Exploring Downtown Powell with Kids

You already know this: my kids hate splash pads! This was my last ditch effort of the summer, I swear! And now with the outbreak of that really long “C” word going around, I do solemnly swear to stop torturing them! I met up with some other mom friends from my MOPS group at the Powell Splash Pad a few weeks ago and it was definitely still a no-go for my kids. The picture below shows you exactly how close they got to the spraying water. 😉

From a mom’s perspective, however, I liked this one. There is a playground in the same area, so kids can go back and forth between the splash pad and the playground easily. Near the splash pad is a covered pavilion with picnic tables and a large grassy lawn, so there is a ton of space for picnicking or laying out your beach towels (though shade is a bit hard to come by).

5/25/18 Edited to ad: Unfortunately the Cruz Candy shop is no longer open.

After we hung out with our friends at the splash pad, we took a walk around the block to Cruz Candy. It’s a cute little shop with all kinds of fun treats! You can fill a bucket full or buy it by the piece.

I let my kids pick out a few pieces each and then we headed outside where the game Candy Land was sitting out on the picnic table!

In the space upstairs, above Cruz Candy, Wonder Creative does art classes for kids and they have created a wishing tree outside the store.  Jaden wished that his stuffed puppy was real and we hung his wish on the tree!

We (I) spent a lot of time reading the wishes on the tree. There were hundreds of them! It was at the same time, hilarious, inspiring and heart breaking. I wanted to share some of the wishes with you here:

One thing you should know about me is that I have a really hard time lying. Even to my kids about silly little kid things. I’m totally dreading the conversation about the tooth fairy! I can be very literal with them but I’m working on trying not to be a kill joy! So when Jaden asked me, “will my wish really come true?” I felt sad because, no, sorry buddy, you are not getting a puppy! But how could I crush his little heart? Even though my brain screamed, “no!” my mouth is learning to say, “what do you think?” in those moments! Sometimes it also works to just say, “I don’t know!” cause even if you DO know, it’s not worth crushing their spirit over something they’ll forget about in a day or two.

After we finished with the wishes, it was still hot and mama needed a cold snack! We walked across the street to Rita’s for water ice (well, Italian ice, but after living in Philly I can’t help but call it water ice 😉 ) . This is how it goes: both of them choose their flavor based on their favorite color. Jaden: blue. Mayson: yellow. And I pick the flavor closest to chocolate.

On our way back to the car, we went in Nicole’s for Kids on a whim. To our surprise, we found a play house and I could barely get the kids out of the store! Nicole’s has a lot of cute baby and toddler clothing, and this little play house is enough to keep your kids busy while you shop, and then some !

We all had a fun morning out in Powell. All of these places are easily within walking distance of each other and there is a large public parking lot in front of Village Green Park. We even did all of this without a stroller – that’s how close everything is! There are just a few more weeks to check out the splash pad this summer as it closes for the season on September 6, 2016. Enjoy!

Know Before You Go:

Splash Pad – in Village Green Park
47 Hall St
Powell, OH 43065
614-885-5380
Open 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM, Memorial Day through Labor Day

The Santa Cruz Candy Company
27 South Liberty St., Powell, OH 43065
614-396-8945
Monday-Thursday 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Friday – Saturday 11:00 AM –10:00 PM
Sunday 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Wonder Creative
27 S. Liberty St., Powell, OH 43065
614-318-5490

Rita’s Italian Ice
50 S. Liberty St., Suite 150, Powell, OH 43065
614-515-7482
Monday-Sunday 12:00 PM – 10:00 PM, Closes October 30, 2016 for the season

Nicole’s for Children
50 W. Olentangy St. (Powell Rd.)
Powell, OH 43065
614-433-0503
Monday – Friday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Sunday – 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

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