A Park Picnic and Quiet Time {for me}

It's been very sunny around these parts ... so whenever we get the chance we venture out to a park. Sometimes we have a hard time deciding which park to go to given that there's so many cool parks around here ... and not to mention the many more parks that we have yet to discover for ourselves.

We decided to go back to Luther Burbank Beach Park on Mercer Island. We've been here once before and we loved it for several reasons but mostly because it's quite secluded. I doubt this park is visited by many tourists.

Anyway, last time we had bought food and ate it here but this time we packed a lunch. I brought blankets so we can sit on them on top of the grass. I don't like sitting directly on the grass. Whenever grass makes contact with my skin it gets irritated and itchy plus, I would hate to be sitting on a worm ... let alone touch one by accident, gross!

We made ourselves some delicious sandwiches and pasta salads, also brought fruit and nuts. Most of us were hungry but apparently Riley was not. He became upset when we told him that we were going to eat first. Obviously he had other plans in mind. He didn't even eat his sandwich. He was very grumpy at first.

We often try to give Riley a taste of our food ... like Jacob's pasta salad. And it's usually rejected. Hopefully one day he'll give something new a try and hopefully he'll like it.

I really enjoyed my lunch. It was delicious and I can't wait to pack a lunch again next time we're out in the sun for the day.

Once we were done eating Jacob, Riley and I walked over to the playground. He was happy as can be.

It is amazing to me how easy it is for Riley to talk to other people and begin to play with kids as if he's known them for a while. Unfortunately, talking to people doesn't come easy for me. It could be mainly because I'm timid. He definitely got that trait from his father ... but it also could get him in trouble once he starts school because he just doesn't know when to stop talking, lol.

After being at the playground for a while we walked down to the water. There was quite a few people out on the water. Must be so nice to walk out to your backyard and decide you want to kayak or paddle board for the afternoon.

We ran into Sydna.

Before leaving I went back to our picnic spot and read a few pages of my Joyce Meyer devotional. Reading scripture out in nature is to me more fulfilling. Plus, what better way of enjoying an outing when you can also feed your soul at the same time? Have you ever thought of that when you're out and about? I certainly have and I constantly make it a point to notice the things around me that make me happy. Especially when I'm having a challenging day ... noticing things I like helps me to forget my trials therefore changes my way of thinking giving me better clarity.

As usual and no mater how long we stay at a park, this little guy will cry half the time because he doesn't want to leave.

In order for me to be the best that I can be I have to be intentional about being sure I include rest in every day. I need to be rested, restored and re-inspired so I can continue to keep going with a positive mindset.

A Gem Of A Park

I love finding new places ... but it's especially neat knowing that a new place will turn into your families favorite places to visit. Creating new memories then it becomes tradition. This happens to us from time to time. For example, we already have our favorite Farmers Market spot, we have a favorite hang out place to watch the sunset,  we love to go on a ferry ride, we have a favorite apple picking and corn and  pumpkin farm ... and now we have a new favorite park. We've been to several parks that we really like and I'm glad we get to add another one to that list because I love variety! I guess you can say I have a favorite park for every mood I may be in, lol.

I had told Jacob that I wanted to go somewhere North of where we live and had him look for a park that had a nice playground for Riley.
The park he found is between Seattle and Bellevue. It's a 77 acre park along the shores of Lake Washington situated on the northern tip of Mercer Island. We had driven through Mercer Island before but never actually explored the area. As soon as he exited the freeway I could tell that it was a nice area. The park is only a few blocks from the freeway so it was quite easy to find.

Before we got to the park we first made a stop at Heaven Sent. It's a fried chicken mom and pops place close to Jacobs work. First, let me just say that anyone that knows Jacob knows that he likes to eat and try new foods. His love for food is no secret ... so one day a {guy} friend from work had gone to Heaven Sent and brought Jacob back a piece of chicken. Jacob ate it and said it is the best fried chicken he had eaten. It's got some heat to it but not too spicy. So, he got our meal and then we headed to the park.

