Croquet in the Park

Aleutia, Melissa, and Cole have a yearly get together in the park to play Croquet, everyone even dresses up in there fancy whites (at least those of us who have white cloths)So of course Holly was sporting white tights and hat with a button down fancy top and a splash of color with a plaid purple skirt.She was super excited about croquet, at least the part where she got to wield a large mallet.Her and Cole decided to help us set up the course putting together the Mallets and carrying around the heavy balls.True to her nature, Holly decided to climb right into the croquet set container and sit and play with all the items.Joining us with his cute little hat was Bodie. The kids were actually very careful with the mallets and balls and had a lot of fun carrying them all around in the grass.Almost as if wielding a sword, or even a light saber. I suppose it may have been more responsible not to let our kids wield large sticks, but they were having so much fun.In the mean time, us parents were enjoying the sun on a blanket sipping wine and eating cheese and crackers and other various yummy snacks, there was some really good salami.It was a bit of a pot luck so some of the guests brought fruit, there were yummy breads and even a few deserts.Two different kids of brownies, very yummy. Once we were done snacking a few of the grown-up started to set up a course to play.It was almost futile though because as soon as one of the goals were placed in the ground one of the little ones would run and pull it up.They were good at swinging the poles, and tossing the balls, but none of the little ones had the force to actually knock the ball and send it off.Here little Holly is thinking about juggling, the balls were really heavy it was amazing that they could carry them around so easily.Each match had 6 players. Joel was in the first match. Holly took a break from running and playing in the grass to eat a snack, but she was off and running with it.The match wasn't going so well as it wasn't easy playing around three curious tots, and it was worse when they found there way not only to move the goals but pick up the balls.All of that running around brought everyone back to the blanket for snacks often, and it was fun to watch everyone play, and we had great conversations.Here is little miss trying to get away with the cheese board, anything she could get her cute little hands into.Here she is contemplating a cracker and searching for her next target. It is amazing how good grown up finger food is for toddler snacks, there was a lot she could eat.Here she is snacking on some bread, it was great watching her eat like a grown up, mostly here eating is good, but she is still really picky about food, so I always worry about her chewing.Before long Holly found the bubbles, Aleutia brought them to help entertain the wee ones while the grown-up were having there own fun.But it didn't distract her for too long, before we knew it she was off and she had a goal in mind. Literally.

Joel was doing really well in the first match and was winning the first half of the game.He was playing against Laura, Bodie's mom and Melissa, and two other people that were friends of Aleutia's.But the lawn wasn't the best playing field because it was uneven and near the last few goals the grass was high so it was much harder to make good shots.We took many breaks so the kids could play in our field, but the game was going on forever.Eventually the spouses requested that their counterparts keep a closer eye on the little hooligans and keep them in the picnic area.Rather then the middle of the playing field. Holly was happy to oblige, as there were plenty of other things she could get in the middle of right there.Here is Daddy contemplating his big victory, alas his lead was short lived and his game took a turn for the worse.Mellisa ended up winning the first match, she was super excited. Before round two the grown ups decided to move the field to more even ground to make it all a little easier.By this time Cole was just going down for a nap and Brody was getting ready to head out for the afternoon.So Holly had her sights on something bigger, I mean we did take her out of the Croquet game. Half way across the large field and a baseball diamond was a cute little park, and she ran all the way there on her own.She must have seen the swings from leagues away. She ran all the way to the baseball field and then turned to look for me. I followed and she went around the fence and into the park as I watched.She ended up patiently waiting at the swing for me to catch up and give her a push.There were two main large play structures and a few smaller ones. There was also a cool sandbox. She had fun exploring everything in the park, but eventually we had to head back to the group.She must have ran back over to the park four times or more. Since neither of us ended up playing in match two we took turns chasing after her, and went the last time together.A few more friends arrived bringing these really cool hoops, and Laura, Bodie and Hubby had to head home. They had an awesome little bike carrier, Bodie looked all comfy.I suppose I really should rate the park, Holly did spend a fair bit of time in it. I intended too originally, but it has been a while since we attended this event and I remember less about the park then the good food and conversation.I will have to schedule a play date to go back and pay better attention, it did have several fun slides, swings and climbing structures, and we even ran into some other mom and baby friends from my mother's group. All in all it was a wonderful day.