There are two play areas, one for older kids and one for younger children.

Big Kid Play Area

This section is designed for ages 5-12 and features a tower-like play structure.

It has a large twisty tube slide, a shorter, but still fast set of slides and a variety of fun ways to climb.

It also has a fun spinny component.  My 5 year old was too short to hold the top wheel, but still enjoyed spinning on the base (I can verify holding the top and spinning your feet is also fun).

Other elements of the older play area include:

2 Regular Swings

 Curvy Balance Beam

Stationary Cycler

Unique Monkey Bars

I haven’t seen this before — there are two “handles” that slide across the bar. Instead of a ladder style, kids shift their weight to slide one handle, then the other, to traverse across the poles.

The play surface in this area is mostly mulch, but does have soft rubber surfacing in some areas, providing wheelchair accessibility.   Note that while this “big kid” area does have a fenced perimeter, it is NOT fully enclosed (there is no gate).

Little Kids Play Area (ages 2-5)

This area IS fully enclosed, complete with a childproof safety latch on the gate.  It features a small play structure, baby swings, play house, and white sandbox with water feature.

Play Structure

This play piece has a rock formation, small slide, musical panel and unique slide/climbing side.

Two Bucket/Baby Swings

Play House and Sand Area

The sand pit includes a water table.  Kids can push the knob to get water to come out and rotate the trays to get the water to flow to the different bowls.

The water feature is fun (kids love water), but none of the bowls currently has any kind of drainage hole and were full of standing water when we were there.   Some park workers were on site when we visited and I pointed this out to them, expressing my concern that it will lead to mosquitos and other problems.  It’s possible they will put in a fix in the near future.

Other Park Elements

Between the two play areas is a concrete surface with picnic tables, grills, and water fountain.  There is also a terraced picnic area above the retaining wall with more seating.

The previous shelter remains unchanged.  It’s not super attractive, but does provide the only shade in an otherwise extremely sunny playground.

Behind the pavilion is the existing bathhouse.  It is also dated, but the workers told me it is slated for renovation as well.  Old or not, having a bathroom on site is always a plus.

Along the Cameron St. side of the park, there is a lighted baseball field with bleachers and grassy open space.

Basketball Courts

There are two full-sized courts with lights, as well bleacher seating in the shade.

Apparently, there is also an amphitheater, but I didn’t notice it — I think it is done by the baseball diamond.

Overall, High View Park is quite lovely — the biggest detraction is the lack of shade.

Looking for more places to play? Check out my reviews of other Playgrounds, Parks, and Play Areas in Arlington and the greater Metro DC area.

High View Park (22207) is a post from: The Meanest Momma

May is flying by!  I had a lovely Mother’s Day and didn’t do a food-related thing all day — besides eat it!  Now I’m trying to get my menu thrown together so we have food to eat this week.  Here’s what’s happening.

Monday — Hearty Spaghetti Sauce over Baked Spaghetti Squash + salad.

Tuesday — Cod Fillets Adobo + asparagus
I’m using hakke loins I got from Costco and will use coconut oil instead of veg oil

Wednesday — Make It Up As You Go Chicken + Shrimp stir fry
Will incorporate veggies I have on hand and seasonings such as sesame oil, sesame seeds, fish oil, coconut aminos, etc.

Thursday — Marinated Tri-Tip Roast with Mushrooms and Garlic + green beans

Friday — tbd/cheat

Note: all meals are generally paleo/primal, except as noted otherwise.

My favorite sources for menu planning/recipe inspiration: Org Junkie, Chowstalker, and Pinterest.

Menu Plan Monday 5/13 is a post from: The Meanest Momma

The new playground equipment features a woodland theme, very similar to “Chessie’s Big Backyard” at Lee District park.  Not surprising, since the same company is behind both projects.

Similar to before, the playground has two play structures — one for older kids (ages 5-12) and one for younger kids (ages 2-5).

The larger/big kid structure looks like a tree fort and features two different slides.

My kids loved exploring all the ways to get to the top — from the cave-like entrance under the smaller slide, to scaling the outside of the tree, like a rock climber.  The porthole and addition of life-like animals peeking out in the tree were fun touches.

