Wildwoods at the Whitewater Center

Another weekend flew by a little too fast but I hope you’re checking in today feeling rested and ready for the week ahead. Our weekend kicked off with soccer on Friday night which is how Friday nights will look for a while around here. Chase had his first game of the season and while they didn’t win, it was fun to get out and cheer for him on the soccer field again. After a not-so-great experience on a team a year or so ago, Chase took some time away from soccer but truly loves the sport, so we’re excited he was interested in playing again.

It ended up being a late night for our crew as we hung out a bit after the game with friends and grabbed Shake Shack for dinner 2.0 on our way home at 8:45 p.m. but the boys all shocked us by sleeping in a bit on Saturday (8 a.m.!!!) which was an unexpected surprise.

Wildwoods at The Whitewater Center

Our Saturday plans took us to the Whitewater Center, a spot we’ve visited a handful of times and yet whenever we return, we think to ourselves we need to visit more often because it’s just the coolest place.

(For anyone interested, you may check out my past posts about our Whitewater Center birthday date when Ryan and I went whitewater rafting and zip lining together or my post about our family visit to the Whitewater Center when my sister was in town.) 

We arrived at the Whitewater Center in the late morning and our main draw was Wildwoods, a new play area for kids that opened this summer. We heard great things about it and it certainly lived up to our expectations!

Things to do in Wildwoods

The boys wasted no time sprinting around play area, exploring and climbing all over the various playhouses, rope hammocks and swinging bridges.

Our boys were also obsessed with the balance bike trails and did a million laps around that thing! (We brought our own balance bike but didn’t need to as they had a bunch of bikes and helmets available to borrow. However, there was only one large-size balance bike so if you have bigger kids and have a big balance bike at home, I’d encourage you to bring it!)

(T-shirt: Old Navy / Leggings: lululemon / Hat: Nike / Shoes: New Balance / Bag: lululemon — the one I’ve raved about for years because the 5L size holds so much! I don’t see the large size on their site anymore but found a few resale here.) 

We eventually took a break for lunch and ate on some rocking chairs on a shaded porch before buying popsicles from the main cabin and walking across the suspension bridge to check out the rapids and explore more of the Whitewater Center.

Watching the various rafts and kayaks tackle the rapids was a big highlight for our crew and we’re hoping to get Chase out on a raft in the near future now that he’s old enough!

Obstacle Course

The boys were excited to try out some of the kid-friendly obstacle courses around the perimeter of the Whitewater Center and it was really cool to watch them challenge themselves and have a blast on the various courses.

The big kids were all about having Ryan time them and then attempting to beat the times of their first attempts on the courses.

Rhett wasn’t too far behind the big kids and made us laugh when he’d get to a trickier section and say, “I’m just gonna skip this part” and then run ahead. Way to know your limits, buddy!

Rhett is a fearless kid and an impressive little climber but the courses we visited are meant for kids 5 and up (and even still they’re very challenging in some parts)! This place is truly such a blast for kids and for the whole family, I’m telling you! For our boys, who love nothing more than being outside and exploring, it’s a dream.

We eventually made our way back to Wildwoods, thinking we’d head home but the boys requested more time on the balance bike trails and the Wildwoods play structures. Ryan and I were able to kick back and chat for a solid hour while the boys ran around together which felt like a treat and a whole new phase of parenting for us!

By the time we made it home, the boys were ready for some downtime and played around the house and in the yard while Ryan and I did some odds and ends and accomplished some house-related to-dos. Eventually we all showered and snuggled up on the couch for movie night, dinner and homemade oatmeal apple crisp with vanilla ice cream.

Sunday

Sunday was one of those wonderfully chill days. We eased into the morning with French toast before making it out to the 9:30 a.m. service at our church. On our way home, we popped into the grocery store and the pet store (Lucky needed crickets!) and then headed home for lunch, outside playtime and some food prep. It was mostly a hang around the house kind of day but he gorgeous weather called to us and we made it out to a local pond for some fishing in the early afternoon.

The boys caught a handful of catfish and sunnies and used their nets to catch and release smaller fish and a even a turtle, too!

Playground time consumed the rest of our afternoon before eventually it was time for showers and dinner. We also read a bit of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and our big kids are loving it. I recently bought the 16-book collection of Roald Dahl books for us to read together and we finished Matilda last week. It was a huge hit with Chase and Ryder and the books are fun and nostalgic for me to read, too. (A lot better than the boys’ beloved Press Start! books, I’ll just say that. Haha!) A quick note for other picky parents: I do change a few words here and there in Roald Dahl book when I read them aloud.

As for the week ahead, it should be a good one. A celebration for a friend’s birthday is on the agenda for today as well as all of the other usual weekday commitments and activities. I hope you all have a fantastic Monday and hopefully I’ll see ya back here on Wednesday! Enjoy your week!