Jacob didn't work on Tuesday, he used a vacation day so when we arrived at the park it was nice to see that there weren't many cars in the parking lot. As we began walking I noticed how aesthetically beautiful this park is. Plus, I could see water! I remember saying, "oh my gosh, this is such a nice park!" several times during our time here.

It was lunch time so after spotting a bench we sat down and ate this "delicious" fried chicken meal. Jacob did stress that he hadn't tried their side dishes so he didn't know if they were good. For my sides, I chose corn and mash potato with gravy. I first tasted the corn. It was yellow corn and I just didn't like the flavor. The mash potato was fine but nothing extraordinary. Then I had a bite of my chicken breast. I coughed. I know Jacob said that it had some heat to it and boy did it! I'm just surprised he didn't think it was spicy. If I made my fried chicken the same way -he would definitely think that it was spicy. Besides, I don't like the crunchy fried chicken. At KFC I always get the original recipe.
The chicken was fine ... aside from the heat it was well seasoned and moist, so I ate the entire piece. I did tell Jacob that next time we'll stop by KFC to pick up mash potato and gravy, corn on the cob and biscuits but that we can get the chicken at Heaven Sent as long as I get the original style. Jacob got a side of potato salad and I thought it was good. I'm usually extremely picky when it comes to others potato salad. I can't stand a sweet potato salad and this one was NOT sweet. It was good!
The kids had the same opinion as mine. Jacob was a bit shocked that I didn't think the chicken was the bomb. lol.

And, when it comes to Riley and food well, you know the drill. No meat, so I made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, brought yogurt and chocolate chips and string cheese ... oh, and his water. He just sat there looking cool while enjoying his food. He was such a good boy!

The grass everywhere is full of little flowers. Riley was picking some up, saying how cute they were. He handed me a few to keep.

We walked for a bit ... exploring the area.

Then we came upon this opening. Riley began to throw some rocks in the water and one landed on Nathan's head. Oops! I had to walk away because that made me laugh. Then Jacob said it was time to go. Riley was getting a little too liberal with his rock throwing. Lol.

Sydna had texted me that she was right by the water so we headed over to the docks.

I caught Nathan rubbing the side of his head where the rock hit him. Poor boy. Good thing he didn't end up getting a goose egg.

We could have stayed at the dock for a couple more hours. It was very relaxing just taking in the pretty view and admiring all the gorgeous houses that sat on HUGE grassy properties. Some of them even had boats/yachts right off their backyard. How cool is that?! Sort of reminded me of Coronado {back home}.

These ducks came swimming by us.

Nathan was feeding them a piece of tortilla that someone had left behind.

After a while we walked over to the playground. We had to walk up a steep hill that kind of wore me out. Jacob had to push on my back a little to make it to the top without stopping to rest, lol.

Jacob sometimes makes me cringe when it comes to Riley. It was our first time visiting this park and he wanted to have Riley go down this slide all by himself. I told him he was crazy and that he better not let him go on it all by himself. So he went down the slide with him. That's better.

There was also a zip line and again he wanted Riley to just do this by himself, without him behind him just in case Riley happened to fall off. I've seen this happen a few times on zip lines and the kid{s} have gotten badly hurt. I didn't want that to happen to my child so I gave Jacob "that look" to let him know that I didn't think that was a good idea. Glad he can read me pretty good. Smart man.

I used to love going on merry-go-rounds when I was a kid. This park had one. Sydna had her foot behind this little girl so she wouldn't fall backwards. My kids are so considerate to others ... isn't that nice. And Riley seems to be holding on for dear life and this thing was barely moving, lol. Silly kid.

After about twenty minutes I went in search for shade. The sun was out in full force. Besides, I had gotten well over my vitamin D intake requirement for the day. All I cared about was finding a tree. I have several reasons why I love trees but my number one reason is for shade.

Next time we visit I want to hang out by the water. Apparently there's a swimming beach near the South parking lot.
Kudos to Jacob for finding this awesome park. Truly a gem and one that we will visit often I'm sure.