Yauger Park

We visited a new park today, and it turned out to be a great one.  I know that when we moved into this area a year ago, at least part of this park was under construction.  The playground appears new, so I'm guessing it was put in at that time as well.  I'm glad we stopped by, because even my big kids enjoyed themselves here.

Here's a tour:

The big toy was definitely the main attraction.  It's three stories high with easy enough angled ladders in the center for even my 2 year old to climb.  There is a blue tinted kaleidoscopic play telescope and a red tinted binoculars on the second story.  There is also a set up stairs between the second story and the spiral slide.  Two steeper tunnel slides are found at the top.

There's a ramp leading up to the inside of the big toy, a toddler slide from the bottom level, and two exterior climbing opportunities that take you to the second story.  If you look closely, you'll see blue ropes on the left and a metal yellow pole curving back and forth on the right.  These are for good climbers.

As you can see, there is a selection of spinners.  

There's a few fun seats.  The single seat spins.

There are six big kid swings (one is broken) and two toddler swings.

There is a seesaw/bouncy toy big enough for two kids on either end.

Those with good balance can surf.

There are also two smaller toys...one for the older toddlers and preschoolers and one for the littler toddlers.

There are clean bathrooms, several picnic tables, and a covered shelter located right next to the playground.  

If you like horseshoes, there's plenty of horseshoe pits to play on.  This park also has a few baseball fields and a pond.  It's a huge park!

To get there, take I5 either direction to exit 104 to merge onto US-101 N.  Take  the Black Lake Blvd exit towards W Olympia.  Turn right onto Black Lake Blvd SW.  Take the 1st left onto Cooper Point Road SW.  turn left onto Capital mall Dr. SW.  Turk right onto Alta St SW.  Turn right into the park.  This takes you to the parking area closest to the playground.  There is another large parking lot, but it is a large field away from the playground.

Burfoot Park

We decided to spend an hour or two at the Heritage Park Fountain today only to find out that it is closed on Wednesdays.  How disappointing!  Who closes the only fountain/sprayground in the city during the summer?  Since we were most of the way there, and since we really wanted to find some water play on one of the few hot days we've had so far this year, I decided to try Burfoot Park.  We hadn't visited this particular park yet so today was as good as any.  (The only reason we even know it exists is our church is planning a picnic there later this month).  It turned out to be a pretty nice park.  It also happened to be low tide so we found some cool critters, though fewer critters than we've found at other beaches.

This is what the shore and view looks like.  You can't really tell, but the Olympics can be seen in the distance.   Like nearly every beach in the area, it has a rocky beach.  (I really miss sandy beaches and look forward to some day taking my kids to see one.)

A couple of boys showed us a shrimp they found.  They thought it was a lobster. 

There were the usual tiny crabs.  Sorry the photo is so bad; I didn't have my camera with me and was limited to just the camera in my phone.

If she could talk well, she'd be saying, "Look mom!  I found a crab."  She had no fear of small crabs.

Another horrible photo, but we found this dead needlefish on the shore.  I didn't want to touch it so I used to clam shells as tongs to pick it up.  LOL  Here's a link to a better picture of this variety of needlefish.

Here's Mika walking the shore with her new beachcombing sifter.  She bought it with her own money.  Unfortunately, the Pacific Coast doesn't have abundant shells.  She wants to go to Florida because they have good shells there.  We did find two large moon shells, including one that wasn't tucked into the shell, and a few tiny hermit crabs in their shells. I found a clam with a broken shell and was showing it to the kids when it suddenly stuck it's foot out, startling me into screaming and dropping it.  She also found a small unoccupied moon shell and a very tiny gastropod shell that wasn't occupied. 

Of course, there was no keeping the littles out of the water.  Other people were much further out.  It was obvious from how far out they were that the ground slopes very gradually.  I don't understand how anyone can go into the water around here knowing what lives in the water.  I do not like living water...where's the pool?

After a while we headed back up the trail (uphill with lots steps carrying Madelynn all the way) back to the main park.  This is the playground which is surrounded by lots of grass and plenty of shade trees.  There were plenty of picnic tables and a small shelter as well.  We played for a while before heading back home.

Park Day

Today was a relatively nice day, and Josh was just begging to go to the park.  I promised him that we could go for a little while if he took his nap without a lot of fuss.  It turned out to be a great trip for them.

All four kids spent some time on the swings.

Mika, who initially didn't even want to go to the park, spent most of her time on this contraption.  How she spent so much time going in circles without getting sick, I'll never know.  She also ended up in a game of tag with Sam and some other kids at the park.

Madelynn attempted to climb this webbed climbing structure.

And up this ladder  She didn't care for the ladder past the third rung.  She'll be scrambling up to the top in no time, I'm sure.

Meanwhile, Sam asked me if he could go over to the basketball courts.  He ended up in a 2 on 2 pick up game of basketball.  It turns out the kids he was playing with were some of the same kids in the earlier game of tag.  Still, he would have never approached a group and ask to join them before.  And he doesn't even know how to play basket ball.

I couldn't get a closer picture because I was nursing Madelynn.  Just trust me when I say that little black arrow really is pointing to him.

Finally, a whole gaggle of kids ended up on the wave machine.  The arrows are pointing to three of mine; the others don't belong to me.

My kids were so happy to finally get some good time in at the park.  I keep reassuring them that spring is coming, and soon we'll be regular visitors to the parks in the area.

Les Gove Park - Auburn

We were invited to join another two families at a new-to-us park last week.  It was a really cool park.  The kids loved it.

It had swings, including one of Josh's favorite kind.  I think he feels more secure in them.

It had two of these swings, which are really cool.  They are so big, you can almost lay in them.  Four people can easily fit on each swing.  This is Sam and his friend Nick.

