The Community Cruiser sets up the bouncy castle, as well as sports equipment, bubbles, and giant games (apparently! I didn't witness any giant games today)
Here's the schedule- goes until August 27th. The times for each park are 9:30-11, 12-2, and 3-4:30 respectively:
Tuesdays: Alexander Elementary, 2250 Lobban Road
Mill Lake Park, Bevan Entrance
Jubilee Park, 2478 McCallum Rd (I'm sorry, but has anyone ever been to Jubilee? It looks like a total needle park and I haven't even put it on our list. Let me know if you've tried it)
Wenesdays: Bateman Park, 34638 Bateman Rd
Sandy Hill Elementary, 3836 Old Clayburn Rd
Everett Park, 2303 Olympia Place
Thursdays: Jackson Elementary, 33165 King Rd
Spud Murphy Park, 32285 Hillcrest Ave
Elwood Park, 31580 MacLure Rd
Fridays: Southern Park, 31414 Southern Drive
Dave Kandal Park, 3375 Crestview Ave
Wednesday 17 August 2011
Insider info...
Today we met my wonderful friend Katherine and her lovely girls, Maia, Eva, and Anya, as they wanted to join us on our park adventures! Cam, being a Parks and Rec man this summer, told me that the new Matsqui Village Park, 6074 Riverside Road was complete and that we should head over there. Here's what it looked like when we got there:
But what you can't see is the excavator that was digging in front of this fence (later ripping up a water line that Cam and Jay would come to fix... ha ha), making a bunch of noise and dust. Tempted as Katherine and I were to dash our kids to the playground to claim that we had been the first ones on it, we respected the cautious workmen who thought we should wait until the afternoon when they were done. "You know kids and machinery," he said. Cam said I should have told him that my kids have already driven an excavator that size. But I didn't tell him. Instead, we headed over to Bateman Park,
34638 Bateman Road. And as if it wasn't a cool enough park already, lo and behold, it was Community Cruiser day and there was a bouncy castle there too! I will publish the schedule for that in a separate post, for those who cut it out of the paper and lost it :) So, yeah, the kids were super pumped.
Bateman Park has tons of fields (one of which has a 'perfect sledding hill', observed Katherine), a new playground (installed during the playoffs this year), and a most excellent creek and secret foresty fort area.
Playground: One 2-5yr play area and one 5-12yr area, which I always like. There are 2 swings, one of which was m.i.a today, and a froggy/horsey see saw- you know, the new kind, where no matter how heavy or light you are, you can balance and have a grand time- perfect for mommy and toddler! There was also some shade. Here's our gang on the 2-5 set: (Katherine protested, "that's not why we joined you! We're not trying to get in your blog!" ha ha...well like it or not, you're in!)
Creek and foresty fort area: I was introduced to this last year by my awesome cousin Lizzy, a true Abbostfordian. We had taken a picnic dinner there on a particularly icky hot night, and it was an oasis of cool, so it's a great summer spot.
To find this particularly nice part of this super awesome area, go to the lower fields by the forest, and then of the 3 paths/entrances to the forest, take the one on the right. The ground is knotty, so be careful not to let your kiddos run, and don't wear fancy shoes or anything. No yummy mommy playground outfits here- you need spelunking (sp?) clothes. I will resist the urge to oversell this, and instead seriously urge you to check it out this summer for yourself. Bring a towel and make sure your kids have flip flops or water shoes. (Apparently this is also a nice spot to enjoy alcoholic beverages and then break them and leave a few small pieces...so you will need shoes just in case. But don't let that turn you off- it's lovely in there.)
Here is a blurry pic of our kids and their 'tree house'...I just thought it was so cute the way they were sweeping the ground and divvying up building projects and chores. Isn't this the picture of childhood?
Upsides: Good playground, awesome creek and forest area, bathrooms and shade (my two favourites!), dog park, soccer nets, parking at either end of the park (playground or fields). Pretty busy park, with lots of people coming and going, but not so busy that you fear you'll lose your kids in the crowds.
Downsides: Lots of dogs off leash. All the ones we met were great, but it's just good to know ahead of time, just in case, or if your kids are afraid of dogs.
Caius gave this park an 8/10 and Addie gave it a 10. Maia wanted to give it a mark but I think was totally confused by Caius and his completely random rating scales. "How do you rate this Caius?" "264!!! Out of Ten hundred!!! It's so cool!!!".
