Tag Archives: Park

April 27th, 2018

The kids get some special treats and fun with mom while dad’s away camping. Mom’s clearly a pro, starting with ice cream first followed by physical activity. Shortly after this photo, Eleanor started screaming because she thought Des was taking her gelato. Des is eating avocado gelato with sprinkles.

Perfect spring weather for a ice-cream-fueled trip to the park

Movie night watching Lady and the Tramp

March 30th, 2018

A rare warm Friday afternoon, it was the perfect afternoon for dad to bust Des out of preschool for some bike riding around the lake at Heartland Park. As Des was finishing his snack, a gaggle of geese descends to beg for his snack mix.

Mom grabbed Eleanor a bit later and joined us for some more prime goose watching

Des and Eleanor practice holding hands after dinner and impromptu downtown evening

March 3rd, 2018

The morning started as a house divided, with mom and brother getting a haircut with aunt Megan. Eleanor and dad head to the children’s museum for some rigorous fruit sorting-

Ella was surprisingly cooperative while donning her smock for water play

It took a while, but she finally got to take her turn pushing around one of the carts. Now she was on a mission.

Driving tractors like a pro

Desmond and mom joined us, where Des was quick to overcome his fear of walking over netted surfaces (this part of the playground and zoo hasn’t traditionally been his favorite)

Sign now reads, “Days without arm-stuck incidents: 0”

Des is getting old/tall/strong enough to play with the big-kid gizmos

Meanwhile, sister doesn’t quite have the weight to actuate much of the gadgetry

Balls + columns of air = magic!

The seasonal winter display included a “sledding ramp” (think air hockey table) and snowball-throwing zone

Eleanor, the Fearless Climber

…and carousel chicken rodeo wrangler

Desmond predictably opted for the train ride, though auditioning a new seat rather than his familiar caboose spot

Eagerly waving to brother, “Hello! Good-bye! … “Hello! Good-bye!”

A nice weekend lunch out, Des gives the Ethiopian restaurant “two pieces of injera up!” Or maybe it was just getting to eat with his hands?

After naps, it was both warm and windy- prime kite flying weather (for early March anyway)

Eleanor joyfully exercising her newfound freedom of running through fields

Not shown: mom’s large box kite proved too much to navigate in the high winds. Comedy ensued.

We weren’t the only ones with the kite idea-

Eleanor showing great restraint with not eating the play-doh. That did not last long.

February 18th, 2018

With weather in the upper 50s, playing outside was nearly irresistible. Stinson Park provided the perfect snow-melt-mud-free destination

Ella shouted to the horizon as she ran, as if yelling “fore!” to warn the world she was coming

Ok, rest.

Not shown: Desmond sprinting off into the distance towards the tower. In open fields, the well-practiced and respected “red light!” system kinda breaks down :/

Ella giving it a good stretch of the legs

Eleanor definitely has the butt-scoot-shuffle-GO! move down better than her brother at this age, mastering the slide

“Take a picture of me!”

As dad was loading the camera back up to return home, this incredible “golden hour” light just jumped out. Ok, a few more.

Sunday evening art collaboration

Desmond honing his chopsticks skills on some of dad’s pad thai

October 18th, 2017

A nice fall evening to stop at the park after work. Eleanor may be a bit of a thrill seeker

Elmwood Park began “stocking” sand toys and all the construction trucks a toddler could love

“WHEE!”

He wasn’t really taking any time to line up the vehicles, but by the end it was clear he had done so in descending size order

October 1st, 2017

A rainy day trip to the zoo with grandma and Calvin

Grab all the fishies!

Mesmerized

Lunch with monkeys, everyone’s favorite

Started to dry up by mid-day, but it was getting close to nap time

It was the perfect windy afternoon to (belatedly) try out mom’s birthday kite

Des exploring the rose garden at Memorial Park. This may or may not have been while dad was driving home to get his grabber tool to retrieve some kite parts accidentally dropped into the storm drain.

Mom quickly learned that getting a kite off the ground with a baby carrier on was a non-starter. Dad gets it flying after a few sprints.

It’s mom’s kite after all, so gives it a go with Desmond giving chase

Desmond exercising his “outdoor voice”

Eleanor also gets into the kite-chasing fun

Quite the speedy crawler

August 12th, 2017

A boy and his dog

Playing at the park while dad’s wrestling the raspberry jungle in the garden

Desmond’s first smore, with mom (appropriately)

August 6th, 2017

Playing guitar only gets easier the more hands you have, right?

The kind of Sunday evening prime for a visit to the park before cooking dinner

Filling sand pails, as you do

Swinging life away

In his happy place