Re-visiting Castle Park

New Jersey's bad weather this year has forced everyone to stay indoors as much as possible. Winter storm warnings seem to be like a weekly event this year leaving no room to make plans for outdoor play.

Our visit to the Castle Park in the beginning of March left poor Gia sick for days. Now that she is fine mom and dad are taking turns falling ill.

Arrival of March gives a hope of sweet spring's light foot-steps knocking on our doors soon. And with this hope begins another year full of fun and adventure.

Won't you say Good-bye Winter ???

Winter Winter Go Away, Don't you stay another day,
This bitter cold makes me say,
Soon must you arrive dear Spring,
Gia and Friends can't wait to play !!!

We've waited enough for Cherry Blossoms to bloom,
For beautiful roses to open so we can smell their sweet perfume,
The soft touch of fresh cool breeze upon our cheeks,
Flight of bluebirds and buzzing of busy honey bees.

Oh Spring, As we desperately wait for you to show us your face,
Run, hop, jump and speed-up your pace.
Less than a week left for winter to say formal adeui,
Start spreading your wings to show us your scenic view.

Our second visit to the Popcorn park zoo

As promised, we were back to the Popcorn Park zoo with friends this time. Our family friends from Atlanta visited us this fall. Anika, their young daughter was excited at the mention of the zoo by Gia and so we decided to visit the zoo again.

Being hardly twenty-five minutes from our house this place was a hidden gem until we discovered it a few months back. We grabbed our bags and off we went.

Looking at the zoo's rescue animals always reminds me of the goodness of people who care for these abandoned / injured / sick animals. It is a lesson that we all can learn and surely teach our own children - The value of empathy !

The once rejected animals are now a source of joy for all who visit the zoo.

Clifford visits Gia's home

Hello everybody, I am Gia's friend Clifford.

Gia ! I can't wait to visit you this weekend. Whoa, I got to spend four days at Gia's house this week. Gia and grandma took me home from school on thursday. Oh, what a nice day it was. Gia introdoced me to everone in her house including her Pooh bear, Mickey and even the Snow-white. I was so glad to see them all. I also got to see the naughty bunny rabbit that lives close-by and eats all the vegetables that grandpa plants.

Gia loves dancing and singing so we danced in the evening and at night time Gia made my bed so I could sleep tight.

Next day I went to see Gia's friends - Alex and Robbie. We carved pumpkins together for Halloween. That night we wnet to eat out at Houlihan's. I loved the pasta and beans. The chocolate cake and vanilla ice-cream were so yummy.

Saturday morning Gia's mom made us some strawberry pancakes. Umm.. delicious ! We played all day and in the evening we had some guests over for dinner.

Sunday is grocery shopping day. We went to Bj's with Gia and mom. We got a lot of stuff for the whole week. Wow ! the entire trunk was full of goodies.

It's Monday today and I have to go back. Gia is sad that I have to leave but I promised her that I will be back again soon.

Halloween Parade at the Early Learning Center

Early Learning Center had a Halloween Costume party today for children during their regular school hours. Parents were asked to send their children wearing costumes that were reflective of happiness and safety rather than scary or gore.

A simple stroll down the costume aisle can get parents thinking about much more than which costume is the best bargain or which costume looks warm enough for trick-or-treating. From pretty princesses to sexy witches, from cute little pumpkins to bloody vampires, there’s more than what an eye can hold.

My toddler wanted to be a ballerina this year. Well, she almost thought she was when we dressed her up in the fairy costume. But even with regular reminders, she insisted and declared that she is not a fairy but a ballerina. We gladly muted ourselves and let her think so J.

A little make-up with a pink flower hair-clip and her cute lil magical wand, there she was – my fabulous fairy princess.

In the evening we went for Trick-or-Treating with our neighbourhood friends.

 

Castle Park, Toms River, NJ

The closest favorite outdoor park from our house is Castle Park. Gia enjoys herself to the peak whenever she visits the park. We are lucky as Ocean County is full of fun places and we have a huge selection of parks and beaches.

Castle park is a popular place with lots of kids on a weather-friendly day. There are great swings and lots of castle  structures.

Gia enjoys her ride on the horse-back swing and then proceeds to play at the slides. It's hard to keep at a track of time when you are at this place. Time just flies. As usual it's hard to get Gia out of this place. So we make promises of re-visiting it again :)  

Re-visiting Dorbrook Park

We got a chance to re-visit the Dorbrook park, this time to celebrate Milo's birthday. This place is a big hit for summer birthday parties. It is a wonderful sprayground. It has huge area and is always crowded since its so popular.

All kids at Milo’s party got their own buckets to play with. They just loved it. Laughing, giggling, running around, throwing water on each -other and having all the fun in the world.   

This is an amazing place where kids can stay entertained for hours. What more can a parent ask for !