Playtime in KC

We've had a good time exploring around our new home lately. It's been a lot of fun to go to the park as a family. We haven't found "our" park yet, and Kylie isn't old enough to tell us where she wants to go, so we've been experiencing with different places. Here are the places we've tried so far and the pros and cons of each one:

PARK # 1: NAME UNKNOWN, IT'S THE PARK RIGHT BY THE GROCERY STORE UP THE STREET

PROS: It's very close, and it's right by the grocery store. One day, Jason went in to get groceries while I played outside with Kylie, and that worked out well. It has a wobbly bridge on the playset, which is Kylie's favorite thing.

CONS: The area around the park is really trashy. I've had to throw away beer cans, there are cigarette butts all over and since it's by a shopping area, there are fast food bags around. Of course these are the things that Kylie wants to pick up... gross. Also there are no baby swings, and although she loves the slides, she might not be old enough for this park yet.

PARK #2: PENGUIN PARK

PROS: Amazing park! It has toys and play areas for all ages, there are even little short slides that Kylie can climb up by herself. She LOVES the little walk through bridge (see photo) that is ground level so we don't have to climb way up into a playarea to get to. However, that's all she wants to do is walk on that bridge over and over and it's very wobbly even for us (I think that's the point of it though). There is also a lake that we can walk to that is right by that has good walking trails around it.

CONS: It can get so busy that the parking lot is completely full and people are waiting out on the street to pull in and grab a spot. It's a really great spot, so as long is its a quiet time during the week, when it's not so busy, it's a great park to go to.

PARK # 3: NAME UNKNOWN, PARK RIGHT BY OUR CHURCH

PROS: The area is mostly enclosed, so it's a good place for Kylie to run around. There is a wobbly bridge on the big playpen, so that makes Kylie happy. There are quite a few toys, although not nearly as many as penguin park. There is also a sand pit, which the other parks didn't have.

CONS: There aren't that many things for Kylie to do on her own, the toys might be a little too old for her. But overall, she has fun on all the ones we tried. There are some schools really close, so it might get really busy and it's not that big. Although when we went it wasn't that busy... so I can't saw if it gets too crowded or not.

She doesn't like this toy for some reason :(. I think she feels trapped.

PARK # 4: NOT REALLY A PARK, BUT THE LITTLE PLAY AREA/EXHIBITION IN THE CROWN CENTER

PROS: It's nice to go here when it's cold outside since it's all indoors. They have different little exhibitions throughout the year, right now it's the Wizard of Oz. It's wonderful for Kylie to run around in because it's an enclosed room just made for little ones to explore. And afterwards, Jason and I can go buy a chocolate covered cheesecake at the chocolate store in the crown center... yum!

CONS: If it's nice out, I'd much rather Kylie play outside.

PARK #5: GOLDEN OAKS

PROS: Lots of room for Kylie to run around, which she usually prefers over the toys anyways.

CONS: There is no wobbly bridge. Also the bathroom is really scary looking, Jason dared me to go inside, that's how scary looking it is. You can see by the picture that someone graffitied "Death Wish" on the door. So obviously I choose NOT to do the dare and stayed outside where it was safe.

Kylie loves trees. She calls them "threes" but that's ok.

And the only downside of visiting all these parks is...

Now Kylie expects to go outside after naptime. Here she is waiting outside the door with her sippy cup full of water ready to go. The problem was it was cold outside that day and we didn't go anywhere. How do you explain that to a 14 month old?