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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).
And be sure to visit the BlogHer.com Kellogg exclusive offers page – you have 24 other chances to win $100 every single week that this program is running! Here are the official rules.
Mom’s Breakfast Club was started to help educate moms and families about kids’ cereal and share the scoop on their nutritional benefits and ingredients. To learn more about the program, visit www.loveyourcereal.com.
This giveaway is now closed.
We spend time at the pool
brandileigh2003@yahoo.com
http://twitter.com/brandileigh2003/status/21889814946
e are lucky enough to live at the beach in so. cal..we have a new adventure everyday at our footsteps
Swim and go to the beach
cookiesandclogs[at]gmail[dot]com
Unless it is exploring caves, the summer heat calls for lots of swimming.
going to an amusment park
Take them to the zoo.
We love going to the zoo.
We usually rent a beach house for a week on the coast. We get to see family which we is normally the only time we are able to get together seeing as we are spread out across various parts of the country.
sailinaway@gmail.com
Love to spend time in the garden with the kids – it is a learning experience and fun too
This summer was really hot, so we had a blast going to a local park with giant water fountains where the kids could cool off
We love going to Grandmas house which is at the beach :)
swimming and going to the park!
ardelong2(at)gmail(dot)com
We just went on our annual camping trip we take every year with 12 other families. It’s so much fun!! The adults and kids both really look forward to this trip every year!
We take a week’s summer vacation every year and we all look forward to it and enjoy it very much!
Swimming and cookouts are always favorites at our house.
We have a terrific zoo here, and I love our annual summer trip there. When we get hot and tired, we can go the Imax there and watch nature shows. Love it!
Thanks for a great giveaway.
I like to go garage selling and get to some auction yet if possible since I love both of those things!
lighthousee27(at)gmail.com
Going to the beach! Love the sand between my toes!
Going to Cedar Point Amusement Park is the most fun thing to do with the kids. I have just as much fun as they do!
We are going to the mountains.
I want to get to the beach one more time before the summer ends!!
drea8685@yahoo.com
We love to visit the beach. We discovered this year it doesn’t have to be an ocean beach. Lake Michigan worked just fine!
We spent a lot of time at the pool at the Y this summer. We also spent a lot of time on the ball field for my daughter. thank you!
Road trips- especially to the beach.
We enjoy spending time on the lake and soaking up the sun!
I love when my little guy crawls into bed with me in the morning and we don’t have to get up and can just lay there and snuggle and chat…
We like to spend the weekends at the beach in the summer.
Our favorite thing is a trip to the lake. They can ride their bikes and hike and fish. Something for everyone.
Spend as much time as possible in the pool!
I don’t have any children in my life. No nieces, or nephews, or young cousins… nothing. But I love to have cookouts with my family.
Swimming has been a favorite family activity all summer! Soon we’ll be framing our swimming-pool-tanned faces with new hair cuts.
momznite_at_yahoo_daught_com
We have a lake by our house, so my kids have loved spending time playing in the sand and water! So fun!
I like going geocaching a lot. Once you get the GPS receiver, all it costs is the gas to get to the caches. It is fun trying to find the caches and everyone gets exercise too since it is usually at least a quarter mile or more to get to the actual cache.
Nothing big but having a family BBQ while it is still warm out! Great giveaway thank you very much!
tishajean@ charter.net
Playing tug of war with the water hose turned on
My fave summer activity is to take my kids to the beach! Too bad we live in washington but there’s always at least one nice day lol!
We love going to the pool!
Our fave thing ever is going to Schlitterbahn, but we didn’t make it this summer due to finances!
Oh, I love our trips to the beach, both beach vacation and day trips during the week with friends, and our trips to Mimi and Pop’s house!
Our favorite thing to do in the summer is go to Cedar Point & ride the roller coasters.
Our favorite summertime family activity is going out for ice cream!!!
Thanks for the chance!
mybabyblessings [at] gmail [dot] com
The beach, the lake, even a water park or a swimming pool. Anything water related!
We go to an outdoor theatre to watch plays, classical concerts, and movies. It is great to get out of the house during the summer and sit up on the hill and enjoy snacks and sno-cones.
We like to go to the beach or the pool.
Hitting the beach is our favorite thing to do
My favorite thing to do with my kids is visit the Jersey shore and enjoy the boardwalk food and rides!
Every year we go to an amusement park in Ohio called Cedar Point, and it’s all of ours favorite thing to do. Our oldest brought his fiancee this summer to be introduced to the family tradition, and she loved it too!
we love to go to the pool, and also to play tennis
We go to our neighborhood pool
We love to go to the beach!
Going to the beach in the summer is always fun and relaxing at the same time! I love that!
jenn14_85 at yahoo dot com
We always have a great time going to the beach.
ardy22 at earthlink dot net
We love to go for bike rides to the local icecream shop!
We are in year round school so our summer is broken up into a few weeks of school, a few weeks off. We like to go to the beach!
we like to swim our pool
We love to go to the lake during the summer and also the zoo is a big favorite!
Our family’s favorite thing to do in the summer has been to play tennis at the local park – and then to run home to jump in the pool to cool off and relax!
We are trying to finish moving into our house – it actually is pretty fun. The kids are loving getting into their rooms!
We spend a lot of time at the neighborhood pool
Swimming with the family is a great summer activity!
Thanks for the giveaway!
We like the beach! It’s our favorite place to party it up!
We have another family that we connect with at the beach (when we get to go).
This summer was a bummer…we didn’t get to go!
You can’t beat a day at the beach!
We love to go to our local music under the stars.
We love going to the lake!
I love going to Disney!
On really hot days we love going to the free movies on Tue/Wed mornings at our local theater.
I love to spend time with my kids at the river cabin we have. Swimming, eating, fishing, playing card or board games or just watching a movie together in the cool of the air conditioning.
I love to teach kids how to photograph the beauty of summer.
In the Summer we love cookouts, pool and taking our boys to the beach in first wk in June. It is crazy the older they get the more excited they get looking forward to all the Summer fun!
We play in our pool and also use our squirt guns to stay cool. There is nothing like a swim in the pool when it’s 101 degrees here in California. :)