when you have the whole park to your self

Our days aren’t really complete unless we’ve been to the park or outside at least once, and with the weather finally cooling down–a little bit–we can almost completely live outside. One day last week Hazel had the park all to herself and it was one of those moments where she was so excited she didn’t know what to do with herself. We pulled up to the park and she immediately screeched SLIDE! SWING! HIIII! She was so excited and started laughing her silly little laugh that she does when she’s really excited, it almost seems like a fake laugh that’s how silly it is.

 

We got out of the car and headed straight for the playground.

 

Realizing that she could do what ever she wanted she started walking to the swings yelling SWING! But then made a quick b-line for the slide as soon as she saw it yelling SLIDE! Maybe it was just her excitement or maybe she truly knew that she had the entire place to her self.

 

We played for a solid thirty minutes at least. Going back and fourth between the swings and the slides, three of which were a bit further away from the swings so when we walked to and from, her walk was very purposeful, arms swinging and all that. She slid down the biggest slide that goes round and round, she slid down the steep straight slide, and she slid down the little slides on the toddler section. At these little slides she remembered that she didn’t need my help and would say Hay do it. And that she did.

She ran all over that park, walking up and down the little steps, and burying her shoes in the dirt. There wasn’t one thing that she didn’t like about that park, not one minute of time she was there did she sit and just soak it all in. There was time for that later.

 

I loved watching her run around that place, her arms moving so quickly as she raced to the next thing to be done, her left arm swinging a bit faster than the right. Her cute little walk as she climbed the stairs, and the way she sat herself down to slide. And there I stood, looking like a mom, smiling from ear to ear because she was being a kid, and being a kid is the best time you’ll ever have.