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As much as I may occasionally get frustrated with the NON-STOP RELENTLESS HUMID during the summers here in central Alabama, I really do treasure the time from May until August. We try to pack as much as we can into the weeks when we don’t have to be on any set schedule, and I pretty much revel in our freedom. It may be hot as all get out, but it really is the most wonderful part of the year.
For the last few years we’ve wrapped up our summer vacation with a trip to the beach. This is a special beach trip because we go with my cousins and their kids – and this year my sister-in-law and nephews joined us, too. It’s probably the only time all year when we have wide-open, uninterrupted patches of time to visit and cook and laugh and play. And since there’s no hectic holiday craziness surrounding us, we really do relax. Granted, it’s a special brand of relaxing that requires adjusting to the sound of many very loud children, but the whole trip is so laid-back that it doesn’t even matter. It’s just a joy.
This year, on our last night at the beach, the kids did something they’ve never done before: they organized a massive hide-and-seek game. We made all of the big kids responsible for at least one of the smaller kids, and then we opened the door and let them hide (and seek) all over the lobby area of our condo building (it’s not a huge area, so we knew we could keep an eye on them). They’d play a round, come inside for freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies, play another round of hide-and-seek, come inside for another round of cookies – and so it went for almost two hours. Every once in awhile one of the grown-ups would walk outside the door to check on them, and we never had to look far; their laughter led us straight to them. It’s a memory I think they’ll keep forever – and hopefully a tradition they’ll continue for years to come.
Even the youngest cousin – who’s almost 4 – looked at his mama after the final game and said, “Mama, that was the funnin’-est time I ever did have.”
So I think it’s safe to say that the beach trip hide-and-seek was a hit.
So what about you? What’s your favorite thing to do with the kids in your life during the summer? Leave a comment with your answer, and you’ll be entered to win a $100 Visa gift card (and come back next week to enter again – because these giveaways will continue for the next 11 weeks).
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When we are not college touring, we like to go to the beach and just chill. The sound of the waves is very soothing and watching the sun rise is like looking at God painting.
THE BEACH!!!
Love just spending time with the kids with no real schedule…love going hiking, to the beach, parks…whatever.
I enjoy working in our yard and garden with my children anytime of year. During the summer we get to play in the hose and enjoy all the summer vegetables. My children love to plant and pick things, so having a garden they can help with is great!
we love to go swimming
We’re taking our 2 year old daughter to the beach for the 1st time next week. Can’t wait! She also learned to swim this summer so taking her to the pool is fun!
This year the library reading club saved us! Lots of books for kiddos and momma and fun free activities too.
spending a week with my family at a cottage on the beach of lake michigan. everyone is happy. nothing is better. LOVE!
melanie(dot)myatt(at)gmail(dot)com
We recently moved to our state and have spent as many weekends as we can exploring the area.
My hubby and I love taking our son swimming and took him camping for the first time!
swimming, swimming, swimming. and fudgsicles.
Since our kids are getting into and out of the teen years, we treasure anything they will do with us at all! But, this year we went to St. Augustine and that was simply awesome!
We have been blessed to have lots of grandchildren here during the summer. They love to play games and so crafts with grandma and go on “field trips” with grandpa to such great places as Mote Marine, a State Park, and a Hands on science museum.The kids start school Monday so we are already in our flurry of back to school supplies; grandkids meet their new teachers and see their new rooms on Friday; we wind up GP (Grandparent) camp Thursday with special treats and a “field trip” with Grandpa so we can help give out school supplies at the Friday open house…
hide and seek is so much fun :D i love to play it with my little cousin. going to the water park and the zoo is nice too.
songyueyu at gmail
My hubby and I love to sit in the outside swing and watch the kids play and jump on the trampoline in the backyard.
I love to take my kiddies to the pool along with a few friends. They all have a great time.
My favorite thing to do with the kids in the summer is what we actually just did yesterday. We go to the waterfront park that is 5 minutes from our house. The kids spend hours on the beach collecting shells and hermit crabs and sea glass. Once they’ve worn me out, I spread a blanket out and lay down in the shade and relax while they continue their scavenger hunt. There is usually a trip for icecream involved either on the way to the park or on the way back home.
We try to have one pajama day a week. All day in pjs until it’s time to put on clean one
the neighboring county fair
We love to go swimming!
I like to take my nephew to the theme park.
Go to the pool with the kid that I babysit. When we were kids, going to the ranch was always the big thing!
We live in a very close community, at least once a week someone drags out the wading pools and/or sprinklers and the kids run through it, and the parents visit and it’s been awesome.
My son is married, and daughter is almost 17. So for us, some of our favorite times are just being together.
I JUST TYPED MY ANSWER AND HAVE TO RE-DO IT I GUESS! I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS LOl! I LOVE SITTING AROUND PLAYING GAMES WITH THE KIDS. THEY ARE ALWAYS A LOAD OF FUN AND JUST WATCHING THEM IS ENTERTAINING! kytah00@yahoo.com
I love to spend time with my nieces…and this summer I helped prepare for my sister’s newest arrival…a 12 year old new niece from Ethiopia! She’ll be home soon!
Go to the splash pad! They can get wet and play all they want without being near a pool.
I love to take my niece for sandal-ready pedicures!
Since we are so broke the best time this summer has been swimming and reading books to my daughter.
With both of my children growing older, I love any time that we can spend together with just the four of us. Trying to find something fun to do for the Labor Day weekend! :)
I love taking the kids out to PA to visit my husband’s family. They have lots of cousins close in age and I love seeing them all play together. And this year we took them to the Jersey shore for the first time and I loved that even more, we’re going to have to do that again.
