Fun at the Kiddie Park

One of our new favorite places is the Kiddie Park in Bartlesville. Unfortunately, we didn't learn about it until their season was almost over, but we were able to visit twice before they closed for the year. Jackson and I went with Sara Delgado and her family first. It was so cute to watch Jackson and Sara's son, Finn, interact with each other. The Kiddie Park has a little bit of everything for kids of different ages - a train that goes around the park, small roller coasters, cars they can "drive", etc. And almost all of the rides are 25 cents!

Jackson's favorite ride was the horse-drawn carriage. He had so much fun pulling on the reins and saying "Giddy-up!". For his first ride, he said "Wow!" at least 1/2 the time through it. The look on his face was pure joy. By the end of the evening, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much just watching him have so much fun. The second day we went to the park, it was packed. Rather than each child getting to ride on the rides by themselves, they had to share with someone else that they didn't know. I didn't quite know how Jackson would react to that, but I think he had even more fun sitting with someone else. Jackson spent half the time just smiling and being friendly to the other kids.

Jackson and Finn also rode the boats together. Jackson looked to Finn a lot to see what he was doing. I was pretty nervous - I was afraid Jackson would stand up, crawl out of the boat and fall into the water! Thankfully, Finn was there to keep Jackson preoccupied.

We rode the train both times we were there. We got some great pics. Jackson liked waving to others from the train and yelled with excitement when going through the "tunnel". The cars on the train were definitely designed for little kids, though....it was funny watching Jackson push his way between Papa and Gramma to get his seat!

The carousel was not a hit, to my surprise. I thought Jackson would have liked riding on the horses, but I think this one was a little fast for him (and me!). The first time, he lasted about 1/4 of the way through and spent the rest of the ride in my arms. I thought of Dad quite a bit on this ride - even I was getting dizzy! When both Tom and I were riding with Jackson, he started to feel a little more comfortable - even to the point of waving to Papa and Gramma on the sidelines...which made me extremely nervous!

Jackson had so much fun at the park...and it wasn't just on the rides, either. Papa let Jackson have his first taste of popcorn, which he LOVED. And he took full advantage of the music playing over the loudspeakers to pass the time while waiting in the line. I'm a little worried....Jackson loves popcorn, dancing, singing, and shopping. I think Jackson takes after Johnnie more than me!