My friend Jenny, who lives in the West Loop, invited me over to her hood to play this afternoon.

We checked out Skinner Park. I was amazed how cool it was, and once again it made me wonder why I don’t spend more time being adventurous in checking out all the parks the city has to offer.

It has a three pronged water sprayer, soft surface, lots of green area around the playground to run in, sandbox, swings, a couple of play structures, and some other interesting features like the Dragon below.

Half my Kids Sleep Through the Park Visit

Unfortunately Ben completely missed it. Perhaps one reason we don’t check out other parks outside of our neighborhood, especially in the afternoon, is that you risk one kid or another falling asleep before you get there.

Ben passed out 10 minutes before we arrived. Of course we didn’t pack his umbrella stroller. So I carried his heavy, 30 pound body into the park. Kristen laid a blanket down and I put him on it. He slept until I picked him up to leave.

Today I learned that afternoon play dates, now that I have 4 kids, are very difficult to do. The twins have started a night time ritual that starts around 5. We rushed through it tonight and by 7pm I was bathing Ben, showering Jack and still holding Aaron. I still hadn’t managed to bath Aaron, eat dinner, cook as healthy as I’d like for the kids, unpack our things or start the laundry.

Luckily just as Kristen was packing up to go, Adam walked in. I was able to pass Aaron off to him for his bath and jump in the shower with Jack to clean myself as well.

But it was definitely worth the drive to see this great new park. Maybe next time I’ll do it in the morning…

Dragon made out of shapes of Fruits and Vegetables