Sunflower Staycation Outing

We had a small staycation at the beginning of August. We did a lot of our regular weekend things like trips to the pool, gardening, projects, cooking, and being lazy. I wanted to try and get out and go on one little adventure with the girls to somewhere we normally don't go. A couple of my friends posted pictures at Cottell Park, so we thought we'd check it out. 

I woke the girls up and tried to get there early (about 9:30) to beat the crowds, but there were still quite a few people there. We took couple pictures, explored the fields, and avoided people at all costs. All of the sunflowers were beautiful and kind of makes me want to plant our own little sunflower 'field' in a chunk of our yard. 

Sharon Woods Outing

When we got back from vacation, I scheduled a couple of days off to readjust to our life at home (laundry, groceries, prepping for school, etc) and enjoy some of our last summer days together. We still had a long Summer to-do list so we figured we'd cross a thing or two off our list with my extra days off. One of our favorite chill nature adventures is to go on is to Sharon Woods. 

The Gorge Trail is a nice woodsy hike that is easy for the girls. Ida walked a bit and rode in the backpack a bit. They liked checking out the different overlooks, pointing out lots of nature things... and begging to go check play in the creek. 

It was a fun little adventure with the girls. I love that this is close to home and makes for the perfect outdoory adventure. 

Walks With Ida : Eden Park Lunch Date

Yesterday, Ben and Ida picked me up for a lunch date in Eden park. I used to work about 2 blocks from Eden park, so we would have lunch dates here at least once a week when Cora was little. One of our favorite spots was the Presidential Grove area. It is way less crowded than the lookouts and there is plenty of space for kids to play without having to worry about ponds or drop offs. Ida enjoyed running around and throwing acorns. I enjoyed watching her little scrunched up shoulders as she ran around and giggling when she'd throw an acorn and it would somehow go backwards. We missed Cora (she was at school), but liked getting to spend time with just Ida. I love our sweet random lunch dates and making new memories in places we love. 

Walks With Ida : Ault Park

When we lived in Oakley, Ault park was our favorite spot to visit if we needed to get out of the house. It's probably the thing I miss most about our old place. It isn't that far, but there are so many other places to explore that are closer to our current home, so we haven't visited since the spring.

When we had to head over to the area for Ida's 2 year doctor appointment, I thought it would be the perfect time to go exploring on our favorite little trail with just Ida. Ida wasn't in to walking (which doesn't surprise me since Cora didn't really hike it until she was 2.5), so she spent the whole hike in the carrier asking "what's that?!" about every single tree we passed and noise we heard.

After the hike, we walked around the gardens and Ida stuck her feet in the fountain. I was quickly reminded how big Ida has gotten since the time Jazz came to visit and the girlies were all about the fountain. Ida was fascinated with the face at the top of the fountain that spits out water. It took quite a while to peel her away from our fountain spot.

We went up to the top of the steps and Ida was obsessed with the water fountain... which baby cora used to be obsessed with too. Ida spent way too much time stepping on the water fountain pedal and taste-testing the water. She also loved running around inside of the pavilion and making loud noises to hear the echo. 

Ida does not like to stray to far from Momma, so she spent a lot of time making sure I was closely following her or asking to be carried. It was nice to spend one-on-one time adventuring with Ida and I'm looking forward to similar outings with my girl in the coming months.

See more #WalksWithIda over on Instagram.

Walks With The Girlies : Highfield Discovery Garden

Over the weekend, my mom suggested going to Highfield Discovery Garden in Glenwood Gardens. Neither one of us had been and we were both interested in checking it out. I think we all said "this is so cute/cool/awesome!" a million times. Cora couldn't stop chatting about every thing she would spot and loved running around playing in each section.

There is a big treehouse/play structure, a small train station, a wonky tea house, some giant mushrooms, and a couple other cute structures. The girls loved to bounce around and check out everything.

While we were there, they had a workshop on mud pies. Cora had fun playing around in the mud... while Ida more enjoyed playing in the bucket of water they had for us to rinse off our hands. It was a fun trip discovering a fun new-to-us park in the area.