Things I LOVE Thursday: the park

Luxie, 14 months, "the post office park", Decatur, GA



Heading out to the park on a warm and sunny afternoon is one of my favorite activities. And one of Luxie's too. We have spent hours enjoying the toys and exploring the surrounding grassy areas, blowing bubbles and looking for "treasures". Before I had Zaine we spent several days a week at the park, even as the weather got cooler and fall turned into winter. The park is a great measure of her growth as I have watched her go from crawling up the steps on her hands and knees and sliding down with mommy, to conquering the snaky slide and the big girl swing. And over the years we have moved on from "the post office park" to "the garden park" and then to "the pebble park" and "the park by the ducks". Our favorite park that is way out of the way is "the sand park" which is actually named Mountain Park Park (yes, with two "park" words in the title. Beats me!)

But I think it is looking for treasures that I enjoy the most. We always bring a ziplock baggie along (usually an old snack bag lying around in the back of the van) and carry it around with us the whole afternoon. Luxie has collected some amazing things, party favors left over from the previous weekend, real cute barrettes abandoned by their owners, toy motorcycles and trucks buried deep in the sand or grass, and, of course, weedy flowers. I love to see the excitement on her face upon a new discovery, "Hhhaaaah! Look! Another seed!"

Lots of friendships, for both Luxie and I, time to be free to run and jump and play, and a chance for mom to step back from the "entertainer" role. I love the park!