Life doesn’t get any better than a day at the park with the girls.

Hanna: Good day Madame. How may I be your waitress?

Ah yes, the restaurant game. This is where I sit on the end of a sand-encrusted, wet slide and the girls dump more sand clumps, twigs, bark, dead weeds and grass clippings on my hands and any exposed skin in the name of imaginative, make believe restaurant play.

Ellie becomes distracted and heads towards the trees for some serious climbing and also to begin a series of complaints ranging from her fear of heights to prickly things scratching and/or poking her, to swarms of angry bees circling each and every branch she plans to make contact with. My favourite of course was when she approached, simulating some sort of sticky, tacky substance covering her skin.

Ellie: Do you have any water? I’m covered in maple syrup from that tree.

Hanna: Today’s specials are: cheesy broccoli with seafood medley for $1.99. Lemonade is $100 but free for Merfolk.

We really should cut the Merfolk a deal. Especially for a cold, summer drink. They must be exhausted from all of that swimming.

The simple pinecone is always a major player in any park visit. Today it was an intercom for ordering $100 beverages (no discount if I could not produce a colourful tail) and also a walkie talkie for those who had climbed a little too high up the maple syrup tree.

Ellie was excited when she saw our snack bag had a small container of Wheat Thin crackers.

Ellie: I love Weed Things! We don’t need to buy Weed Things anymore. We have tons of weed at our house.  We could make our own.

That last part was a little more mega-phoney than necessary (even if the megaphone was a pinecone) especially with the absence of that ever-so-important letter “s” on the end weed.

Next it was onto Croc Toss. The kids enjoy displaying their expertise at throwing things…anything. It could be the recently disposed of cheesy broccoli tray, pine cone or the baby’s crocs.

This game keeps them occupied and is fine until packing the car and realizing I’m short one baby’s shoe. I resign myself to the fact I may never see imitation cheesy broccoli again but an actual shoe, that, I’m going to need.

Me: Have you seen a croc?

Everyone looks around for an adult sized shoe despite the fact I am clearly wearing two sandals.

ME: No, no, it’s small, about the size of a Weed Thing.