The smaller play structure is simpler — a shorter slide with a few different ways to climb up and space to play under.

In between the two play structures there is a hollow log and some toadstools.

The basketball court remains unchanged — it’s a good place to work on your jump shot or ride your big wheel.

There are still four swings at the park but they too have been given a woodsy update.   There are two regular swings, one baby/bucket swing, and one “chair swing”.

The chair swings are typically handicap-accessible swings, but it should be noted there is no safety strap or mechanism to keep a child contained, and the surface beneath is all mulch, which would be a hardship for wheelchairs.

The park retained the same small sandbox (with the same dirty sand), which kids still seem to enjoy.  Some of the picnic tables have been converted into whimsical toadstool  table tops and seats.

This park has always had an issue with drainage — it used be a swampy mess after a heavy rain.  I’m happy to see the city has taken some measures to address this — the play areas are on an elevated surface with mulch, and a rain garden has been added to one corner to give rain runoff a place to be re-absorbed.

Overall, we all enjoyed the park and found the new design to be a big improvement.  It was nice and shady on a sunny afternoon and there were plenty of benches in shady spots.  A water fountain and bathroom would make a big improvement, but for a small local neighborhood park, it makes for a nice little outing.

Looking for more places to play? Check out my reviews of other Playgrounds, Parks, and Play Areas in Arlington and the greater Metro DC area.

Lincoln Park (Falls Church, VA) – Rebooted is a post from: The Meanest Momma

Last week I did my menu plan but never got around to posting.  Hopefully this week I will get this menu up!  Here’s what we are eating this week:

Sunday (Cinco de Mayo!) – Chicken fajitas on lettuce wraps with guacamole and assorted toppings (tomatoes, Kerrygold cheese, etc.)
I use extra light olive oil in place of veg oil and coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.   I kept the worcestshire, even tho it’s not technically paleo.

Monday — Oven Baked Salmon + voltaggio asparagus

Tuesday – Balsamic Glazed Baked Pork Chops + pan roasted brussel sprouts w/bacon

Wednesday — High Pockets Chicken over zucchini noodles

Thursday — sloppy grokky joes + sweet potato fries

Friday — TBD

Note: all meals are generally paleo/primal, except as noted otherwise.

My favorite sources for menu planning/recipe inspiration: Org Junkie, Chowstalker, and Pinterest.

Menu Plan Monday 5/6 is a post from: The Meanest Momma

Here’s the paleo version of the yummy chicken kabobs — they are perfect for summer grilling!

Disclosure Statement: This post contains affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I receive a small referral fee at no cost to you.

Tutti Fruity Chicken Kabobs (Paleoified) is a post from: The Meanest Momma

I hope everyone enjoyed a lovely weekend.  I spent too much of it at my desk, taking care of bills and home office book-keeping.  Feels good to have made real progress.  Here’s this week’s menu:

Sunday — onion soup burgers on the grill + salad + steamed artichokes w/garlic butter sauce

Monday — Italian meatballs + sauce

Tuesday — Tutti Fruity Chicken Kabobs!
To keep these paleo, I use light olive oil, less honey, and coconut aminos instead of soy sauce

Wednesday — grilled salmon + asparagus

Thursday — honey dijon jalapeno chicken thighs + tbd vegetable

Friday — tbd/cheat day

Note: all meals are generally paleo/primal, except as noted otherwise.

My favorite sources for menu planning/recipe inspiration: Org Junkie, Chowstalker, and Pinterest.

Menu Plan Monday 4/21 is a post from: The Meanest Momma

Here’s this week’s plan:

Monday — grilled Delmonico steaks + Voltaggio Asparagus 

Tuesday — Chicken Souvlaki w/grilled veggies + Israeli salad

Wednesday — Chicken and Shrimp Tacos

Thursday — Italian Meatballs

Friday — stuff

Note: all meals are generally paleo/primal, except as noted otherwise.

My favorite sources for menu planning/recipe inspiration: Org Junkie, Chowstalker, and Pinterest.

