sprinkler fun

I haven't taken the kids to a sprinkler park in ages.  Years ago, when they were probably 1 and 4, my friend and I took all four boys (her two are very close in age to my two) to the sprinkler park in Plymouth's Township Park.  We got there late, after naps, and just brought the kids each a Happy Meal.  The place was practically empty since dinnertime was approaching, so we had little worry about bigger kids mowing down our little guys.

Two summers ago, another friend and I took my boys are her little girl to the sprinkler park over at Independence Lake in Whitmore Lake.  Since neither of us felt up for swimming, this seemed to be a perfect place for our kids to cool off without our having to constantly monitor play in the lake or on the beach.

As Jared approaches his 10th birthday, I can't help but think that outings like the sprinkler park and the zoo are soon to be a thing of the past.  Or, I should say "pleasant outings" - I expect the whining about him being too old for such play to start.  Hence yesterday's trip to the zoo and the trip to the sprinkler park two weeks ago.

They both had a BLAST despite the chilly temperatures.

Once they could no longer stand the cold, they bundled up in towls to dry off and warm up...and enjoyed a picnic lunch complete with sandwiches, watermelon, strawberries, cookies, and a variety of chips/snacks.

Since it was so chilly, they opted to close out the afternoon playing on the giant wooden playground structure on the other side of the park.  After running around like apes for a while, they noticed a group of kids playing a game of kickball near where Mom and I had parked our chairs.  Owen in his little confident self walked right up to the Dad playing with the group and asked if they could join in.  Of course he said yes, and it was all we could do to drag them away over an hour later!

Choosing Teams

The Victory Dance

One more inning?!