Oh! And before I forget: Matsqui Village Park is totally playable now. We stopped by in the afternoon and the kids had a lot of fun (don't let the look on Addie's face fool you- she just had to pee real bad and couldn't understand why I just had to have a photo) And on that note: the bathrooms are still being renovated so for now it's the bushes...
34638 Bateman Road. And as if it wasn't a cool enough park already, lo and behold, it was Community Cruiser day and there was a bouncy castle there too! I will publish the schedule for that in a separate post, for those who cut it out of the paper and lost it :) So, yeah, the kids were super pumped.
Bateman Park has tons of fields (one of which has a 'perfect sledding hill', observed Katherine), a new playground (installed during the playoffs this year), and a most excellent creek and secret foresty fort area.
Playground: One 2-5yr play area and one 5-12yr area, which I always like. There are 2 swings, one of which was m.i.a today, and a froggy/horsey see saw- you know, the new kind, where no matter how heavy or light you are, you can balance and have a grand time- perfect for mommy and toddler! There was also some shade. Here's our gang on the 2-5 set: (Katherine protested, "that's not why we joined you! We're not trying to get in your blog!" ha ha...well like it or not, you're in!)
Creek and foresty fort area: I was introduced to this last year by my awesome cousin Lizzy, a true Abbostfordian. We had taken a picnic dinner there on a particularly icky hot night, and it was an oasis of cool, so it's a great summer spot.
To find this particularly nice part of this super awesome area, go to the lower fields by the forest, and then of the 3 paths/entrances to the forest, take the one on the right. The ground is knotty, so be careful not to let your kiddos run, and don't wear fancy shoes or anything. No yummy mommy playground outfits here- you need spelunking (sp?) clothes. I will resist the urge to oversell this, and instead seriously urge you to check it out this summer for yourself. Bring a towel and make sure your kids have flip flops or water shoes. (Apparently this is also a nice spot to enjoy alcoholic beverages and then break them and leave a few small pieces...so you will need shoes just in case. But don't let that turn you off- it's lovely in there.)
Here is a blurry pic of our kids and their 'tree house'...I just thought it was so cute the way they were sweeping the ground and divvying up building projects and chores. Isn't this the picture of childhood?
Downsides: Lots of dogs off leash. All the ones we met were great, but it's just good to know ahead of time, just in case, or if your kids are afraid of dogs.
Caius gave this park an 8/10 and Addie gave it a 10. Maia wanted to give it a mark but I think was totally confused by Caius and his completely random rating scales. "How do you rate this Caius?" "264!!! Out of Ten hundred!!! It's so cool!!!".
Oh! And before I forget: Matsqui Village Park is totally playable now. We stopped by in the afternoon and the kids had a lot of fun (don't let the look on Addie's face fool you- she just had to pee real bad and couldn't understand why I just had to have a photo) And on that note: the bathrooms are still being renovated so for now it's the bushes...
A Birthday Blog!
My husband sure has been paying attention lately...for my birthday last night he planned a picnic in the park! It was a beautiful night for it (and of course we made it home early enough for DQ cake. Wouldn't have been a proper birthday without my DQ cake!).
For our park, we chose one the kids have actually been to quite a bit with our church moms' group, but don't remember well as we haven't been there in a year (so they thought it was a new one for our list). We went to Elwood Park, 31419 Maclure Rd. I like this park, as it's newer, pretty safe, and there's always some shade to be enjoyed on a hot day. (Or on a rainy day, I suppose- a natural umbrella for the parents when the crazy kids want to climb and slide and get soaking wet.)
The kids LOVED the park. Although I am beginning to think that they are not the most picky consumers- if it's big and bright, and especially if it has really high platforms with big slides, they tend give it an impressive rating such as "264hundred" as they approach the playground.
Addie managed to do all her climbing in those pretty shoes...what a girl!
As for Cam, he thought it was pretty cool, and "safe, but not crazy safe" which I think he meant as a compliment to the parks ability to still appeal to adventurous kids. This park is also kinda joined to Fishtrap Creek Park, which is a cool nature-y park (and an excellent place for photos).
Cam really did have a good time...just wasn't ready for this photo!
