Splash Pad...Part Dos

My Mom and I took the Madore-ables to Splash Pad in Derry, New Hampshire yesterday. It's the second trip that we've made this Summer, and I plan on continuing to take them. I highly recommend it for all mommies with young-ins. (In case you missed my first blog about Splash Pad, click here).

The girls had an absolute blast once again. We spent a good chunk of time on the playground portion, and once Mom and I couldn't stand the hot Summer sun anymore, we decided to venture our way over to the splash pad portion. The girls were shy at first, but little by little, they got closer and closer to the water sprayers.

They never even napped on the way home, so after dinner and a bath, it was a very early bedtime for the Madore-ables.

Here are some highlights from our Splash Pad adventure yesterday:

Splash Pad...Fun For Any Age!

Today I took the Madore-ables to Derry, New Hampshire to Splash Pad. We were joined by my mom and my friend Kerry and her daughter Shannon.

My girls had an absolute blast. I had a blast just watching what they were getting into. First of all, there are so many reasons to like love Splash Pad:

1. Easy to drive to...if you're in the New England area that is. (Sorry out-of-state readers)
2. Plenty of parking (1 medium size parking lot, and 1 large size lot)
3. The parking is separated from the playground area
4. Plenty of playground space (1 large land lot with 2 playgrounds with various types of challenges for all age levels)
5. Plenty of swings
6. Plenty of picnic tables and grass...even a picnic area with a roof for large groups
7. Concession stand
8. Lots of areas to walk and explore
9. Clean bathrooms
10. Clean playground area
11. Everything looks updated, and safe...especially the stairs and the ladders
12. Did I mention Splash Pad is FREE?!?!?

That's just the playground part...I haven't even mentioned the "Splash Pad" part. In case you're wondering, the splash pad is an area with sprinklers, and water jets spraying from the ground. It's honestly just a bunch of fun for any age. "Splash" doesn't even touch the amount of fun the Madore-ables had today...more like "cannon ball".





Here are some photos from the day:

Splash Pad is located off exit 4 off of Interstate 93. If you plug in 14 Humphrey Road in Derry, N.H. into your GPS (if you have one), it will come up. The entrance looks like a long driveway to some one's house, but I assure you, it's not.

The 3-story large playground (red slides) in the foreground, and there's a smaller playground (blue slides) in the background of the photo.

3-story larger playground from a different view

The Splash Pad portion

Another view of the Splash Pad

Smiles were all around at Splash Pad

Sarah was a little timid at first, but she got more daring as the afternoon went on.

I think Sam had fun...don't you?

A Day At The Water Park...H2Oh So Much Fun!

Today was a fun day for the Madoreables and I. We woke up very early and drove down to Arlington, Massachusetts to meet Trish, (one of the fabulous ladies I walked with this past May in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer) her daughter, Chantal and her two babies: Bella and Bryson. What a great time we had.

The day started off great. I packed our beach bag / outdoor bag last night so that I wouldn't forget anything. I got up earlier than usual to make sure I packed plenty of yummy goodies to eat for our picnic. I laid the girls outfits out and left the sunscreen near the changing table so I wouldn't forget to lather them up. I managed to get them up and dressed in 10 minutes including the sunscreen. I check the clock, 8:05...doing great for time. Ok, shoes are next. I don't bother putting Sarah's shoes on only because I know she's going to pull those shoes off before I stick my key in the ignition. Samantha was excited to wear her new water shoes that we just bought at Target. (To which she proudly announced to anyone and everyone that "Mommy bought my shoes at Target!"). Ok, let's get ready for my mental check list: beach bag / outdoor bag, check. Camera, check. Breakfast to go cups with lids, check. Shoes for Sarah, check. Sippy cups, check. Madoreables, check. Ok, we're good to go. We head down the stairs and out to the driveway. Samantha decides that she wants to take her time getting into the car. I look at the clock again, 8:25. Yikes. I don't have a cell phone, so I can't call Trish. I finally pull up to our meeting spot at 8:40. I hate being late.

The ride down to Arlington thankfully went very smoothly. One of the things that I don't miss now that I'm a stay at home Mom is the early morning Boston traffic. We arrived in Arlington just after 9:00 in one piece. We had a fantastic drive on the way down. Several renditions of "The Wheels On The Bus" and "Where Is Thumbkin" were sung. Several questions of, "Mommy? Who's singing this song [on the radio]?" and "Where are we Mommy?" were asked. And of course, Sarah's newest discovery is when cars are driving alongside at the same speed as I am in another lane, Sarah will yell out "HI" to the other cars and trucks. Not once, or twice, but until the car would pass me, or I would pass the car.

When we arrived at Chantal's house, the girls were very excited to meet the babies and of course meet Chantal. I open the back door and noticed that Sarah needed a diaper change...umm...stat. So, I pull her out of the car seat and follow Samantha and Trish inside Chantal's house and next thing I'm facing is what I'd like to call a "diaper-tastrophe". Need I say more? And while I'm in the middle of changing Sarah and up to my elbows in uhh...baby wipes, Samantha announces, "Mommy! I need to go potty!". To make a long story short, Samantha made it to the potty, and Sarah was changed with no further trauma. I was ready for a nap and it was barely 9:30.

Thankfully, the rest of the day was much more fun and many more smiles were to be had. We arrived at the public water park with front row parking and barely a crowd. The park was all closed in. One half was the water park, and the other half was a beautiful playground. Samantha was a little nervous at first, but she warmed up right away. Sarah was very timid and wanted nothing to do with the water sprayers, but once she found the playground, she wanted nothing to do with Mommy. The weather was absolutely perfect. Not too hot, the water was the perfect temperature. The girls had a great time. We had an early lunch, and by the time we left, it would have been the same time for Madoreables lunch had we been at home. So, by the time we got home, it was actually nap time. Sarah fell asleep just before our exit, but she didn't wake up at all when I pulled her out of the car seat, or when I put her in the crib. She didn't even flinch when I took her shoes off. Sam and I had a great story time, and then she fell asleep. Three hours later, the girls woke up and were well rested. Normally I do bathtime after dinner and right before bed, but I wanted the girls to have more time with my father who came over for dinner. So, I had the girls play in the tub for a little while. It was nice to see my father...the girls were especially excited to see "Bapa". Samantha had a great time showing Bapa her new toys that she got for her birthday.

Here's a few pictures from our day of fun!