Henri's First Visit to the Big Park

We have our own park up the street. It's a great park. It has a sand volleyball court which serves as a great big sandbox (at least after checking that it isn't a great big litterbox) and playground equipment. However, it has a serious lack of swings. That poses a problem for Sophia's enjoyment.

So on a beautiful day like this, we can be found at big parks like Bethel Park. They have recently added a fantastic playground area that dwarfs anything but Cosmo Park here in Columbia. The other thing about this park that I sometimes overlook - is the lake.

 

Anyway, today being the beautiful day it was, Casey and I decided to load up the kids and head to the park. This being Henri's first outing to the big park, imagine Casey's pleasure at discovering that he so enjoyed it! He slept, but we could tell he liked it....

 

After some kids started spreading cottonwood or cattail fuzz or something on the wind, we decided to take a walk around the lake. That was a great decision. The three big kids really enjoyed the nature hike. We realized we're biased, but goodness...

 

Also, I swear we saw an otter in that lake (it's really more of a pond). Does that happen? Do beavers look just like otters save their tail? I don't think any of us got a good look at the tail. Regardless, we felt like we had made quite a discovery! The boys rushed to the other side of the pond just to see if a log sticking out happened to be the elusive creatre. No such luck.

 

It was a gorgeous day. As always thankful for such great playmates for Sophia within a stone's throw (literally, although that's not a good idea. The same kids who were spreading allergens had earlier been throwing rocks at the playground equipment while some little girls climbed on it.... Sigh.)