Lily and a couple of blond boys in Wonderland. And a blogger comeback!

On the former, I recently (LOL, October?) discovered a land of pure imagination that was home to neither Oompa Loompas nor white rabbits. Lily and I met up with Kim and her son, Quinn, and Tasha with her childrens, Beckett and Maisy at the Children's Garden in Sarasota. (Check out Kim's blog for life as a mommy and book and make-up reviews, and see Tasha's blog if you like food that tastes good and is actually healthy. Those are links, in case you can't tel because I don't know how to format well.)

Whoever thought up this place honestly understands the psyche of the 3 to 5 year old. Pretend, pretend, pretend. Pretend dragon, pretend "mountain" of multi-colored tires.

Pretend pirate ship, pretend houses, and pretend character.

I would say that a place like this might cater to the interests of preschool girls (generally speaking, of course).  But using my anecdotal evidence and entirely gender-stereotyping, with  the excitement girls have for princess and castle stuff, and the way boys tend to gravitate toward sporting events, ships and cars, and, yes, pirate ships, there really was something for everyone.

First, the boys took the ship. They let the girl come on, too, though.
Beckett had total control of the tree-house thing.

And then there was the stage. Lily shares a stage with no.one. She is the star, always. Though she will exit stage right to allow the boys to play too. But never to steal her limelight.
At some point (probably before the stage, but I can't be historically accurate so many months later), they discovered the rope swing. Over hay! How lovely for helicopter parents like me. I wish I could have gotten better pics of the boys, especially here, but as I told their mamas, trying to get a shot of young boys at play is much like trying to thread a needle on a roller coaster while someone keeps turning the light on and off. But all three of them, and the extra with a bad haircut, exceeded expectations with both their Donkey Kong skills and also taking turns.
The Garden had a number of houses to claim. The one that looked like an outhouse was the boys' favorite.
And then there was the baby. Little Maisy and her mama were nearly chill enough to make me think that more than one kid might not be entirely impossible. Key word: nearly.

Outside of the garden, there was the dress up area. Beckett was both magician and train conductor.
Yes, she was a princess. Is there anything else?
Quinn put on a cowboy hat and found the casas de three little pigs. Too bad the pigs had rusty eyes that made them more than a little creepy. But never-mind that. Preschoolers don't see that. Just a pig on a farm.
Still a princess, though she actually allowed her mamarazzi to take a few pics. But how cool is this giant chair? I could've put the whole bunch of them up here, if only I had some valium. (Oh relax, it was just a joke. Though I imagine it would be required.)
Giant chair followed by Trojan horse.
And the princess was done with the camera.

 

We had a blast at the Sarasota Children's Garden. (Click on that for the link.) So much imagination and fun for kids and parents. I also love that it's one of those small, local businesses that need a lot more help staying alive than Disney or Busch Gardens. Though I love those places, too, and have no intention of trying to replace them. But dollar to imagination, dollar to thinking and learning, and dollar to memory made, this place has them beat. Just my humble opinion. :-)

And, on the latter, I do have lots of pics and lots of stories I want to tell, I think I'm back in the game and ready to get caught up. If you're here, thanks for your patience.

We all have our slumps, no? The real challenge is to pull oneself out of it. I'm trying.