When we didn't feel like an outing, our backyard served our purposes just fine. It didn't much matter to my dynamic duo where they were. So on one hot, summer day, with a battle raging all around me, I was happy to run inside to answer the phone.

"Are you interested in joining Conner Prairie?" a pleasant voice on the other end asked.

Conner Who? Conner What? Never heard of it.

But she was nice - and, in those days, I rarely said no to a little adult conversation - so I listened. We had discovered the Children's Museum and the Indianapolis Zoo, but this one sounded a little different. So I pitched it as another park and off we went. . .

Our 10-year affiliation with Conner Prairie has included countless visits, special events, camps, school field trips and, finally, a little something extra for mom. In 2008, I joined the Conner Prairie Alliance, a group of women volunteers who have as much fun raising money for Conner Prairie as kids on a playground.

Here are a few observations for you moms and dads of the active-type boy (is there any other kind?), not to mention the adventure-minded girl:

* Did you know there’s an outdoor playground at Conner Prairie? Some days we started there and never even made it to the grounds. Today, the playground is located practically underneath the new 1859 Balloon Voyage – what kid (of any age) can resist a real-life helium-filled balloon?

* There are a lot of good sticks at Conner Prairie.  After a quick game of checkers at the Golden Eagle Inn or a lesson at the 1836 Schoolhouse in Prairietown, some of my best memories are of taking the hike out to Lenape Camp, searching out the best walking sticks and peering over the path at the White River.

* Conner Prairie special events are the best in Indy. Our first event was Headless Horseman. We couldn’t wait to take the hayride past that headless rider. Our 3-year-old was fine (probably couldn’t see over the side of the wagon), but our 5-year-old got spooked. Despite the long line, we decided to go again, just to prove that it wasn’t so bad. We signed up for everything: summer camp (always top-notch – and love the t-shirts!), special Lenape programs and anything that caught our eye!

* Take the video camera! My absolute favorite memory is of our boys in the barn on a Headless Horseman night, lined up with 10 other kids singing “The Twelve Days of Halloween.” Our older son was assigned the part of “nine giant goblins” and my little one’s line was “10 scary scarecrows.” Every minute or so during the song, #10 (his face scrunched up in concentration) “whispered” to #9, “Tell me mine again,” whereupon his brother (with cupped hands) “whispered” back the line. What I’d give for a tape of that!

* Big boys love Conner Prairie, too. Fast Forward 10 years from our first visit to Conner Prairie to last summer with our “big boys”. After taking the balloon flight, our 13-year-old and two friends had to be practically pried away from the exhibit’s hands-on area (funded in part by the Alliance, I might add)! Two years ago, our 15-year-old went with his class to Follow the North Star. That visit took me back to the days of my son running through the grounds – but this time, he was an escaping slave, stealing away through the night. And both boys have worked volunteer hours in the Alliance's Apple Store. Come see our industrial apple-corer in the fall – now there's a boy magnet!

So, next time you and your kids need a good park fix, try Conner Prairie. You might all just learn something (but you can keep that part to yourself).