The Best Day Ever (Two Days in a Row!)

We had the best week this week! In planning the last week of school, I never imagined how wonderful and fun all of the events would be. It was truly the best way to end a great year!

I'm going to talk about our East Park trip tonight, and I'll share our luau fun tomorrow.

First of all, I figured that the van trip was going to be a super exciting for the kiddos since we had never taken a trip like this before. Their faces were so happy and shiny as we headed out! The kiddos in my van were noticing all kinds of things on their way - everything from cows, to trains, to flowers - and these things kept them talking the whole way!

As soon as we got to the park, we piled out of the vans and had a quick snack.

Then it was off to play! If you have never been to the giant playground at East Park, you absolutely need to go sometime! When I lived in Mason City last year, I used to jog right past this playground and I always thought that it looked cool. Cool doesn't even begin to describe this park. There were so many towers and tunnels and obstacles for the kids to maneuver through that the kids would have been content to play forever, if we had let them.

Initially, the kiddos were mostly interested in the equipment - bouncing, balancing, running, swinging, climbing, etc. After a while though, there was some pretty cool dramatic play happening. I saw kids pretending to be in cages, to have magic powers, and to drive trains. It was also super cool to see the morning kiddos building relationships with the afternoon kiddos. It's amazing how my two groups really became one big group this week - I loved it!

After we played for over an hour, it was time for lunch. Lunch was a bit of a struggle, because of the crazy, crazy winds. We had milk and ranch everywhere from our blown-over cups and baggies. Everyone got their fill, though, and then we quickly reapplied sunscreen and headed back to the playground.

Finally, it was time for us to go home. The kiddos were covered in sweat, dirt, and chocolate milk, but they were still beaming. What a great day! On the trip home, we had a few sleepers, which made me smile. They played so hard!

Throughout the day, I heard a number of kiddos excitedly saying, "This is the best day ever!" That is music to a teacher's ears, let me tell you! Sharing this day with all of the children made my heart so stinkin' happy!