I even took a turn on the swing with two of my friend's kids.

There was a seesaw that seated two people on each side.  By this point, my friends were thinking I was nuts.  I can be a bit goofy.  : )  (BTW, this seesaw is NOT made for adults; it's a painful ride.)

The park has a big natural-looking sandbox with sand, rocks, and a fake river.  The 3 year olds were suppose to read and abide by the sides that said, "Please don't put sand in the river."  Yeah, right!  Josh spent most of his time here with his friend Leif.  We returned to the park a few days later and the river was dried up.  I wonder how often that happens, and how often the parks department fixes it.

The playground also had a rope web low to the ground for crawling on or under.  It's above artificial turf which is great fun for sliding down the hill.  Don't ask how I know...or maybe you can guess.  There is also a small slide going down the back side of that hill.  There are two longer slides going down another hill with ramps leading up to the top of the slide and roof-like material you can climb up on either side of the slide...think of a steep roof with two slides on it.  There were drums to bang on and a push merry-go-round that's at floor level...so no major falling off risks.

Not far from the playground is a water park.  On a hot day, it's perfect for cooling off after getting hot playing at the playground.  Most kids go back and forth.  Mika is a great big sister.

The babies had a great time sitting in this one-inch deep puddle.  Maddie thought it was perfect for bending down and slurping up the water.  Ewwww!  The two on the left are my friend's twins born just three days before Maddie.

It was a good day at the park.  So good, in fact, that we returned just a few days later on Madelynn's first birthday.  We just had another play date with our friends; the party's this coming weekend.

Here's the birthday girl. The year has gone by fast!

Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey

This past weekend was such a nice, sunny, warm weekend for us that we decided to head out to a park to play.  The kids requested "that park we went to right before [our friends] moved."  It took some figuring out because we went to about three parks right before they moved but I finally figured out which one they wanted, and that was the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey.  It's about 30 minutes from home which is close enough for us.

This park is HUGE.  It has 5 baseball diamonds with a small playground in the middle of them for the kids waiting for older siblings or dad to play their game.  The baseball area is gated and was locked on our first visit so I think they are only open to leagues.   Far on the other side of the park are 5 soccer fields with another small playground.  Right in the center is the public portion of the park.

After parking in the main lot, you see a vast expanse of flat grass and a large, fun playground.  This is the overall picture.  Behind me are three nice covered picnic shelters, each with several tables, a large charcoal grill, and electricity.  Behind the playground and those trees is a small hill with a few short walking paths.

Sam headed straight for these small fake climbing walls.  There's two of them, I think.

Mika headed straight for this thing.  She loves them, if mom will help her climb up and sit on them.  She can do it with only a little help; Sam, on the other hand, takes a bit more effort to get up there.  The yellow part can be spun; they like to be spun.  And because I've lost a good amount of weight, I like to spin them and hold on for the ride occasionally.

This contraption is really cool.  It's long and hilly  Anytime someone puts weight on any part, it affects the other parts, sending them either up or down.  I saw as many of 6 kids on it at once.

Josh, being the climber he is, decided to climb this pyramid-shaped web of ropes.  He doesn't look like he's doing well but he is; he just has an interesting method of climbing.

I decided to join him.  I really am enjoying the increased mobility and stamina from losing 30 pounds.

Josh also likes swings.  They have four kinds of swings at this park: toddler, regular, big plastic reclining seat, and tire swing.

The playground also has a play structure with ramps, monkey bar type things to swing from, slides, and other fun stuff.

There's even a little shade for baby and daddy.

Stewart Heights Park

Stewart Heights Park in east Tacoma on E. 56th is not new to us. We've been there before. It's been several years. Thus, I was surprised to see a new playground when I drove by it the other day. We returned later that day to investigate and found a new playground that the kids love. We returned again today, making it our second trip there in a week. Hey, when you live in such a rainy place, you have to take advantage of every non-rainy day.


The primary and most obvious feature of this updated park is the ship play structure. You can see the masts from the distant street beckoning you down the drive to the parking lot. The kids enjoy playing on the ship with two good-sized slides to slide down. Off to the right of this picture is another play structure for the younger set. It is made up of ramps leading to what looks like a ship's helm and has it's own toddler-sized slide.



We've found this circular contraption at three different parks so far. The kids love them, especially trying to walk around the circle without falling off as it swings around due to the force of their weight on the slope. Sometimes they take turns lying on it as the other pushes them around.


These spinning contraptions are also popular.


Mika had to take several turns in order for me to get the camera turned on properly to take the picture. She was a bit dizzy.


Sam wanted a turn too. I took a turn also, but quickly remembered that I don't do spinning things anymore. It took a few moments before the severe nausea passed, and I felt that I could move without vomiting.


Madelynn loves swings. If you push her high enough, but not too high, it makes her giggle.

Josh loved pushing his little sister on the swing. He just really loves her...sometimes too much. I hope she grows up to understand his love for her wasn't intend to terrify her.


We found a feather. Josh insisted on putting it in his pocket and carrying it around. I should remember to check his pockets before I wash them.

These rocks near the playground make great climbers and places to perch.


Towards the end of our visit today, Madelynn decided to nurse. She fell asleep just after I snapped this photo.


She has cute, pudgy toes too. : )

The playground is the primary draw for my kids, but this park offers so much more. They have a skate park, a baseball diamond, tons of flat grass to run in, and an awesome outdoor pool during the summer season. The pool features a zero depth entry, water slide, lazy river, and sprinkler area...all for a small fee. There are also tennis courts that were being used by the adjoining school; I'm not sure if the tennis courts belong to the park or the school.

Finally, a police substation is located at the entrance of the park. I would hope this would deter criminal activity in the park.

We plan on spending lots more time here. It counts as PE, after all.