We love anything that has to do with staying in the AC here in the Southwest…which usually includes window shopping trips to Kohls and Target. Oh, and the pool isn’t bad, either…
Going to the beach, sleeping late, sleepovers and S’mores!
my favorite thing to do with kids is camping….pudgie pies, campfires, nature, the stars!!
We go to the beach and pool. When we’re not there, we sit inside and soak up every bit of AC we can!!
Beach, hands down, oil or not!
For them anything swimming related. For me, it was taking them to Disneyland this summer- the youngest for the first time.
Swimming & getting together with friends!
Eat lots of ice cream with my grandkids.
Anything involving water is a big hit! It’s been a hot one!
I simply love having no place to go and sitting around playing games!!
I love sitting on a blanket in the front yard blowing bubbles with my baby girl!
We love to go swimming!
We love hanging by the pool.
Definitely relaxing at the pool….unless we’re at the beach!
I don’t have any children, but I love playing at the beach and riding on the boat with my 18 month old nephew. He is a blast!!!
Favorite part of summer is 4th of July festivities with family from near and far!
We love going to the beach!
I love to take the kids places – zoo, museums, beaches, etc. They love to see new things!
My husband, kids and I love to swim, play outside and read books by flashlight!
We live in Houston so we LOVE to go somewhere cool where the kids can play outside.
As much as I love the beach, I enjoy snuggling in the air conditioning with my favorite two people watching movies in our pjs. That’s my favorite.
Traveling to my parents. They used to live by the beach, but are in the desert now. So we just hang in the pool.
We love swimming!
Going swimming and hanging out by the pool!
Anything outside is wonderful. We’ve visited every park in a 20 mile radius. But the best is teaching my almost 4 year-old son to swim. He is starting to love the water as much as I do!
we host friend parties with a theme….not a birthday party….just a fun party. this summer we had a “spa” party and the girls did their nails and a homemade facial, while listening to Rebecca St. James.
then we had a “baking” party where they baked cookies then iced them.
and we had a “garden” party where they sipped lemonade in the shade and played fun games (not sure how much it had to do with gardens but it was fun).
this gives them organized fun, and I never hear the question, “now what can we do?” :)
We love to hang out at the lake with our cousins. The kids will spend hours building elaborate castles and rivers in the sand.
we love to hang out at the pool all day.
My son absolutely loves playing with the water hose. So we water the trees as well as ourselves.
Definitely tubing and water skiing!!!
We went to the NASA space center in Huntsville, Al. We have been before, but this time they had a Star Wars exhibit. Oh my mercy, my kids thought they were living Star Wars. We had a blast.
We love to go to the Smokey Mountains every year. It’s always my favorite summer memory.
we love to head to the beach with the kids and grandkids.
little road trips are fun!
Since we live in Mississippi, the only acceptable place to spend any amount of time outdoors in the summer for us is in the swimming pool.
we enjoy the beach and the zoo
nannypanpan at sbcglobal.net
Our favorite summer activity is most definitely CAMPING!!!
Our annual trip to Pacific Grove so that we can play on the beach and in the ocean is my favorite summertime thing to do.
“Cousin Camp”….getting together with my parents, siblings, and their families…whether it’s a long weekend at the beach or a trip to a nearby water park….with 12 cousins (this year between the ages of 2 and 10), the fun and laughter is neverending! Love seeing their relationships with each other grow and mature as they get older!
Just going to the pool and relaxing for hours! Doesn’t get any better than that!
I take my best friend’s daughter to the pool! She splashes and giggles and loves it when I go swimming with her.
We have a season pass to our local amusement park that has a water park, so our favorite thing has been to take the kids there to spend the day. So far, they haven’t tired of it!
Pool time, park and zoo.
We love to go out on the boat. The kids try to out-do each other waterskiing or we anchor out and practice crazy jumps off the side.
I like doing art projects with my nephews and niece! susie_q55@hotmail.com
We love summer and love doing anything outside. We will spend our last days of summer hiking, swimming, camping and just having fun!
SWIM! It’s a break from the heat and exhausts the kids enough to ensure a nap for everyone.
I love playing at the park with kids!
We just enjoy the laid-back, non-scheduled days also. My parents have a pool so that is a fun time anytime we go over there to swim and grill by the pool.
Pool parties and BBQs.
Love our beach time, relaxing by the water, playing in the sand!
We LOVE to go swimming! Its a great way to cool off during these sweltering months!
Tara
giveawayblogs at gmail dot com
I don’t have my own kids yet, but I love taking the kids in my life to the zoo.
We love to head to the beach. We pack a picnic lunch and spend the day swimming, building sandcastles, and looking for sea glass.
We took our kids to the beach this summer- It was the first time for my youngest two boys and they loved it
thanks
jotteson@frontiernet.net
I love going to the beach!
This summer has been all about movies. We have gone to the theater many times.
We like bike rides and beach activities.
We are going to camp out in the backyard and roast marshmellows over Labor Day Weekend for one last fling before school starts.
avennett AT verizon DOT net
One of our favorite things to do every summer is go to Lake Tahoe!!! It’s so beautiful and relaxing up there!!! What I would do with $100.00 Go back to school shopping with my son!!!
I love doing crafts with my girls. There never seems to be enough time in a summer.
I love to take the kids to our park and splashpad. It’s great for them to run around and burn off some extra energy!
We had a big mud fight!!
Go to the pool. Without a doubt.
Hitting the park and the beach is the number one thing my kids love to do!
Lots of pool time and a super-fun beach trip!
Fishing!
Lots of pajama time. Hello, it’s HOT outside!
We love to go swimming!!!
bleatham*at*gmail.com