Park # 4, Mahany Park 03.31.16

Cooper and I haven't been to this park in years.  Last time we were here he wasn't even walking.  I remember it being pretty nice and thought it would be a good one to knock off of our list.

Mahany Park is GREAT!!!  There are 3 different areas for different age groups.  All the areas are nature themed and have bugs and tree trunks to jump on.  There are little areas you can press buttons and you will hear frogs and other animals.  Not only is there a play area for the kids but there is also batting cages, baseball fields, tennis courts and a lot of open space for running! 

Mom's Review:  I really like this park.  Today while we were playing we had a lot of shaded area in the bigger kids playground.   I love that the parks ground is the padded stuff.  The area for the smaller kids is all fenced in which is nice for kids who like to escape.  The only thing that I didn't like at this park was the water/sand castle thing that is in the smaller kids playground, it smells really bad kind of like cat pee.  But other than that I have no complaints and I think this park is awesome.

Coop's Review: I loved everything at this park!!! I liked climbing up the rocks and getting to the slides.  I liked jumping from log to log.   I played on both sides of the park and they were both fun but the big kid side was my favorite.  I wish they had monkey bars but I had a lot of fun still.

This park was a lot of fun and Cooper is already asking to go back and we have only been home for an hour.

Walking into the park Coop went straight for this

First picture before getting to play.  Older kids play structure.

We loved the theme of this park.

Cooper was so excited he was able to climb up this all on his own.

Cooper getting ready to try out the smaller kids part of the park.

Park # 3, Hillsborough Park 03.25.16

We started our day going to Bass Pro Shop to get our pictures with the Easter Bunny.  There was a two hour wait so we ended up going to Hillsborough Park and than going back after once the line died down.

Hillsborough Park is definitely one that is going to be one of our regular parks to visit.  Cooper is really into Jake and the Neverland Pirates right now so when we drove up and he saw the pirate ship he was so ready to be out of the car and start exploring.   It had two playgrounds and a nice covered picnic area.  There was a huge soccer field that we spent 30 minutes running around in.  There were swings, slides, and a lot of fun climbing structures.

Mom's Review:  I liked the pirate ship and Cooper spent a lot of time playing on it.  I didn't like that it was in sand.  It's just messier than I like, but still fun for Cooper so I can't complain. The other part of park was a little challenging for Cooper and he had to climb alot.  There is tons of nets to climb up and open spaces so a little scary for younger kids.  There are a lot of shade trees all around the park but none shade  the play area.  The bathrooms are nice and decently clean for a park.

Coop's Review:  I loved the binoculars on the pirate ship.  I pretended I was the captain and we were going to crash.  I like playing in the sand but my mom doesn't like all the sand in her car.  I liked swinging on the monkey bars.  It made me really tired but I loved it.  I didn't like the baby slide.  It was too small for me and not very fun.

Cute little Pirate Ship

Main Park

Walking on the Plank

The net you climb to get to the slide

Monkey Bars

Park # 2, Diamond Oaks Park 03.24.16

Our second park is one of our favorites and we have been going to it for a few years.  We were having a lazy day and decided around 4:30 that we should get one of the parks off of our list.

Diamond Oaks is a huge park with a large play structure with tall slides.  Cooper calls it the big slide park.  It has a nice shaded picnic area for the parents to sit around and watch the kids play.  There is a baseball field and a lot of open space for running and ball throwing. There is a basketball court where kids like to ride their scooters.

Mom's Review:  I love all the shade this park has.  I can stand anywhere and be in shade while watching Cooper play.   The slides are so big and Cooper can be entertained for hours. There is so much open space to run and kick the soccer ball around.  My only complaint is there is no bathroom, they have a porta potty but it's nasty and Cooper refuses to use it.

Coop's Review:  I love the two trees that are easy to climb.  My mom has to help me get up, but than I just sit and look around. I like all the big slides and climbing to the top.  I really like going down the fireman pole.  The one thing I really don't like is the climbing wall.  It's scary and soooooo high.  I like that there is a water fountain.  I run a lot and I get thirsty.

Diamond Oaks Park

Cooper getting ready to go down the big slide

Huge open space to run and play

Coop's favorite part of the park.  The fireman pole

Coop's least favorite part of the park

So it Begins... Park # 1, Olympus Park 03.18.16

This blog started with my 4 year son Cooper and I sitting around talking about how nice the weather was and what we should do this year.  We talked and laughed and came up with the idea to see how many parks we could visit and explore in a year.  I got on google and yelp and started searching for parks in our area. I was able to go through and find 73 parks that looked like they would be a blast to visit.  So now here we are with a list of 73 parks that we are going to explore and tell you our favorite and not so favorite things about each one. 


So the first park we started with was Olympus Park.   This is a cute little Dinosaur themed park.  Cooper and I woke up early and packed a lunch and got ready to start our first park adventure and he was so excited.  We drove up to see a huge  pterodactyl flying over the playground,  we also saw a huge dinosaur head over one of the smaller slides, and giant dinosaur bones buried in the ground.  We got out of the car and he went running straight to the dinosaur bones to start climbing.  There are 2 pretty big playgrounds.  One side had slides and a lot of climbing structures and the other side had swings and a giant dinosaur play structure to climb on  and another little riding dinosaur. 


Mom's Review:  I really liked how many benches there were all around the park.  It was really shaded and well maintained.  The restrooms were clean which is a plus when you are at a park for 2 plus hours.  I feel this  park is designed more for older kids.   I needed to really walk around and keep an eye on Cooper.  There are a lot of open spaces that little ones could fall through and to get to the main slide you have to climb up a pretty tall ladder.  A lot of the climbing structures are really tall and I would have to give him a little boost to get him on them. 

Coop's Review:  The main slide was really scary because I had to climb up a tall ladder to get to it.  My mom would have to stand behind me and make sure I didn't slip.  Once I got to the top the slide was so fun and it was my favorite.  There were lots of kids to play with and I was able to find a lot of hiding places while playing tag.  My favorite part of the park was the jeep.  I climbed in and would jump off of it, and I used my imagination to drive it and chase dinosaurs. The only thing I didn't like at the park were the baby swings.  I'm too big for them and my mom said that I would get stuck if I got in it. 

We had an awesome time here and we stayed and played for hours.  We will definitely be coming back to this park. 

Olympus Park

Fun bones to climb on

Cooper kept coming to this jeep to play

Tall ladder to get to the slide