Stone Park

Stone Park is home to the Pioneer Columbus Community Center. They host a few events and activities there, but this was actually our first visit. We stopped by on our way home from the kids' swimming lessons, and I thought it was just a playground. Not so! They also have a wading pool. It's a good thing they had their suits!

As you'll see in a few of these pictures, there's a lot of construction being done at the park. I'll have to

Ashby Park

A heat wave has hit Des Moines! I sound very excited, but I'm very not. It's currently in the 90s, but feels like 109 degrees with the heat index. There are heat advisories throughout the county, and Des Moines has put out signs for their "cooling centers" that welcome people to come to various community centers and other municipal buildings to cool down. I tried to be optimistic about the day and took the kids to a new-to-us splash park: Ashby Park, located in Beaverdale.

The spray features weren't working, so it was really a regular wading pool today. And it was busy! Apparently, lots of parents had the same idea.

Urbandale Parks Challenge: Aquatic Playground

I couldn't find much information online regarding the Urbandale Aquatic Playground, and so we didn't quite know what to expect when we visited our 20th Urbandale park today as part of the Urbandale Parks Challenge.

The aquatic playground is actually at their public pool, and there's a $4 entry fee (kids two and under are free with a paying adult). The admission allows kids to use the outdoor aquatic playground and the big pool with diving boards.

The swimming pool is indoors, but there are doors that open out to the aquatic playground. There's not really shade over the aquatic playground, but many of the pool chairs are shaded if the kiddos need a break from the sun. Also outside is a small basketball hoop for kids.

The kids loved the water, and it was shallow enough (maybe about 18 inches deep in the middle) that I could sit on a pool chair and observe while the kids played. It was zero entry, so that was nice for little kids to be able to get in and out relatively easily. There was also a lifeguard on duty, so that made it worth the entry fee! The kids splashed and "swam" for about an hour.

I thought it was a great find. It's a small enough area where I didn't have to worry about losing them, and I really appreciated the extra set of eyes on the kids as the lifeguards kept watch. This is a good choice for a parent who is juggling more than one little kid but wants to go to a pool-type place.

Pool & Piñata

Yesterday, my friend, Gina, threw a pool party for her daughter's 3rd birthday. She did a fun snow/pool contrast theme and even made her own snowman piñata! What kid wouldn't have a fun time at a pool party with a piñata filled with delicious treats? We had a blast! 

Here's the piñata Gina made: 

The birthday girl!

Piñata time! Here's the birthday girl taking a swing:

Oliver waited patiently in line.

When it was Oliver's turn to hit the piñata, he freaked out. He went back a few minutes later and kind of gave it a whack.

Here he is in his big moment!
                    

You'd think he would have been more successful since he'd had practice. Haha. One of the big kids finally busted the piñata open. Success!

Oliver was so cute. He grabbed a single Twix from the pile. I told him he could have more, so he picked one more Twix.

RIP, snowman piñata.

Then came time for fun in the pool. I'd never been to the Foothills pool before. It's fantastic! A large portion of the pool is a foot deep or less. The water's warm, and you walk right into the pool (there's no drop, just a gradual deepening).

It was like a splash park in the shallow part of the pool. All of the kids had a blast.

Civic Green Park

I took the kids to Civic Green Park in Highlands Ranch for a MOMS Club meet up.  It's southwest of Broadway and C-470, next to the Highlands Ranch Library.

The park itself is gorgeous.  To enter the park, we passed a plaque thanking dozens of private donors for making this free public park possible. We then walked over a small, man-made waterfall that cascaded into a little river. Around the river bend, kids splashed and played.  Oliver loved watching the water crash!

There was very little shade at the park.  We have very little cloud cover in Colorado due to our altitude, so the sun is brutal.  We walked by a small splash pad, but I just couldn't fathom stopping to let my kids play there in the hot sun.  There was also a play ground, but, again, there was no tree cover.  The equipment looked hot and uninviting.  Across the field, away from the library, we found a second splash pad.

The second splash pad was larger, and it had a large gazebo that provided shade for all the moms there with their young kids.  Oliver, who had gotten crabby walking under the hot sun, improved quickly in the shade.

