The Rices

Living in the big city of Jackson has some gigantic advantages when it comes to entertaining a very mobile toddler. It makes me wonder how in the world I survived in small town Oxford and kept Clark even remotely happy. We were limited to one park that had a couple of swings and the playground at Chick Fil A and that is about it. But here in the boasting metropolis of Jackson, Mississippi, rarely does a day go by that our schedule is not jam packed with fun little activities for a dark shark tank. It also helps that he has lots of friends to hang out with and share these activities with.

This week we spent time at Shiloh Splash Pad in Brandon with my pal Amy and her 18 month old Jackson. Jackson and Clark go way back, as in, they hung out together in our bellies long before they were actually born. Does that make sense? Anyway, the Huwe family moved to Jackson from Oxford a couple of weeks after we did so we were able to easily pick up right where we left off.

Playing in water is literally Clark's favorite thing to do. Nothing makes him happier.

Besides the creepy kid lying on the ground for no apparent reason, I love this picture.

Fortunately for me, most of my friends from high school have migrated back to Jackson, so between them and my family (who is doing a fantastic job of making sure I don't go crazy while Aaron is studying), I am constantly surrounded by people who make me laugh. Yesterday, some of these friends and I along with all of our babies, who outnumbered the adults, met at Gattitown and had a fabulous time, as usual. We managed to keep the choas to a minimum and and I would even go so far as to say the kids even had a great time.

Clark playing an overly complicated game involving rubber duckies.

And Noah took charge on the dump truck ride.

And these are my friends.

Top: Nikki holding Barrett, Shea holding Will, Megan holding Noah

Bottom: Me holding an unhappy shark, Caroline holding Natalie and Whitley Claire.

So I'd like to give all my friends a big fist bump because they make our days much more adventurous and exciting than I ever would have imagined. And also a fist bump anyone else who provides entertainment to my Clark shark. Peace and love to you all.