A Day at the Park

I haven't blogged much during the past few months, and my writing chops are getting rusty. I wasn't being lazy, though; I just haven't had much to write about. 

Each day is basically the same:

We take Ellie out for a walk in the morning, and Daphne and I go for another walk while Ellie naps and Char watches YouTube on the computer. Lunch is either from a drive-thru or it's leftovers. Char plays with the other kids in the neighborhood in the afternoon while Daphne quilts, and I take a nap. Daphne usually meets me on the deck between 4 and 5, and then we make dinner. We have meat and cheese on Friday nights, Casey's pizza on Saturdays, and I usually grill on Sundays. We walk Ellie again after dinner, and then we watch a movie. Sometimes Char watches with us; sometimes she goes out to play again. 

There. I wrote my entire "How I Spent My Summer" essay in one paragraph. Of course there have been slight variations, but that really does sum up how we spent our time. 

In fact, we haven't traveled beyond the city limits since we brought Ellie home three months ago. That's sad. We needed to air ourselves out. We decided to surprise the girls with a trip to Pella, Iowa. Why Pella? There's a park there that Char really enjoyed playing at during last year's Tulip Time celebration, and there is also Jaarsma Bakery. Daphne and Char love that bakery, and it is in walking distance of two meat markets that I enjoy. So, we hit the road.

Ellie was a bit concerned when "Mom" and Char left to explore the bakery.

Cat Char arrived a few minutes later to calm her down.

Charlotte talked Daphne into buying her a fish cookie. The truth is that Char could care less about fish or the cookie. She just wants whatever shape has the most frosting. And Mentos. Char likes Mentos.

The park is impressive. There are so many things to climb on, around, under, and over.

Char and Ellie were raring to go.

I thought I'd be holding a leash the entire time, but Ellie was game to play, too.

Ellie wasn't very good on the balance beam.

We spent three hours at that park running around and playing follow the leader, tag, and hide and seek. We'd stopped for a snack break, and then with frosting on her cheek Char asked me, "Dad, can we play hide and seek some more?" I nodded, and she giggled, "This is so awesome!"

Daphne and Ellie got some bench time at the end of our visit.

We knew we'd pass by Prairie City on the way back, so we stopped by Goldie's Ice Cream Shoppe for a late lunch. We ordered in the drive-thru and ate outside.

Char had chicken strips, fries, and then vanilla ice cream. Hello, red and white checked paper! 

For my money, the only thing you need to order at Goldies' is the pork tenderloin sandwich. It won best breaded tenderloin a few years ago, and it is still great. Hello, tenderloin. I like your little bun-hat!

Daphne and I split the sandwich and cheese balls. I claimed the bonus fry as my own. 

We weren't home for more than three minutes before the doorbell rang. Soon, Char was off to the races with her friends, but our other little girl was pooped. 

I'll admit that I also took a nap. But not before I unpacked my fist full of dynamite beef sticks. 

We later decided that after going nowhere since mid-March we had set the bar so low that anything different was going to be fun. Char had such a blast that she asked if this was part of her birthday celebration. I said, "Nope. We just wanted to surprise you with a day at the park." 

Char beamed, "Well, I loved this day!"

That's more than we could have asked for.