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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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Having a BBQ is fun for everyone!
My kid is grown up, so we enjoy just relaxing with a cold beverage and good conversation
A day at the beach with lunch and snacks packed – we get there early and leave late. Of course we bring lots of sunblock.
Cookouts and playing horseshoes.
We like to color with sidewalk chalk on the driveway! Then, when it gets too hot, we play in the sprinklers for a while to cool off!
we’re the “koolaid mom” house. kids are welcome and can be loud and laugh. so many friends and neighbors have little ones who need naps, so our house is the refuge when they get exuberant.
Spending time at the community pool is always a fun time.
We had a great time this summer at the lake!
My kids love water sports and they had a great time jetskiing, wakeboarding and swimming.
We went to the beach, the sea turtle museum, and the park, but I guess my favorite we the other night. Gracie (almost 3) went to her first baseball game. She absolutely loved it! She was so excited, and she quickly began “parroting” the umpire — Strike!. She clapped, danced, yelled, and had a great time.
Beach trips, hiking and biking
Our favorite thing to do is grab our tubes and tube down a local river. nancymn2003@yahoo.com
Beach…movies…whatever sounds good that day.
We like going to the beach.
just hanging out with family, especially enjoying the grandchildren
We love swimming in the pool, going to the beach, going to the library, visiting the zoo, going to a museum, and visiting family!
sazzyfrazz at gmail dot com
The children and I really enjoy our backyard pool during summer breaks. We have developed so many games that involve the water. :-) Thank you.
My favorite thing to do with the kids is bike riding!
We are living in a new area. So we plan early morning walks to introduce ourselves to the new neighborhood. And we are planning a picnic on the beach.
trips to the santa barbara zoo
tvollowitz at aol dot com
My favorite thing to do with my kids during the summer is to take them to the zoo. You should see the look on their faces! It’s worth a million dollars! gmissycat@yahoo.com
Homemade Ice Cream parties!
Go to the zoo!
kerin0874 (at) yahoo (dot) com
HAPPY SUMMER!
SNEAKING IN ONE LAST TRIP TO THE BEACH IS GREAT FUN! THANKS FOR SHARING!
My favorite summer activity with the kids is to go camping. No tv, no cell-phones, no video games. We actually talk to each other!
Water balloon fight!
Our favorite summer activity is to go camping in the mountains.
Our family has a tradition to cap off the summer every year. We go to Downtown Disney for a fun dinner at the Rainforest Cafe then walk through all the stores looking for free samples. To end the day, we play in the fountains to cool off.
Adorable photo of their smiling faces, too cute! We like to camp and go up to the lake, so much fun and lots of s’mores are eaten during the trip, lol :)
I lov to plan our annual trip to Holiday World in Santa Claus, IN. We have been going for 11 years now, and my kids love it, and we always make great memories
Tracy
I plan trips to the park or maybe a trip to the zoo. We have a few more BBQ’s and they enjoy shopping for school things.
lazybones344 at gmail dot com
Hands down trip to the beach. Last year we went for 3 weeks. Loved it!!!! We didn’t get to go this year (bummer) but it’s on the agenda for next year for sure.
going to the park, feeding the ducks and having a picnic and blowing bubbles laughing
We love going to Sea World a couple of times during the summer!
We like playing with the water hose outside and water.
We love to get out in the yard, catch bugs, shoot nerf guns and water pistols with the boys.
We plan to take one last roadtrip! Roadtrips are the best~
Our favorite activity is going to the lake, cooking out, fishing and boating.
My family is always having fun in the pool all summer long. It’s still hot and so the water warms up pretty good right now. We really enjoy going swimming whenever we can fit it in.
Oh, our favorite thing is hanging out in the pool and playing in the water. I hope we can still do this for a few more weeks before the water gets too cold…
We ended our Summer by visiting the animal sanctuary that’s a few miles away. It was delightful to be able to see, pet, and feed all the animals! I hope we can go back sometime.
Reading! We have to slip those last few books in that we didn’t get to finish throughout Summer.
We love to hit the beach up on weekends – so much fun and the drive there is relaxing :)
I love spending the day at the lake with them.
surf camp and then extra surf time at the beach
We like to go camping at the lake and get in a lot of fishing. And eating too of course.
We like to go to the water parks.