Upsides: Bathrooms, shade, awesome forested area behind the playground (needle free as far as I could see), lots to climb (climbing wall too).
Downsides: Not a dedicated toddler area- Mia fared well on the smaller section but a couple of months ago she wouldn't have been able to balance and would have been relegated to the baby swing for most of the play time. Also...bark mulch. All the new playgrounds seem to have it and all the moms I talk to don't really like it for its splintering-and-getting-stuck-in-flops-and-crocs qualities. But I'm sure the good people designing playgrounds have done their research...
Mia climbing in an adorable vest borrowed from Lizzy...she looked so
grown up all day!!
For our park, we chose one the kids have actually been to quite a bit with our church moms' group, but don't remember well as we haven't been there in a year (so they thought it was a new one for our list). We went to Elwood Park, 31419 Maclure Rd. I like this park, as it's newer, pretty safe, and there's always some shade to be enjoyed on a hot day. (Or on a rainy day, I suppose- a natural umbrella for the parents when the crazy kids want to climb and slide and get soaking wet.)
The kids LOVED the park. Although I am beginning to think that they are not the most picky consumers- if it's big and bright, and especially if it has really high platforms with big slides, they tend give it an impressive rating such as "264hundred" as they approach the playground.
As for Cam, he thought it was pretty cool, and "safe, but not crazy safe" which I think he meant as a compliment to the parks ability to still appeal to adventurous kids. This park is also kinda joined to Fishtrap Creek Park, which is a cool nature-y park (and an excellent place for photos).
Upsides: Bathrooms, shade, awesome forested area behind the playground (needle free as far as I could see), lots to climb (climbing wall too).
Downsides: Not a dedicated toddler area- Mia fared well on the smaller section but a couple of months ago she wouldn't have been able to balance and would have been relegated to the baby swing for most of the play time. Also...bark mulch. All the new playgrounds seem to have it and all the moms I talk to don't really like it for its splintering-and-getting-stuck-in-flops-and-crocs qualities. But I'm sure the good people designing playgrounds have done their research...
grown up all day!!
Wednesday 3 August 2011
Summer Park Adventures - Keep your shoes on
Today we decided to try out two parks- one I had chosen from the Abbotsford Parks Guide list, and the other a concession to the five year old who didn't think my park sounded very interesting.
Hougen Park, 2887 Cole Road , while absolutely beautiful, was definitely underwhelming for the kids. The guide says they have a playground, but it's just two swings and two old see-saws. Then further down the park, two more swings, and two more old see-saws. After playing on the one set and having lunch, Caius gave the park a 7/10, because at least it had a playground, while Addie declared, "Every! Park! Is! Good!!!". After walking to the other playground, Caius upped his mark to a 10 because apparently a park gets a higher mark if it has a blue swing, particularly one that 'goes real high'. As Chelsea noted on my Facebook page, it did have its fair share of goose poop, but that seemed par for the course as it's right on the water.
Upside: It did have unlocked washrooms (hooray!) and it would be a great place to come and walk the trails, read, or drink a Starbucks in leisure (non of which I decided to do with 3 in tow). The scenery is amazing (let's hear it for the Designer!!), and we saw lots of cool different kinds of birds. Also, you can drive up, park, and have a picnic at a table without walking anywhere, so that's convenient.
Downside: Not much of a playground. Can't swim in the eewy water, and the park runs right alongside it, so if you have a toddler whose a bolter, it'd be a bit nerve wracking, I'd think.
Spud Murphy Park, Hillcrest Dr & Langdon St was fantabulous for my kidlets. It's a newer park in the Clearbrook area, quite close to the Safeway. There's a small spray park (it's no Mill Lake, but it has its own charm), a climbing web/carousel thingy, a few swings and baby swings, and a sand area. They loved the sand area because it also had water that would run down the troughs and into the sand, allowing for all sorts of cool projects. It also has one of those mini excavators in the sand area.
Upsides: Spray park and play equipment, lots of shade, rad sand area
Downsides: No bathrooms, perhaps a limited appeal for older kids? Although when we were there, plenty of kids up to around 10 years old were happily zooming on the carousel and running around with Super Soakers. Also, I hate to say it, but it's always a good idea to check the ground before letting the kids loose. We used to walk through this area a lot, and it's not the best..
