Beyond 100 Parks Redux #2 - Corner Park - New Hope, MN

Our first visit here was our only one with snow.  It was just a dusting, but we were fully bundled.  It also had sand instead of mulch, which made things even messier.  They installed a new structure last year and I was excited to go back and check it out.

Key Features

The main structure was pretty unique.  All routes to the top required some climbing, so it's not for the little ones.

There were two spinning features which Parker loved!

Esme really liked the tangle climber and has been trying to climb to the highest point of any park we go to.  I love all the confidence she's gained.

My favorite feature was the mega wide slide.  It was wide enough that both Esme and I could go down at the same time.  I appreciated it, especially after the Ford Park incident.

This was a significant upgrade from the previous structure, so it's getting 9 swings!

A Weekend of Friends

We last had Rick over for dinner in February when he tried beer cheese fondue for the first time.  He mentioned recently he'd never had fettuccini alfredo, so we invited him over again on Friday night.  It was the first time I made alfredo sauce from scratch, and I will never go back.   I made a lemon ricotta cake for dessert and all of it was delicious!

We followed up dinner with some Gran Turismo 7 on PS5.  Rick loves car racing, so he was really excited to check it out.  Jimmy has collected a pretty descent selection of cars in his garage.

On Sunday, I got a text from my friend Tyler that he was in town.  We used to work together and he and his wife moved to Iowa last year.  It was fun to catch up in person instead of text.

Beyond 100 Parks #106 - Gleanloch Park - Plymouth, MN

Key Features

Before the park, we walked around Ridgedale to see what's new there.  T-Rex Cookies was new since we were last there.  We got a birthday cake cookie and all of us enjoyed it!

There was a whole swarm of bumble bees on the flowers by the sign.  Parker has been hyper aware and anxious around flying bugs this year, so he was not having it!  This was a really cool park!  It had a really large and unique main structure.  You could walk around in a circle on the higher platform, which I always like.

I think this is the first time I had seen a rope walk feature.  Esme's arms weren't quite long enough to reach both sides at the start, but she made it work.

This unique park gets 9 swings.  Esme loved it and was not ready to go home when it was time.

Cousin Sleepover

We offered to take Jaxxon and Jameson overnight over the summer.  Kelsey and Sean took us up on the offer last weekend while they went on a motorcycle ride in Wisconsin.  Esme has been talking about the sleepover for weeks and was so excited when Saturday morning came.  She wanted them to sleep in her room, so that's where we set up the pack n' plays.

Esme sang to them before mom and dad were even out the door.  Then She checked their breathing with her "stethoscope."

I haven't taken care of a baby for more than a couple hours since Esme was that age and it was wilder with two.  I was glad Jimmy was around to help wrangle Parker and Esme.

After out morning walk, we relaxed on the front yard.  The boys played nicely for 45 minutes while watching Parker and Esme bop around.

Jaxxon tried to snag up one of Esme's chicken nuggets for lunch!

Afternoon naps were nearly non-existent, so we took another walk around the block.

Dinner time!

Nana stopped by in the evening and gave them sponge baths before bedtime.

Jameson and Jimmy wound down watching the fishes go by.

Esme decided she didn't want to sleep in her room with the boys, so she slept in our bed and I was in hers.  The overnight started a little rough, but I ended up getting a nearly 5 hour stretch of sleep in, so I knew I'd at least be functional.  This picture was taken at 5:41 am, so that speaks for itself.

Both of them took a little morning nap, which wasn't surprising.  We got then to eat before heading to church and they did great in the nursery there too.  Kelsey and Sean got back a little after lunch on Sunday and I made it all the way to bedtime without a nap!  Not sure how soon we'll do an overnight again, but it was a fun adventure!