Party In the Park 2010

Yesterday we got to attend our church's 2nd Annual Party in the Park.  It is an amazing event where both campuses of the church get together and enjoy time with friends and families.  There are all kinds of activities including bounce houses, jousting games, rock walls, bungee trampolines, live bands, obstacle courses, old fashioned picnic style games, fishing and even a petting zoo.  The best part is that it is open to the public and completely free!!!  Everything but the food.  It was a great day and we had a wonderful time.  Here are some pictures from the event.

 Gracie LOVED the petting zoo!  She was too small to go in but that didn't stop her.  She got her hand too close to this little guy's mouth, and it was Grace who squealed like a pig when he sucked on her fingers.  It didn't dissuade her though.  She was back trying to hug the piglet in no time.  In the typical Gracie style, both hands locked tightly around the neck while pulling the pig toward her head, that's a hug, right?

 I think this kid learned to hug from Gracie, or maybe vice versa.

What a sweet brother/sister moment as they wait for siblings that are in the petting zoo.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this!  My girls hugging in line!  Must have been inspired by the kids above!

Daddy bounced Gracie up and down on the wall of the slide since she was too little to go down.  I took her pacifier "Uh-Oh", away for a better picture, well, you can see how successful that was!

Hope adores Mr. Ryan.

My husband played the game to win a lollipop, "Pop Pop" for Gracie.  He shot three for three into the mouth of the clown!  Impressive while holding a squirming toddler.  You can barely see the beanbag that just flew into the clown's mouth, it's dark green.

Hope actually threw that ball that is about to hit that cat!

Emma, maybe we should call her Telly.

Unfortunately, I think that Hope may get her "aiming face" from her mother.

Amazingly enough, this ball actually went forward.

Daddy and Gracie enjoying their Pop Pops.

Gracie, sticking to the grass with sticky drool still coming out of her mouth after the Pop Pop.

Daddy, cleaning the sticky mess up.

The woman behind the MOPs New Mother's Tent.  She had the wonderful and extremely helpful idea to have a tent where nursing moms could come take care of their babies.  There was a diaper changing table, port-a-cribs and gliders complete with a nursing screen, diapers and wipes.  The mother's dream at an event like this!!!!   Thank you!!!  Thank you to her husband as well, who took their son around the carnival while his wife manned the tent.

This is Gracie explaining that she would really like a hat.  It wasn't long before she had a hat and he had none.  He cinched it up in back and it fit her well.  We still have the hat.

I tried to sit in the mother's tent for a while to chat, that didn't work out so well.  "Moooooom, we want to go to the jumping castle!!!!"  Oh, well.  It was a nice idea.

I really like this picture.

Not sure what this was about, it was way before the meltdown.

An impromptu game of duck-duck-goose while waiting in line.

Gracie enjoying her newly rescued feet after they had been set free from the restrictive bondage of the dreaded shoes!

A Dad keeping fit while waiting in line.

Hope on the brink.  She pulled it back together though.

Almost at the front of the line!!!!!!!!

Yahoo!!!!

Not quite as high as the airplane.

Worth the wait.

After the jumping comes the flipping.

One last slide.

This time Gracie got to go too.

And the moment you've all been waiting for, the end of the packed day with no nap meltdown!

Yay for Daddy who stayed happy despite the drama!

I asked the father of these kids if he missed the days of the no nap meltdown.  His answer was a quick and emphatic, "No!".

Gracie laying hands on a new friend.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures from Party in the Park 2010.  To see more, click here.