Caius gave it a 95 out of 10, and Addie gave it a "Twenty-hundred" out of 10.
The kids having a blast in the sand
(with apologies to the random boy who got caught in this photo...)
Hougen Park, 2887 Cole Road , while absolutely beautiful, was definitely underwhelming for the kids. The guide says they have a playground, but it's just two swings and two old see-saws. Then further down the park, two more swings, and two more old see-saws. After playing on the one set and having lunch, Caius gave the park a 7/10, because at least it had a playground, while Addie declared, "Every! Park! Is! Good!!!". After walking to the other playground, Caius upped his mark to a 10 because apparently a park gets a higher mark if it has a blue swing, particularly one that 'goes real high'. As Chelsea noted on my Facebook page, it did have its fair share of goose poop, but that seemed par for the course as it's right on the water.
Upside: It did have unlocked washrooms (hooray!) and it would be a great place to come and walk the trails, read, or drink a Starbucks in leisure (non of which I decided to do with 3 in tow). The scenery is amazing (let's hear it for the Designer!!), and we saw lots of cool different kinds of birds. Also, you can drive up, park, and have a picnic at a table without walking anywhere, so that's convenient.
Downside: Not much of a playground. Can't swim in the eewy water, and the park runs right alongside it, so if you have a toddler whose a bolter, it'd be a bit nerve wracking, I'd think.
Spud Murphy Park, Hillcrest Dr & Langdon St was fantabulous for my kidlets. It's a newer park in the Clearbrook area, quite close to the Safeway. There's a small spray park (it's no Mill Lake, but it has its own charm), a climbing web/carousel thingy, a few swings and baby swings, and a sand area. They loved the sand area because it also had water that would run down the troughs and into the sand, allowing for all sorts of cool projects. It also has one of those mini excavators in the sand area.
Upsides: Spray park and play equipment, lots of shade, rad sand area
Downsides: No bathrooms, perhaps a limited appeal for older kids? Although when we were there, plenty of kids up to around 10 years old were happily zooming on the carousel and running around with Super Soakers. Also, I hate to say it, but it's always a good idea to check the ground before letting the kids loose. We used to walk through this area a lot, and it's not the best..
Caius gave it a 95 out of 10, and Addie gave it a "Twenty-hundred" out of 10.
(with apologies to the random boy who got caught in this photo...)
Monday 1 August 2011
Summer Park Adventures- Who knew there was a swimmin' lake in Abbotsford? ( not me, apparently)
This afternoon, after being jilted by the bus driver one too many times (the third time, he flew by our driveway a full 6 minutes early, as we were gearing up for the climb), we gave up on our bus adventure (the kids loooove to do that) and decided to try out Albert Dyck Park 331515 Walmsley Ave
I was totally suprised. I'm sure this is the kind of park that real Abbotsfordians know about, but being only in my 6th year here, I was like, "Whoa!!! How awesome is this? A lake we can swim in without spending half an hour driving!!!". There were no people water skiing today, so just swimmers, which was great. There is even a separate beach for people and their doggies! (Don't tell Stella. 3 kids is enough work. One of these days I'll work up the courage to take her too)
Upside: Um, swimming! And it's not too cold either. Sandy beach (Addie complained that there were a few pebbles...), beach volleyball nets, doggie beach.
Downside: Teenagers who have a very vulgar, limited vocabulary. Port-o-Potties (but it's better than nothing!!) Also, on a busy day, you'll probably need to park on the road and walk in. Unless you have a gentleman for a husband who drops you off and then walks in <3
This is the park Caius gave a 1/1 because he thought it was not that great. He is still reconciling himself with the concept that "park" does not equal "playground". Addie loved it and so did the rest of us. I give it a 9/10...bathrooms would've made it a 10.
I was totally suprised. I'm sure this is the kind of park that real Abbotsfordians know about, but being only in my 6th year here, I was like, "Whoa!!! How awesome is this? A lake we can swim in without spending half an hour driving!!!". There were no people water skiing today, so just swimmers, which was great. There is even a separate beach for people and their doggies! (Don't tell Stella. 3 kids is enough work. One of these days I'll work up the courage to take her too)
Upside: Um, swimming! And it's not too cold either. Sandy beach (Addie complained that there were a few pebbles...), beach volleyball nets, doggie beach.
