Outdoor Parks!

I've got a lot of learning to do! I feel so out of touch with the parks in this area! I know a few - big ones and a couple that are close to my mother's house, but other than that, I am at a loss! It was a gorgeous day, but hot (by our standards), so I opted for a park I knew had shade - Kids Together Park in Cary.

I actually ran in to an old high school friend at this park who confirmed - this is the go-to park in the heat of the summer because of all the cover! She also said she prefers the Cary parks because they don't cut down all the surrounding trees like Apex.... or probably any new parks.

This one has a really nice SOFT sand area. Brock insisted on shoes off while he navigated his digger!

Funny Brock - he loved this slide!

On Saturday April 22nd, Brent was asked by one of his former professors to speak to the current MBA class about what he learned after receiving his MBA at NC State in 2010.  His advice was all about networking.  He talked about how he interviews people constantly and the MBA usually gives you a shared experience to leverage when you are job seeking.  Stay in School!!!

Anyway, since he was in Raleigh, we decided to explore Pullen Park while we waited for Brent to meet us.

This is an obligatory Pullen Park train selfie! Our family rode the train together and now we can call ourselves, officially, Wake County Resident Parents!

The boys loved the train ride!! I even tried to put Kade on my lap so he can see better, but he was adamant about sitting in his own seat.

It was a full day for the rides - every spot was filled on the boats too!

We even got the family on the Carousel! Kade was all about riding on the horse....

....but Brock specifically wanted to ride the lion even though it wasn't a moving one.

We stopped over and said hello to Andy and Opie (Andy Griffith & Ron Howard). This bronze statue, dedicated October 2003, still looks pretty good even though it continues to be vandalized. (Opie was missing half of his fishing pole)

Brock did not like the sun in his eyes!

Finally, we visited a new (to us) park! This is Crowder Park in Apex. This is an older park (yay trees!), but playground was recently renovated.

Things to hit and make loud noises!!

We love nature trails.... that are flat! Nature trails in Washington are a bit too steep in my opinion... ;)

Cheesing for the camera!

Kade likes to swing these days!

Crowder Park is apparently home to LOTS of turtles in the pond and the boardwalk makes a great observation point!

Bye bye turtles - we will see you again soon!