Picnic Get-Together and Catch Up with Friends

We had a wonderful time this Saturday catching up with friends from a Bible study that we were a part of for years and years. In fact, it was started back in the day when Dan was a co-op student, and being active in that Bible study is how I got to know Dan. We hadn't seen a couple of the families in many months. We used to meet regularly, but that became difficult as more and more kids were born- though it is neat and so much fun that the kids are all so close in age. They had a blast playing together at a local park. This park was perfect for the kids, as it had a preschool section that was fenced off with all sorts of playground equipment, as well as a much larger area for older kids. Many of the pieces of playground equipment were throw backs to our past: a merry-go-round (think spinning in circles so fast that you nearly fly off), lots of monkey bars, and an enormous barrel that rotated (like a hamster wheel for people). Instead of tearing down and replacing old playground equipment, it appears that this park just kept adding on.
A favorite of all of the kids was an area where you could play with gravel (sift it, push it down chutes that emptied out to the ground, etc.) Ethan enjoyed that area for a long time. He also loved the swings, giant hamster wheel, and a rotating tire swing (see video footage). We all enjoyed a picnic lunch together and were able to spend some time catching up on each other's lives. We'll definitely have to plan these events more often!

Kara and Ethan playing with gravel

The "playing with gravel" area was a popular place! Kara, Ethan, Elise, Danny, Caelyn, and Lori

Sending gravel down the chute

Doug and Dan
Melissa, Tiffany, Brenda, and LoriEthan crawling through tubes
Lori and Caelyn were powering the giant "hamster wheel" while

Elise and Ethan were along for the ride