{summer bucket list // picnic and park fun}

Happy Fourth of July!

I’m linking up with Jenny from The Chronicles of We, Courtney of Sweet Turtle Soup, and several other bloggers for a summer bucket list link-up! This week, I took Will and Harper on an adventure to a new park.  Every week this summer, my plan is to take them on a fun trip someplace new and exciting, beyond the regular trips to the park and the story times at the library that we do throughout the week.  So far, we’ve been to a local lake, a peach orchard for their fun kids’ program, and to a creamery. I found a wonderful place approximately an hour from home-it’s a fun nature center/garden where children are able to explore in the coolest play trail ever.  It’s like being in your own little forest/playworld made especially for kids to explore nature.  So fun! And the best part was that it was free! Donations are accepted to help them maintain the grounds. I love their trail rules! Climbing on the logs. Running through the willow tunnel.   This was Will and Harper’s favorite play area-the Dirty Bistro and Mud Kitchen.  They had bunches of old pots and pans set up for kids to play and cook in the kitchen.  In the kitchen was a sink and nearby was a bathtub full of mud and a bucket of water where the kids could make mud pies. How cool is that?! The Dirty Bistro consisted of tree stump chairs and a table where the mud pies could be served. Harper climbing up to Will in the Dirty Bistro. The kitchen area. Dale’s Creek, where the kids could splash around. Going through Tiny House Mountain. Exploring the tunnel. Entering the woods to head to the Haiku House. Will especially loved opening and closing these doors (he’s obsessed with doors and door handles and has to figure out how different doors work). The Haiku House. Playing with the doors more. Digging in the rock pit. Looking for fish in the creek. Making mud pies! Eating a picnic lunch. We enjoyed a wonderful picnic lunch in the shade and were planning on staying for a while longer.  However, after Will finished eating lunch, he headed back to the kitchen and got stung by some yellow jackets.  He got stung several times on both ankles and screamed and cried for a while. Some nice people who were at the play trail helped me carry my cooler and blanket back to the car. I carried a screaming Will on one side and an extremely tired Harper on the other side. It was so kind of them to help me out! I found a nearby store and bought some itch cream for Will.  By that point, he had calmed down and we were able to enjoy some frozen yogurt before heading back home.  I plan on taking the kiddos back to this fun place! It was a blast and so fun for the kids to explore nature and to get dirty and messy! It was such a magical place!