The Park: Clayton Community Park

Goodmorning lovlies. Just a quick little snippet today about the Clayton Community Park located right next to the Clayton Community Center. Since my family lives outside of Raleigh this park is great for anyone living in the Clayton/Garner area. It's right behind the Little Gym in Clayton.

I love this park to take the kids to and have a little picnic and playtime. It has two playgrounds which is nice because one is a little bit bigger and geared towards the older kiddos and the other is a short walk away but slightly smaller for the slightly smaller ones. There's some great climbing structures for them to play on, slides, a large sandbox, swings and a pretty large shaded picnic area. Along with the playgrounds there is also two sand volleyball courts, baseball fields, tennis courts, and a half mile paved path that goes around the park and a large pond. 

The park isn't very shaded expect for around the pond so don't forget to pack and put on your sunscreen. Overall though, the park is great and a great way to spend a couple of hours with the kids. Sometimes I'll pack up their bikes to ride around the path while I trail behind :)

The Mary Poppins bag

Don't you ever wish you had Mary Poppins magical carpet bag? Imagine the possibility of being able to find and pull out whatever you need at that moment. I mean seriously, you could rule the world with that bag.

While I might not have a magical bag, I do have a backpack that I try and keep all the essentials and a few extra little things so I'm alway prepared when I take C and D out for fun.

I love this backpack! I'm pretty sure we got it at the Pottery Barn. It's small and packs a mighty punch. I can fit so much in it. While we are out I usually throw my wallet it, clip my keys to the front and go! I take it everywhere. To the park, museums, play dates, you name it.



It might be small but it can hold a lot! My Mary Poppins bag includes:

- Tide to-go pen
- Lysol to-go spray
- hand sanitizer
- Spray sunscreen and a stick for the face (I usually only pack this in the summer months)
- Baby wipes
- Mini first aide kit
- Mini Kleenex pouch
- Stickers and Dum dums for rewards for good choices


And that's just the two front pouches! Since I can fit all the essentials in the small compartments in the front of my pack it leaves the whole main compartment to be filled with snacks, lunch, whatever toys C or D have to bring along, and the list goes on and on. I used to keep a spare change of clothes in this part of the backpack for when D was still potty training but we've out grown that.


Hope this helps all of you out there! Have fun out on your adventures and don't forget your own Mary Poppins bag and a little bit of your own magic.

Xxxo

Ms. Oomi

Lake Wheeler

Visit Lake Wheeler's Website

Out of all the parks that I have been to, walk around, or visited in Raleigh, Lake Wheeler remains on of my favorites. I think I like it because it's a little more tucked away from the highways and it's usually not as busy as Lake Johnson or Umstead.

Lake Wheeler has a great picnic area and playground for the little one's to go run and jump and play in. It's really shaded so it doesn't get too hot there in the summer time. When I've taken C and D, we've always packed a picnic lunch and just enjoyed the park. The downside is Lake Wheeler doesn't offer much in the way of walking trails or paths but it makes up for that with the lake. It is beautiful and expansive. For a reasonable rate you can rent paddle boats (C and D were not big fans of this... be ready for your leg work out!), canoes, kyaks, john boats, you name it! When the boy and I went out there we rented a canoe and paddled around the water for at least an hour.

Also, there are tons of birds! It would be a great place to do a little nature lesson with the kids or to highlight whatever science curriculum they are learning in school. 

In all its such a beautiful and relaxing atmosphere it's hard not to have a good time while your visiting.

Don't forget your sunscreen and have fun!

xxxo

ms. omi

Pullen Park

Alright, sorry to have been gone for so long but life has been busy around here. Today I want to talk about Pullen Park which reopened about six months ago.

IF you have kids the park is great. There is an awesome train ride that goes around the length of the park and takes about five minutes for the whole train ride. There are also kiddie boats (which are kind of lame...in my humble opinion). Both the rides only cost...$1! That is awesome and cheap. When I went with D I spent 10 on tickets and we rode the train four times and he did the boats two. Needless to say he had a blast.

Along with the trains the rest of the park is great! There are three playground areas for kids to run, climb, and slide on along with two sandboxes. And these aren't your everyday sandboxes... you can dig like your on a construction site and really make a good mountain of sand. They also have a little area in the sandboxes where you can play in a "house." When we went D and a few other kids were operating a pizza shop and slice was a low $30,000. Watch out Hermain Cain.

With the renovations Pullen Park has added a little cafe area that uses local food distributors. It was a nice touch to the end of the day. The food was pretty good and not too pricey.

Take your kids, play and have fun and wish for the nap on the car ride home. :)