under the treehouse. Then, he and I moved on to the slide while Ben and Dad watched. Again, it took Evan quite a while to muster the courage to go down which was problematic because this slide was a lot more crowded than the last one, but at last, with one final push, he slid down. Then, we couldn't stop him from sliding down, carting his sled back up, then taking another trip down. Meanwhile, Ben had given up and was sleeping on his Dad. I don't think Ian minded.

The boys love getting outside, and I think this is just the beginning of a long summer playing in the great outdoors!