We like to go hiking. It is good exercise and a chance to have talks with my daughter.
abfantom at yahoo dot com
I love taking my kids to the beach during summer and enjoying the nice weather
Visiting local attractions like the Zoo, the Botanical Garden and museums.
HERSHEY PARK
Playing badminton. Thanks
Museum
We went to Walt Disney World this summer and boy was it exhausting! Standing in line in the horrible heat and paying way too much just for water…next time I think we’ll try going in fall or early winter when there will be fewer people and less heat and we’ll bring a small cooler along.
We love to go to the beach
It isn’t summer unless we’ve gone fruit picking. Then we can jam, make pies, etc. We love it.
katfam95 at aim dot com
We are going to the State Fair and not feel guilty about eating corn dogs, funnel cakes, and cotton candy:)
That’s my favorite thing to do in the summer and I look forward to it every year!
pauleyd68 (at) yahoo (dot) com
We have this awsome aquatic center with a huge pool, kids pool, and kids splace area and its only $2 per person!!! Fun and cheap!! Love to take my grandson on the weekends.
https://twitter.com/fostertam/status/21847132858
all we did this year was hit the beach
We live in a river town so our favorite thing to do as a family is to boat on the Ohio River.
I love traveling with my kids and taking them to see new places and experience new things.
There are lots of freebies at the museums and such in the Summer. So great that we can advantage of that.
Now that my daughter is 21, summers aren’t quite as carefree as they once were, but we do feel a difference as I am in school as well. So…I make every Saturday a special feast. I try new recipes and cook for everyone, then we sit around and eat and talk. It feels so relaxed and I love the time with my loved ones….
We go to the beach
We all love just spending time together but add the beach or the lake and its all giggles and laughter.
I always hate to see summer end and school begin.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
Whenever they aren’t in camp or summer school, I take them on excursions–the zoo, the aquarium, the beach, the city.
We love to swim and BBQ with friends and family.
I love to go swimming with them :)
A trip to the San Diego Zoo to see the giant pandas!
We love to wind down with summer going to the zoo before school starts, camping is also one of our favorite things to do. My grandkids love to swim and have bonfires,SMORES!!!!
My favorite thing is to spend as much time as possible outside at the park, hiking, biking or having picnics.
We love going swimming.
the pool is by far our favorite summer thing to do:)
Our favorite thing to do is just spend time together – we seem to have more time for that, since my son is off from school and it’s slower at work (so I can take vacation days). We planted a garden this year, so we’ve both enjoyed it and we’re already planning next year’s.
We go on the weekend to the state park that is right next to our house and use the beach with the picnic area and spend the day.
I forgot my e-mail marybug2@yahoo.com
We like those “one tank of gas” trips – pick anywhere on the map that’s within one tank of gas from home… you never know what you’ll find in your own area!!
Many thanks!!
going to the county fairs. jozie1420@yahoo.com
Taking our annual week long vacation as a family…Great quality Daddy time for our boys! :)
Biking, visiting the botanical gardens and picnics at the park.
We love to go to the upick farms and put up a bit of summers sweetness.
We love to go to the beach, swim, and BBQ!
Haha, I wish I could do some fun stuff in the final weeks of summer, but our Practicums have just started up, which kinda sucks for having fun :/ But it is what it is :D
We love to go the lakes on the weekends
going boating and swimming
We love picnics in the summer.
We like to make snow cones, play in the sprinkler, stay up late, and sleep LATE!
I love to take my nieces and nephews to the pool!
I like when we go to the waterpark!
I’ve always loved going to the zoo.
we love to head to the beach for fun in the sun
We love just going to the park and taking long walks together.
We love to go camping.
We love to go with our boys to the pool on hot summer days.
day at the beach
I love to set up the sprinkler, set out the sidewalk chalk and bubbles, then bust out the popsicles. My yard is full of kids in no time.
We love the amusement park; we haven’t gone this year and last year I had surgery so we couldn’t go. I’m hoping to squeeze in a day trip this week before she starts back to school.
We love to go swimming!
Thanks
I love spending time at the beach with my kids. I love watching them play in the water and sand.
We have a lot of arts activities here – free days at the museums, theatre shows, festivals. Those are always great fun.
we like spending time at the beach. It’s still pretty nice towards the end of summer here in sunny SoCal