Menu Plan Monday 4/15 is a post from: The Meanest Momma

I had this post ready to go on Sunday and never hit publish.  Doh!

We had a wonderful spring break and then took an extended break to hang with family that was in town — hence the lack of blogging.  This week we are “back to normal” and so, here’s the menu plan for the week.

Sunday — Italian Peppers & Sausage

Monday — High Pockets Paleo “Pasta”

Tuesday — Grilled Salmon + asparagus

Wednesday — Balsamic Pork Chops

Thursday — Grilled Steak with Chimichurri Sauce +  Israeli Salad

Friday — leftovers

Note: all meals are generally paleo/primal, except as noted otherwise.

My favorite sources for menu planning/recipe inspiration: Org Junkie, Chowstalker, and Pinterest.

Menu Plan Monday er Tues 4/9 is a post from: The Meanest Momma

Procedurally, they are handling crowds a bit different.  You are welcome to walk-in, but they also accept online reservations.    An online reservation requires payment upfront — which means you can’t take advantage of a social media deal (like Living Social) to reserve your time.  If you show up without a reservation, you may be told there is no space available until later in the day, which is a major bummer (this almost happened to us).

Another important note — the waiver is only good for one year.  I knew the drill (you need a waiver on file before you can check in) so I waited patiently in line, only to be told when I got the counter they couldn’t find mine in their system.  THEN I was told waivers have to be redone every year, which meant getting out of line, filling it out on their computers and then getting back in line.  I was not a happy camper (because this almost led to us being told they were now too full to accommodate us) so hopefully I can save someone else that aggravation.

The pre-jump process now includes watching a video where the rules are explained. Then the new jumpers are led to the tramp area where a referee re-iterates the rules.

Once we were turned loose in the tramp area, I realized the foam pit has been removed. I’m assuming this was for liability reasons — I heard someone got hurt on it sometime last year.

The area that used to have a pit at one end now has additional tramp pads and walls.  It does still have the two long rectangular tramp pads that kids had fun doing gymnastic tricks on.

While the foam pit has been subtracted, Rebounderz added a new area called Basketball Slam.

It features two basketball hoops with trampolines where kids can work on their slam dunk skills.  This area is monitored by an employee and the backboard can be raised or lowered to accommodate different heights.  My older kids had fun at this station and it provided a good option with the tramp areas got crowded.

My kids had a blast jumping, as always.

For my  crew, the pattern seems to be jump for ~5 minutes, then take a break for 10.

I don’t let my kids play the arcade games until our jump time is up, then I let them go crazy.   They had fun earning tickets and then spent forever agonizing over what trinket or candy they would buy with their winnings.

Even though we went at a peak time, it was never overly crowded.  There were a few moments where it seemed like every jump pad was occupied, but it never seemed to last long.  I’m glad the reservation process limits the overall volume (I just wish you could use deals with it).

Overall, aside from our bumpy start checking in, we had a great time.

For a more information, checkout my Rebounderz play space review.

Return to Rebounderz is a post from: The Meanest Momma

I thought I published this post last night, but I guess not.  Look what I woke up to!

Spring break is here … and it’s snowing?!?   I’m plan to keep busy doing fun stuff with the kids so I’m trying to not make my meals too complicated.  We’ll see how this goes, but here’s what’s on tap:

Sunday — Honey Jalapeno Chicken Thighs + Voltaggio Asparagus (had this last night… so GOOD).

Monday — Beef with Broccoli + Cauli Rice

Tuesday — Balsamic Pork Loin + Fried Baby Artichokes + salad
Use EVOO instead of canola for the pork loin.  I am SO excited to try this artichoke recipe!

Wednesday — Roasted Chicken + Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts w/Bacon

Thursday — tbd/leftovers

Friday — Paleo Italian Meatballs for a potluck at the gym

Note: all meals are generally paleo/primal, except as noted otherwise.

My favorite sources for menu planning/recipe inspiration: Org Junkie, Chowstalker, and Pinterest.

Menu Plan Monday 3/24 is a post from: The Meanest Momma