That Wizard Hat Place

Part of being a mom of speaking toddlers is learning to decode their unique little languages.  I tried really hard not to talk "baby talk" to our kids and we don't have a lot of made up words that are substitutes for real words, so mostly they're pretty easy to understand, but occasionally they'll come up with something like, "Hey, mom, today can we go to that wizard hat place?"

We debated about going on Sunday, but it was seriously so hot.  I really hate summer, but try to put on a brave face for the kids.  Unless all I have to do is lay by the pool, then really it's too hot to function as far as I'm concerned.  But we had a whole day where no one had anything else to do, so we ate homemade waffles and formulated a plan.  Or two.  The first was to take Eric to that Wizard Hat Place, because he's never been and the kids really like it.  And second was to go to the water park and then ride bikes.  We left it to the kids.  Mistake.  After thirty four times of changing their minds, we made it up for them and went to the water park.  Obvious brilliant parenting...we could get wet and stay cool, too!  A few sandwiches, chips and drinks later, and we had ourselves a picnic and an afternoon splashing around.

But, that meant I owed the kids a trip to Glenwood Gardens (aka That Wizard Hat Place), so today after Nat's doctor's appointment, that's just what we did:

noticing lots of things going on in the Fairy Garden

Mr. Safety testing the "jumpy bridge" 

even though Nat already safely made it across

lots more flowers than last time we were here

today we did several scavenger hunts through the park

the kids loved running to the mailboxes and picking out a new card

headed out to search for faces, or colors, or bugs

Ben found the lady bugs!

taking a break inside a little house, Nat dressed in some sort of cowboy vest

The park also offers short, educational "programs" for the kids.  Today was about the life cycle of a frog.  The lady had lots of different puppets and pictures to show, and after talking for just a few minutes, took the kids out to the pond to spot tadpoles, froglets, and full grown bull frogs.  After the park, we headed for lunch, and a quick errand, then home where two worn out kids napped while I got some serious cleaning done!