Splashtastic Fun In The Sun

There is nothing better than seeing your child happy and hearing her laugh. The laughter and smiles didn't stop (along with some screams of delight) this week for my little one, mostly because we took her to not one but TWO local water spray parks.

First stop was to buy cute bathing suits and to buy baby sunscreen (SPF of 15 or higher, though we bought SPF 40 because her daddy is so white he's almost reflective).

Then we rode off to Bedford's Spring Brook Park. It costs $7 per person, that includes anyone above one years old, but it's well worth it.

At Springs Brook are public BBQ grills, a large filtered swimming hole with water slides, diving dock and sandy beaches, clean bathrooms, playground, a great spray park and more.

The water in the swimming hole was warmer than the ocean, but still cool enough to feel refreshing. And the water spray park was great for kids of any age.

My daughter is walking so all we had to do was follow her around to make sure she didn't run smack into older kids or on her face. We even saw younger, non-mobile, babies who were squealing with delight as their parents held them in front of tiny fountains of water bubbling up in front of them.

Another awesome water spray park we took my daughter to this weekend was the Lowell Shedd Park.

This park is free and totally rocks. The spray area has a number of contraptions that go off, but you never know which one will be next, so the kids are dying with happy anticipation. There are two lifeguards on duty to ensure no one gets too rowdy or hurt.

Next door is a covered, open-air, table area for parents to sit and watch their older child--but many parents of younger kids, like us, go inside the spray area.

There is also a huge playground and a few big open fields for kids to run around in. Even though there were a lot of elementary-school-aged kids in the spray area, everyone seems to be relatively cautious of the tiny ones toddling around.

Overall I highly recommend visiting either or both of these parks with your child/children--it's cheap family fun with a great splash of cooling relief from the summer heat.