Project 52 - Mommy and Riley time - Week 34

34/52

Riley and I headed out to a local park recently with the hope of catching a performance at the amphitheater. They have shows there every Wednesday and Thursday night during the summer and we were going to try to catch the second to last one. We got there early and played on the new playground, checked out the ducks at the pond, avoided the killer geese, and caught a small bit of the show which was a bit like a talent show.

It was bedtime so we didn't stick around that long for the show - it was okay, but the real fun was when we were at the pond so that's where most of these pictures are from. I've spent a lot more time with Riley this summer, keeping her up later than usual, at local parks. Granted some of it was to practice for the photo class I was in, but it was also to get her outside and enjoy as much as the summer as possible. It was a nice side benefit that most of these were just mommy and daughter time. It's nice to get that one on one time with my girl.

Lately...

Summer has been flying by. Like, really going fast. We're heading off to Washington and Oregon this week to visit friends and see a part of America we've never explored...and when we return Riley will start school (4 days late because I didn't realize her school was starting a week early - my bad). Anyway, we've been filling our weekends with various activities and I figured I better get caught up before we leave.

A couple weeks ago we went to the annual summer picnic that Jesse's family puts together. There was a little confusion about the start time, and while we thought we were slightly late, it turns out we were almost an hour early. We weren't the only ones, but most importantly there was a playground that Riley could occupy herself at while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive.

As usual, there was a ton of good food, conversation, and hugs. Love this family.

Fast forward a week where we found ourselves super busy with many kids focused activities. Jesse snuck out two nights to hang out with friends so I was alone with Riley on Friday night and then with three kids on Saturday night.

Saturday during the day, was my dad's union picnic at Highland Park. We thought we were going to miss it since he was supposed to be in Missouri (again - this time he drove down with my nephew), but he came back a day early. My dad likes to go to see a couple of his buddies, but he also likes to bring Riley as there are a lot of kid friendly things to do at this event.

Slightly scary looking cat.

The kids were all given 4 tickets which they could then 'buy' 4 items off the kid's table. Basically a bunch of cheap toys and candy, but it's exciting for the kids.

There was a bouncy house and slide and other games. It had rained earlier and drizzled off and one while we were there so we said no to the bouncy slide which was really wet. There were some games off to the side that were largely open (I think it was because there was a kid's race going on elsewhere) so this kept us occupied for some time.

After we played and ate we wandered around a bit and found a playground we'd missed in the previous years we'd been here. My dad in the meantime was hanging out with an old friend from work.

When we returned from the playground we discovered that we won one of the raffle items, Uno Wild Jackpot. We went home and played it right away. Lots of fun!

My friend, Josie, had a work party Saturday night so her 2 daughters, Olivia and Ellie, spent the night at our house. I love them and everyone was good, but I'm glad I don't have three kids. Three kids are tiring. I thought they would never fall asleep, but shortly after 10:00 they were out.

 

 Sunday morning, the girl's dad picked them up, but we saw them a few short hours later at Olivia's 7th birthday party at Elm Creek Park. This park is party central in the summer, but I can see why. It has a great playground and swimming pond area that are great for kids.

And that brings us to now. We are almost all packed up for our trip. I just have to drop the cat off at my dad's and hope that I haven't forgotten anything essential. We are excited to go on this next adventure.