Downside: Teenagers who have a very vulgar, limited vocabulary. Port-o-Potties (but it's better than nothing!!) Also, on a busy day, you'll probably need to park on the road and walk in. Unless you have a gentleman for a husband who drops you off and then walks in <3
This is the park Caius gave a 1/1 because he thought it was not that great. He is still reconciling himself with the concept that "park" does not equal "playground". Addie loved it and so did the rest of us. I give it a 9/10...bathrooms would've made it a 10.
Summer Park Adventures, park 3
Saturday evening we took a (pretty lame) picnic dinner to Grant Park, 31800 Madiera Place (off Clearbrook Road by the Chevron). This park just opened in April, and you can tell. It's pretty snazzy looking and has caught my kids' eyes so many times from the freeway as we've zoomed by. Having lived in the Clearbrook area for a few years, with a backyard from which we could've sold lemonade to the summer travellers crawling by on the #1 on Sunday nights, I was not so keen to go and hang out at a park right on the freeway. But it turned out to be pretty cool.
Downside: A lot of people biked through there while we were there...a few stopped to enjoy their wacky tabaccy...let's just say it's probably not somewhere you'd want to go too late at night.
This is the 2-5 year old playground section
Grant Park is brand new and is very funky, with lots of new things, like plastic congo drums. It has 2 'baby' swings, 4 regular swings, funky boingy things (frog and horse, respectively), a basketball court, and a great big (well, by suburban standards) forest for exploring. Also I loved that it had a "2-5years" playground and a "5-12 years" playground. The 'bigger kids' playground had a nice tall, windy slide that Caius just loved. My older two (5 1/2 and 4) loved both playgrounds, actually, but it was awesome to have a littler, safer one that occupied Mia nicely. It also has a baseball diamond and bathrooms.
Upside: New, age appropriate, lots of different stuff, nice and breezy on a summer night. Downside: A lot of people biked through there while we were there...a few stopped to enjoy their wacky tabaccy...let's just say it's probably not somewhere you'd want to go too late at night.
Summer Park Adventures- quick recap 2
Ha ha...wow, I am so awesome at blogging that I just published that last post without even finishing it. So here is partie deux. Perhaps I will post one park at a time :)
Saddle Park 34500 Old Clayburn Rd (by Margaret Stenersen Elementary)
This is one of those lovely "power line parks", of which we seem to have a lot in Abbotsford. So if you don't own a microwave oven for safety reasons, you are most likely not going to like this park.
This is quite a small park, and more on the 'old school' side. It's wooden, has a funky climbing apparatus, a shaky bridge, and a decent slide. The hill by its one picnic table is the perfect length for teaching log rolling- not so long as to induce vomiting, but long enough to get a nice dizzy feeling, at least if you are either new to log rolling, or over the age of 30.
The kids' favourite part of this park was the GIANT tire. They could stand up inside it, on either side, and got a real kick out of that. It also has a good sized soccer field.
Upside: Big tire. Not too busy of a park, as it's so small, so it's nice for a quiet evening park visit.
Downside: Not toddler proof by today's standards. A bit scary, if you're a hover mother. And even if you're not. (just the climbing up part) No bathrooms. Power lines.
Kids LOOOVEd it though...just couldn't get over that tire...I think they gave it a 9/10
Saddle Park 34500 Old Clayburn Rd (by Margaret Stenersen Elementary)
This is one of those lovely "power line parks", of which we seem to have a lot in Abbotsford. So if you don't own a microwave oven for safety reasons, you are most likely not going to like this park.
This is quite a small park, and more on the 'old school' side. It's wooden, has a funky climbing apparatus, a shaky bridge, and a decent slide. The hill by its one picnic table is the perfect length for teaching log rolling- not so long as to induce vomiting, but long enough to get a nice dizzy feeling, at least if you are either new to log rolling, or over the age of 30.
The kids' favourite part of this park was the GIANT tire. They could stand up inside it, on either side, and got a real kick out of that. It also has a good sized soccer field.
Upside: Big tire. Not too busy of a park, as it's so small, so it's nice for a quiet evening park visit.
Downside: Not toddler proof by today's standards. A bit scary, if you're a hover mother. And even if you're not. (just the climbing up part) No bathrooms. Power lines.
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