Our First PLANNED Outing

Guerber Park

So after 6 weeks of summer, I think I finally have a plan. We can no longer sleep in, have a slow breakfast, do our chores, wait for the baby to wake from her morning nap, and then go somewhere or do something. What happens afterwards is complete chaos.

Usually by the time we're in the car at 1:00 with sunscreen and stroller in tow, my toddler has a meltdown because he's tired and needs a nap. My sweet little boy has turned into a monster. I make excuses for him when it really is my fault. I shouldn't be dragging him somewhere "fun" when he should be in bed asleep.

So why not just stay home, inside, where it's cool? Yeah, I'd like to know that too. i guess it's the argument from the eight year old who insists that we "can't just stay home all day." Sooner or later we end up venturing out of the house with our fingers crossed. But things rarely go well and I'm ultimately frustrated by the situation.

So after weeks of this, I decided to get my butt in gear and try and get out of the house by 10 am. Last night I made my first plan. The Reel Theatre was showing Horton Hears a Who for a dollar at 10 am. So this morning I got up before the kids, showered, and then headed to the computer where I was met by my daughter who informed me that Horton Hears a Who is a "baby" movie. So much for that. So now I had to figure out plan B. With my daughter's help, we decided to go to McDonald's for breakfast and then try a new park. I looked up the park's address and then typed it into Yahoo maps. It'd looked easy enough to find.

You'd think after living here for 32 years I would know where I'm going. I guess it helps when you put the right city into Yahoo maps. We drove to 2200 Hill Rd in Boise but found a house that looked nothing like a park. After realizing my error, we drove the 10 miles down Hill Rd to the city of Eagle (which in the past never

connected to Eagle, but now does, thanks to the "Hill Rd Parkway"--when was that constructed?) where we found the correct 2200 Hill Rd. I felt like a Rookie. (Ahh. I don't like that feeling. I'm supposed to be the expert on this town.

We were glad we stuck with it. Guerber Park is really cool. It's a lot like Settler's Park and Merrill's Park, but a lot less crowded. There's picnic tables with covered shelters, great bathrooms, pop up fountains, water buckets, swings, and wheelchair accessible playgrounds, and fake rocks to climb. My kids loved the playground and the fountains. We had a great time and even made some new friends.

We give it four out of four stars.

Things I need to bring--DVD for the car ride, hat for the baby, sunscreen, swimsuits, towels, plastic cups for fountains, picnic blanket, stroller, water bottles, and snacks.