I was only able to talk him into checking out the water feature a couple times. Every time the water pressure dropped low enough, he'd start to show interest. He'd get close, the geysers would erupt with fervor, and Oliver would step back.  He was definitely a bit nervous about the water geysers.  There were a number of other small children who stayed away from the water, too, but there were just as many little kids who loved it. The kids who seemed to really enjoy themselves were a little older.

Oliver chickened out:

Besides the severe lack of shade, another big problem with this park was how slick the water area was.  We were only at the water feature for about 20 minutes, and I saw two children slip and fall.  One girl was about 10, and she landed right on her tailbone.  Ouch, it looked painful!  If you go, be sure to bring water shoes that have really good traction.

The park is so lovely, that I hate to make it sound like a bad place. It's very charming. There were oodles of older kids shrieking and having a great time in the water geysers and in the little river. I think it would be an ideal stop for kindergartners and elementary school kids. I can see Oliver having a great time here in a couple years. However, as a mother of an infant and a toddler, the lack of shade, the slick ground surfaces, and the strong water pressure were just a little much.

Surfside Splash Park

A new splash park is in town!  Surfside opened just a few weeks ago on 9th, just west of Sheridan.  We finally made the trip to check it out on Sunday.  

I'm glad we made the trip!  The splash park is amazing!  Like Ray Ross Park, this splash pad is an oasis in an otherwise questionable area.  Unlike Ray Ross Park, this splash pad isn't free.  They charge $1 per person, but the fee is definitely worth it.  They have lifeguards on duty and everything.

We set our things down on one of the many picnic tables under the pavilion.  There was a really nice, gas grill installed by the seating area.

I spoke with one of the lifeguards and learned it's only for private groups.  You can rent out the whole splash park for $90 for two hours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings.  She told me they're actually booked solid for the rest of the season.  I could see why.  This would be a great place for a party or reunion.  She told me guests are welcome to use any of the charcoal grills during regular hours, though.

Here's Oliver checking out some of the water features when we arrived.  He was pretty uncertain about a lot of it at first.

I tried to give him a pep talk to run through the water.  When that didn't work, I picked him up and ran through everything myself.

He slowly, slowly warmed up to everything.  We learned that some of those tall water features could rotate.  Oliver was able to rotate even the large ones himself.

There was a tunnel to run through that spritzed water everywhere.

Jo's checking out the water, too.

Check out all the fun to be had at this splash pad!  Incredible!  
Oliver started to get into the fun!  In the background of this picture, you can see a kid using a green water cannon behind Oliver.  There were two.  Kids could aim them at each other and get each other soaked.  They spun, so kids could aim it all over the splash park.  The neat thing was: the water pressure dropped when they were aimed at the benches.  So, parents sitting on the benches don't have to worry about getting soaked.

Off to the side was a water feature set up for kids to explore.  It reminded me a lot of the Children's Museum, actually.  Kids could dam up water flow with foam walls, and then open them back up again.  The surge of water would make the water wheels spin.  It's incredibly interactive and fun.

Oliver, of course, wanted to understand how everything worked.  He loved exploring all the things to do.

I took a video of the little guy in action:



We went back to the main area to get wet!  One water feature was essentially a funky looking bucket.  It would fill with water and then tip under the weight of itself.  Oliver loved watching it fill and dump over and over again.  He was too scared to stand under it himself, so I "helped" him:

In this video, you can see the bucket dumping, followed by Oliver spinning one of the water features.



I think it's safe to say that we had a great time.

Oliver and Owen at the Splash Pad

My neighbor, Shawna, and I decided to take our little guys to Roy Ross Park today to play in the water. When we arrived, Owen was jumping out of his skin to get to the splash area. Oliver, ever timid, was interested in watching from a distance while we got everyone prepped for an hour in the sun.

We released the boys into the splash pad. Owen had his beach ball, and Oliver had his rubber ducky. It was a cute sight.

Oliver gets brave enough to approach the water:

Owen decides to test out the water. He's not sure if he likes it:

Ducky needs water, too:

Owen gets brave with his mommy's help:

A drain!

I try to get Oliver to run through the water by showing him how it's done:

The boys finally play together (kind of):

Oliver kept wanting me to hold him. I finally sat down so I could:


Back to the water:

Oliver and Owen explore a drain: