Big Machines

There was a fun little citizen appreciation fair tonight at the park across the street. It was a kick-off for the completion of the renovations that have been taking place over the past two years. Have I ever mentioned that I love living less than a block away from a park?? If I haven't already, I absolutely love how close we are to such a fantastic park! There's a playground, but also an open area along with walking trails. The outdoor water park is right there, too. Best of all, we live on a side street, so we don't even experience the traffic!

Anyway, back to tonight. The city put on this event and had hotdogs, chips, cookies and drinks for dinner-- my kids' favorite meal. Even better, the city invited different "big machines" for kids (both young and old) to explore!

The helicopter was the first thing we visited and was certainly the coolest thing of the evening.

Exploring the firetruck...

Playing around in the digger...

While I was snapping photos, Jackson ended up pushing the horn and it scare the you-know-what out of me!! Not just because it was loud and caught me off guard, but the thought of "oh dear, did my child just break this giant piece of machinery!?!?" went flying through my head.

The police motorcycle (Belle wasn't invited to participate in this photo because she hasn't mastered the skill of "not touching" and I didn't want to pay for the damages.)

The kids also got to climb in this ladder truck thing. We got to see a guy get in it and go way high, so Jackson wanted to go high too, but had to settle for ground level.

The city had this cute idea to have different concrete squares out for the kids to put their handprints and/or initials! The slats all had 2013 in the middle for the grand opening of the park. There wasn't much space left when we got there, so I just squeezed in their initials. 

It was fun evening! I think the kids would say that the coolest part was seeing the helicopter take off. And by kids, I mean Derek and I too. :)