A Walk in the Park

Time to play! She was so excited when she realized where we were.

Immediately, she finds treasure hidden in the rubber mulch...

...a nasty cigarette butt!! Here comes mommy with the hand sanitizer...

Freshly sanitized, she checked out the slide!

...and starts to climb up the wrong way

Then, she finds the steps that we climbed yesterday. Up, up, up...(again, mom runs over)

Bits of rubber are everywhere and, when you have a 10-second attention span, every little rubber distraction makes for a very long four-stair climb.

Finally to the top of the stairs! Putting the camera away, I slide down the twisty slide with a laughing toddler on my lap. WHEEEEE!!

The big kids were climbing on this contraption yesterday and she didn't get a chance to try.

With her foot almost to the first tier --- she remembers that the really cool stick she found earlier is still in her hand. So much for the ladder! :)

(It was a pretty cool stick)

Short ride on the swing. She looks unimpressed now, but loved it yesterday. Fickle, fickle, my dear...

The awesome see-saw! I had to put the camera down again and show her how these work! I had - errr, I mean she had - a blast

This is where all the little kids throw the rubber bits. When I went to clean it out for her to climb into, I realized why: there's a giant screw right in the center of the bowl's bottom, perfect for poking an unsuspecting child right in the rear end. Genius design, folks. Did our HOA dues help pay for that??

Checking out the other slide - then changing her mind half way up.

Taking a walk with mommy to check out the newly-blooming day lilies! Doesn't she look like a big girl?!

Taking a moment to decide whether she wants to listen to me and "come here", or wander off again toward the parking lot and get in trouble...

GOOD GIRL!

The lilies were really pretty. So, after mutilating many of the flower petals, it was time to go. Quick, before anyone sees us! We took a shortcut by the pool, which is all cleaned up and ready for all the little kids to pee in.

Starving when we got home, I made Maddie some turkey stew, carrots, peas, and mashed potatoes. The carrots and the potatoes were a hit! They are also pretty stylish when worn in the hair, on the face, ears, in the nose, and plastered on clothes!! I honest-to-God had to clean carrot mush out of her nostril and ear, plus remove and scrub dried potato off of her earrings. But it was so worth it...she loved the potatoes!

Bath time, sweet pea.