Super (FREE) Fun

I discovered the best playground EVER! I feel like I have let the cat out of the bag because it is a secret place! ha! I was at our library (which has floor to ceiling windows in the back that face a forest) a month or so ago when I noticed, since there are no leaves on the trees, a huge, HUGE brand new playground on the other side of the trees. I immediately asked the woman behind the desk about it and she said the county had torn down the old playground that used to be there and were in the middle of building the new one that I had spied. She said it would be open this spring. I couldn't wait to take the kids! I was actually excited about it...if I were I kid I would have died and gone to heaven! Since the weather was unbelievably fabulous this weekend I took the kids on Friday afternoon and this afternoon. Side note, Spencer was in New Orleans Thursday morning through late Saturday night so I was ALL ALONE with all three kids for the first time 3 days in a row....no fun but at least it passed super fast. Anyway, I crossed my fingers that the playground would be open because I had already pumped it up to Ella-Ann so any disappointment would not have gone over well. I know, my fault. Well it was open and there was hardly anyone there! I laughed so hard at Ella-Ann because as soon as I hit the button to open the doors on the side of the van (Ella-Ann sits in the 3rd row now) Ella-Ann shot out of the car like a cannon and was down the steps in no time! It was hilarious! Had anyone been watching they probably would have thought the car was on fire! Rane was kicking and yelling for me to get him out of his car seat. It was nice because there was a massive, three story playground for Ella-Ann's age group and older and a smaller, more manageable playground for ages 2-5 next to it. Ella-Ann asked me if there were going to be swings there because swinging is one of her absolute favorite activities and she never gets to swing since we don't own a swing set, there aren't any on her school's playground and we never, ever go to playgrounds anymore (thanks to multiple children) so I was relieved to see a ton of swings. That is mainly what she did the entire time we were there on Friday and she made a little friend, Lucas, while there so they had a good time while I watched Rane and sat with Pierson. It is so nice to just let Rane go on a playground now. He doesn't need any assistance and is fearless so I don't have to help him do a thing! I do, though, have to keep a hawk eye on him because he has a major tendency to wander! I watched him "help" younger children on the playground who's parents were right there with them standing by. I know he was right in there way but he was trying SO hard to help little ones stand up after climbing, go down slides (with a big shove!) and walk. Bless his heart....he tries.

When we went this afternoon there were more families there since it was a Saturday afternoon but I was expecting a huge crowd. The kids had a blast, once again, and I had fun watching them enjoy themselves so much. There are two huge tunnel slides that start at the top of the 3rd story on the bigger playground that I thought for sure Ella-Ann would nix immediately off her to-do list but I couldn't believe my ears when she came running over to me to tell me she had gone down one of the big ones twice with her little friend Friday afternoon! I really was shocked! This is coming from a child who didn't swing until she was 2 1/2 and never, ever went down slide that wasn't for a toddler until she was 4! I watched her do it today and I was so excited! I'm sure if I allowed Rane to climb to the top he'd slide down it in a heartbeat!

So I think I fared pretty well without Spencer's help these past three days, although it has made me appreciate even more all the help he does provide every day and night! The kids and I have had a nice time but we sure missed Spencer. When we were on the way home from the playground yesterday Ella-Ann, in her sweet little voice with a sigh, said, "I miss Daddy, Mommy." Me too!

The first pictures below are from Valentine's Day. We gave the kids little goodie bags full of junk, which they loved, of course!

Well the Tag Reader "Beauty and the Beast" book isn't junk!

Rane is saying, "Thomas! Thomas!!!!" I have no clue as to how he knows who Thomas is since he has never watched the show! He loves him, though, and has carried that train around all week! Those things aren't cheep either!

Ella-Ann is still a huge Dora fan. She loves Dora more than any Disney princess, which is fine by me! Dora is pretty cool, even if her voice and show are annoying!

The smaller playground....swings are to the right and another set is behind me.

The bigger one. I couldn't even get it all in the picture. It looked like so much fun!

Rane loves slides! It was all he would do!

Ella-Ann found her a swing asap and was giddy with happiness! If you squint you can see little Pierson in the black car seat on the bench in the background!

Rane has never enjoyed a swing so I was happy he loved swinging (for like 2 minutes and then he started to freak) this weekend. He doesn't look happy in the picture but that has started happening anytime I bust out the camera! He was laughing and smiling like crazy before I tried to take his picture!