I kind of miss the old playground...

At Ft. Wainwright, we had two playgrounds right across the street from the house. The closest one, to the new digs, Colgate Park, is a 5-10 minute car ride away. The trade off (and I think it's worth it) is that Colgate is shaded and has a fence around it. Ellie (and Campbell any day now) can't really get too far. And it's darn nice to spend an afternoon playing while it's 75 degrees outside and shady. I know, 75 isn't that warm. I don't know if I'll be able to live in Texas again after summers in Alaska and Washington.

Campbell is a big fan of the swings. She thinks they're groovy. Ellie likes them too but since she's mobile, she gets bored and wants to go climb on the playground after a few minutes. But then in true toddler fashion, she's back to the swings. And then back to the playground. And then the swings. And then the playground... You get the idea. A little farther north is the Titlow City Park. This one has two playgrounds, a duck pond, a swimming pool and a large walking path. We went there the other day for a picnic but the train that runs right beside the park freaked Ellie out big time and we ended up going back to our regular haunt at Colgate.

I'm pretty sure that if we let Ellie, she'd live at the playground. Down on the Sound is a town called Steilacoom that has a really nice surf side beach park. We'd go more often but since we're not Steilacoom residents, we have to pay $5 to park. Ellie can see the playground whenever we drive by on the back way down to Ft. Lewis. And every time, she tells me that we "have to" stop. I noticed some free parking up the hill near the small downtown so maybe I'll break out the double stroller and take them soon. Ellie also thinks that whenever we pass Fred Meyer's (a local grocery chain) during lunch or dinner time that "have to" stop in for their Macaroni and Cheese from the deli. I got in the habit when we were grocery shopping in Fairbanks to hit Fred's once a week during lunch time and we'd stop in the deli and get food. And now, Ellie only wants to eat it there. She doesn't want to get it to go. We have to eat it RIGHT NOW!!! Of course, I don't really object. They have better than average corn dogs in the deli too.

Tomorrow, we're going to hit one of the Tacoma Farmer's Markets. There are probably eight or nine Farmer's Markets within 12-15 miles of our house. I found a website listing some of the ones throughout Washington state. There are almost 125 statewide. Granted some of those are over in Spokane or north of Seattle. But compared the Fairbanks one, we should be able to get a much bigger selection of fruits, veggies, bread, etc. I will say one thing about the Fairbanks Farmer's Market... There was a woman there who sold the best English Cucumbers I've ever tasted. And Ellie definitely concurs. Puyallup supposedly has a nice one as well that takes place in downtown. We'll swing by there on Saturday to check it out.

Campbell is still just using her arms and legs to kind of "Army crawl" but dang if she isn't fast at it. We're starting to think she's going to walk before she ever really crawls. She's pulling herself up on things quite a bit. The other morning, I went in to get her and she was standing there holding on to the inside of the crib. We might need a crib canopy to prevent a jail break. Ellie thinks that Campbell is the perfect size to lay on. For the most part, Campbell doesn't mind. It's just when Ellie wants Campbell to give her a horsey ride that things get a little out of control. They get along really well though. When Campbell starts getting fussy in the car, Ellie is very helpful in trying to get her relaxed. They love to laugh and giggle together. I'm pretty sure that they are going to be ganging up on me very soon.