McKinstry Moments: Eastham Park

In March, we pleasantly stumbled upon a new playground in the area. I saw a Facebook post describing the opening of Eastham park and thought it sounded like something fun to check out, so one day Granny and I took the kids to do just that.

The playground itself was fairly small, and Caleb wasn't impressed, but the kids had a pretty good time anyway. They made a few friends and got out some energy...what more can you ask for?

We learned once we arrived that though the addition of the playground was new, the park itself was not. I had heard my sister and others talk about going to "the dog park" with their pets or just to walk the trails there for exercise, but I'd never been personally. I didn't realize until we arrived that we were going to the same place they'd talked about, and I had no idea just what a beautiful spot it was or how nice the trails were. Caleb liked the wide open spaces for sure.

Can you find him?

The playground wasn't as impressive as Rockland Park (which we found about about last summer) or Fantasyland (Caleb's favorite) but it had its own good qualities. I liked that it was small because it was easy to keep up with the kids, plus I didn't have to worry as much about the kids climbing up too high and falling.

But...maybe I should have been more worried. Somehow Caleb managed to do something to his hand or one of his fingers or something (bending it back I think) and screamed like it was broken. Thankfully, Auntie Beth had showed up with Peyton just a little before and she calmed the both of us and reassured me that it wasn't broken. (Mommy was ready to get in the car and head for the doctor!)

Though we had planned to go for a hike down along the river path that day, things had soured fast and Caleb was ready to go back to Granny's so we did. In April though, we found another beautiful day to make a trip back to check out Eastham park a little more.

We started with a little picnic by the river...

...then hit the trail. Granny likes to go for walks with her sister Geraldine here on occasion, so she knew exactly where we were going.

We didn't stick to the path though; the kids had exploring on the brain. Whether it was throwing sticks in the river, checking out old trees and their roots, or picking flowers, the kids were loving every minute of it. I remember thinking about all the school work we should probably be doing and decided to throw it to the wind for the morning; this is what homeschooling was all about! They were learning from observing, questioning what they found, getting exercise, and taking in the spring day.

The bluebells were absolutely gorgeous as they stretched the length of the riverbank. Hadley lost herself in the joy of picking handfuls of them, and I lost myself capturing photos of her in the process. The pictures don't even do the scenes of the day justice.

Granny and I weren't sure at first what type of flower we were seeing, but Caleb, the scientist that he is, got down to look carefully. He said they looked like bells and were blue so they must be bluebells. As both Granny and I laughed because we are always amazed at his little brain that is so full of things to share, a man walking by confirmed that sure enough that boy was right.