Finally a play date!

Last week Friday, Brayden and I met our wonderful friends Heather and Rachel at the Gardens for an afternoon of fun. The weather was fortunately gorgeous and the kids had a blast. It also gave Heather and I a chance to catch up, at least for a little while. I originally met Heather through my work, but we also ended up in a birthing class together at the hospital when we were pregnant. Rachel was born in June, so she is a month older than Brayden. Rachel was Brayden's very first girlfriend - he likes older women you know! Having children the same age has really helped Heather and I bond and now I absolutely love her!




Heather brought Rachel's wagon for the kids to ride in, but they only lasted about 3 minutes. It was very handy to put the diaper bags and such in though. And it gave the kids something to fight about, because WHO pulls the wagon is a very important job that only one child can do...


The gardens were completely decorated for fall already. They had some HUGE pumpkins set out (which for some reason I didn't get a picture of - maybe Heather did if she ever updates her blog) but the kids loved these little "pumpkins". They played with them forever and probably would have stayed even longer if we had let them.


The Gardens have a fabulous play area for kids with lots of activities that our their size. This is the kids' door to the children's garden. Brayden loved being able to go in and out it.

These trees came up in the middle of the treehouse in the children's area. They were labeled with the type of tree that they were. The kids loved being able to touch all of the different types of bark on the trees.

I just thought that this picture of him was cute. Every time I see a picture of him, it blows my mind how big he is getting!

They have these pools of water set up in the shapes of the Great Lakes for the kids to play in. Brayden loved driving the boat around all the different lakes - maybe he is going to end up being a sailor?

And this is where my child really got into the water - literally. He loved trying to drink out of the fountain - looking back on it probably not the best idea. Luckily Heather had warned me that these fountains were around so I was prepared with a change of clothes.

We had a great time at Frederick Meijer Gardens and probably would have stayed much longer, but the place was closing (at 5:00 on a Friday, seriously) and they started kicking us out. It was a great playdate, until we got to the parking lot. Ms. Grace here had a hard time walking from Heather's van to her car and took a tumble over the parking curb and onto her knees. Almost pulled a Brittany Spears, except I managed to save Brayden completely. Just totally jacked myself up. But hey, that is what I get for being a klutz!