Blast at Blairtown!

Blairtown Park is by far the best park around in the summertime.  Kid appeal: It has a kiddie pool (one of the only outdoor pools within about 60 miles) which is about 3 feet deep at its deepest end, with a gently sloped slide that runs the entire width of the pool, so that multiple kids can slide at the same time.  It is perfect for my kids.  It's also nice when you're really hot and you just want to sit in the shallow end, which is just a few inches deep.  Teenager appeal: It is located at the bottom of a large hill, which is covered in grass--awesome for ice blocking in the summer or sledding in the winter.  Adult appeal: it has the best zipline EVER, which provides tons of fun for all ages.  We went there as a family on Saturday and it was a blast!

Slide time!

Check out that face.

Evie LOVED the slide.  At first, she wanted Mom to go with her, but after her first solo run, she couldn't get enough and I was standing at the base of the slide for quite a while, catching her, helping her to the side, and catching her again.

Cousins Ashlynn and Trenten also played with us.

Fun in the sun!

Claire warming up on the cement.

 The Zipline: Hallie loved the zipline the most and once she got going on it, she didn't want to stop.  I stayed up on the platform to help her get on and give her a push, and Rob was the rope man.  He towed the zipline rope back up to the platform after each ride.  Claire was very leery of the height and having to hold on to the rope all by herself.  After a little persuasion and watching Hallie do it several times, she decided to give it a try.  She did great and by the time we left the park, she loved the zipline as much as Hallie. 

Giving Hallie a running start

I rode it with Claire once, and once by myself.  It's still fun, but a lot of the tension has been let out of the cables since we were kids, so you don't go quite as fast anymore.  Which was fine with me!

Ben and Evie hanging out while the rest of us did the zipline.

Helping a very nervous Claire get on the rope.

It was great to get a good family outing in before summer is over and hunting season begins. We had a blast!