A Great Day at the Park

Of course, what day isn't great when you are at a park! Nicholas and I got out and enjoyed some of the fabulous weather we've been having. We walked down to our neighborhood park to play for a while on the playground.















Nicholas found this red leaf and said that he found a treasure. He has quite a collection of leaves, sticks, rocks, etc. so we kept it to add to his stash. I need to find a good way to store these things for him instead of just throwning them into his bucket outside. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear about it.



Nicholas soon discovered a mud hole and enjoyed pushing a stick into it to see how deep it was. Of course, a boy and mud can only remain separate for so long. Soon they had to join with a squishy, muddy pair of tennis shoes to show for it. All in good fun though! Nicholas enjoyed playing with his shadow and using the muddy stick to try to paint with mud on the sidewalk.









Nicholas loves water fountains, mostly just to play with. We are fortunate to have a few water fountains at this park so of course we had to check them out.





When we were done at the park, we ventured into the nearby wooded trail, one of our favorite places to explore. Nicholas carried his stick with him into the woods. I asked him why he was bringing it. He said, "It's a muddy stick so I'm bringing it in case I find something that I want to make muddy." Might as well share the joy of mud with the other things around us, I guess!











Maybe I should have titled this entry as, "A Boy And His Sticks". Almost every picture of Nicholas shows him carrying a stick!











Nicholas and I enjoy exploring the woods but we love the creek as well. I love to watch Nicholas when he explores outside. He has such confidence. He is familiar and comfortable with Mother Nature and not afraid to get a little dirty. In the creek, he builds his problem solving skills as he tries to figure out which rocks to step on to navigate the little creek. He learns balance and stability as he jumps from rock to rock. There weren't many bugs or birds out today but we had fun looking at the neat rock formations and different layers in the rocks.









Nicholas slipped on one rock and his arm went into the creek. He got up on the bank, picked up some leaves off the ground and used them to try to dry his sleeve off. It didn't work. They just crumbled and stuck to the wet shirt. But I was proud of him for not getting upset about getting wet and for being creative in trying to figure out how to get dry.



We stopped for a brief snack and then hiked back home.