GILBERT, ARIZONA KIDS GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY!

GILBERT, ARIZONA KIDS GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY! Did your parents ever tell you “go outside and play kids?” Funny, when I was younger we didn’t watch TV all the time or have video games to play. My greatest memories today are playing in the neighborhood. I will forever cherish those days. No worries of whose turn it was to watch what they wanted or who goes first on the XBOX. I will confess, these are the words and discussions of my own children at home sometimes.

The other side of that is parents are so busy with having to have two incomes in the home and some parents work two jobs so when at home we want our own time, you know, resting time. If your kids are like mine when they hear my car pull in the driveway, they meet me there. It’s “mom what’s for dinner”, “I need you to sign this for school” or “where have you been?”  Life can be so busy for us all and if we are not careful our life with our children will pass us by and before you know it we are at graduation thinking” where has the time gone.” We have no choice but to be multi-taskers, is that a word.

I love it when communities get involved in family, and Gilbert, Arizona did just that a couple of years ago.

Today’s Gilbert, Arizona has a new face. This one time, 1920’s, jailhouse, then pump house, has now been restored into a great Gilbert family fun place to go hang out with the kids. A place for building memories that your kids are sure not to forget. Time with our kids is a language our kids will always respond to.

Historic structures can enhance a sense of place and provide a point of civic pride when preserved and celebrated.

The greatest compliment to this project and a true demonstration that the owner’s and the community’s needs have been met and exceeded is that throughout the week, and especially the weekends, the park is filled with the sound of laughing children, adults talking and water splashing. Families are coming to the plaza as a destination, putting umbrellas in the turf areas, laying out blankets for picnics. Others are frequenting the surrounding restaurants.

The project received a 2010 Honor Award from the Arizona ASLA Chapter and a Certificate of Recognition from the International Making Cities Livable.

Join us for making memories in Gilbert, Arizona today.