Summer Fun

I am part of an awesome, local mom's group on Facebook. Those ladies are really some of the sweetest more helpful ladies I know. Even when we don't see eye to eye on parenting issues it is, for the most part, a low drama group of women who genuinely seek to lift one another up. The past few weeks there have been a LOT of posts about things to do with kiddos that are free or low cost.  I thought, to make life easier for them, I would compile the ideas here so there are all in one place. If you aren't local a lot of these may not work for you, but this may at least give you an idea of things to look for near you!



Low Cost:

Morning Movies at Movies Ten. Their movie list can be found here.

Morning Movies at Regal Movie Theater. Their movie list can be found here.

Free Kids Bowling at AMF bowling ally. (I have this on the cheap list since you still have to rent shoes).

Sheetz for slushies. (You can get the small ones for $0.99 with a sheets card)

 



 

Free (or close to free depending on what you have around the house)

Splash ground at Riverside Park

Interactive fountain at River Front Park.

Sprinklers in the yard.

Kiddie pool in the yard.

Squirt Gun Fight.

Make Popsicles

Construction paper, a magazine, and a glue stick will keep kids busy for HOURS!

Glow stick bath.

Play Dough out side (way easier to clean up)

Make a tent in the back yard (or front yard, or basement)

Make no bake (or preacher) cookies.

Barnes and Nobles has a children story hour every Wednesday at 11:00 am and Friday at 7:00 pm.

Go to the Library.

Pick a topic and learn everything you can about it.

Finger paint in the bathtub.

Fill up buckets with water and let them splash around/paint the side wall or deck ect.

Draw with Chalk.

Blow bubbles.

Make cards to send to family.



 

Special Occasion Ideas

If you are looking for something a bit more exciting, but still some what reasonable, most of these activities can be done for less then $10.00 per person.

Splash Valley Water Park in Roanoke.

Amazement Square in Lynchburg. (Hint check out The Clutch Guide for a 2 for 1 coupon!)

Hill Cats Game. (Their web site if FULL of discounts including kids club which allows kids to attend all 70 home games for free, as well as dollar pizza nights and Half Price Tuesdays.)

Mill Mountain Zoo.

Fun Center Putt Putt.

Funquest (Has tons of specials on roller skating, the indoor jungle gym, and laser tag all summer including a Christian Music night and $1.99 Mondays)

Bounce About.

 

*Be Sure to join Groupon. Typically you can get



 

READ!!!!

Join the Dig Into Reading program.

Read If You Give A Mouse A Cookie and make cookies.

Read If You Give a Moose a Muffin and make muffins.

Read a book about Johny Apple Seed and eat apples (or color apples or something with apples).

A great list of books to read to your daughters this summer from Virginia Sole Smith. (I must also add the Betsy Tacy books to this list if you haven't read them to your little girl yet it MUST go on your summer reading list)

Ten books to read to your 4-7 year old by Sarah Bessey.

Check out Our Cultivated Life for a tutorial on how to make you own summer reading board game!

 

Pinterest

Here are just a few links I discovered on Pinterest that sounded like fun!

Sewing Cards by Handmade Charlotte

My entire pinboard of printable paper dolls.

These Sponge Balls  by One Charming Party so sound much better than waterballons!

 

Make Your Summer Bucket List

These are few of my favorite fill in yourself bucket lists available for printing at home to fill out with your own ideas.

Bugs Bucket List

Simple Bucket List

Summer Schedule Ideas

Color Your Own Bucket List

Summer Bingo Board (Great for vacation)

 

One other thing I always do is give my kids each a note book at the start of the summer. For older kids this is a great way for them to keep track of their summer adventures. For mine (4 and 5) it turns into more of a place for them to put stickers and glue stuff, but it still helps keep them busy.

I'm still working on setting our summer schedule and bucket list. Abi just got out of school and most schools don't get out till tomorrow so I'm giving myself a week or two to figure it out. But once I do, I'll be sure to share what we are doing this summer.

 

 

 

 

 

Bush Gardens

Most of our anniversary trip to Williamsburg was spent at Bush Gardens. We planned to go do some of the Colonial Willamsburg stuff but never got around to it. Chances are we will be coming back regularly though so next time. :) Thought I would share a few pictures of our time (though I didn't take many.)

Me trying to win a Kindle Fire at the arcade. We actually have it five times and then it dropped. Was a fun experience though so worth the money.

 

 

 

 

 

Josh at the breakfast place we stopped at on Sunday. One of I think 5 waffle/pancake places we saw.

Yummy candy purchased in downtown Williamsburg.

 

The cute Converse All Star shoes we bought. Sorta of Chuck Taylors meet ballet flats! 

Bucket List Update

It's been such a full and busy summer it feels like. And yet when I look at the girls bucket list hardly anything is checked off!! Some things just aren't going to happen. The zoo and Abi visiting my sister probably won't take place as schedules have changed and shrinky dinks are hard to find!. However, many of the things can still happen. Today I am printing out paper dolls and letting the girls work with my markers (GASP!) I got an ice cream maker from my parents and ordered a fun doll pattern to make dolls with the girls. This weekend the girls are staying three nights with Grandma and Grandpa. Then it's time to get to work staying home and having fun!

Girls Summer Bucket List

o   Zoo

o   Finger paints

o   Water fight

o   Make Popsicles

o   Dollar Movies

o   Splash Park

o   Make ice cream

o   Sidewalk chalk

o   Photo booth

o   Bean Bag Toss

o   Fireworks

o   Make Shirts

o   Library

o   Potato stamps

o   Farmers market

o   Art project

o   Make Cards

o   Pillow fort

o   Mini golf

o   Sprinkler

o   Visit Grandma and Papa

o   Visit Nana

o   Visit Aunt Tabi (Abi)

o   Visit Aunt Marge

o   Cereal Necklace

o   Sleep in tent

o   Play Dates

o   Twister

o   Make Pizza

o   Make Box Car

o   Download games on Nook

o   Make Cookies

o   Plant Something

o   Play Memory

o   Collage

o   Picnic

o   Mommy Mummy

o   Build-a-Bear

o   Fun Center

o   Shrinky Dinks

o   Go Swimming

o   Bubbles

o   Paper Dolls

o   Make a doll

o   Fairy Jar

Let's Go to the Fair

Friday night we headed to the Salem County Fair. I loved the fair of as a kid and have fun memories as a child and teen going with friends and family. I was so excited to take my kids! The Salem fair is an open gate fair and has free parking which means getting in costs nothing. Granted you can spend a fortune once you get in, but we were able to it pretty cheap.

Personally I was most excited about the exhibits, but was rather dissapointed in those. Nothing like the one back home, but all in all we still had a good time. We bought twenty tickets and took the girls on their first ferris wheel  ride.

As you can see Maddie loved it!

Abi's favorite part was the free petting zoo. We got to see and touch all kinds of animals. We even got to see two baby goats that were less than 24 hours old. So sweet.

We gave each of the kids ten dollars to spend on food or junk or games. But is started raining to we skipped out early and hit up Sweet Frog for dinner. All in all a summer highlight.

What have some of your summer highlights been so far?

Summer Bucket List 2012

So I finally sat down and put together two bucket lists for this summer. I am a huge list person. I would venture a guess that you could tell more about who I am from my lists then my journals. Or at least as much. So for the first time I have made a summer bucket list. I made one for the kids as well. But I am to lazy to type it up at the moment. So today all you get is my personal list.

So far we are doing pretty well. I've already read a new book. I love it and will most likely end up reading the entire series this summer.

Last week I finished a skirt for a friend FINALLY! I love getting WIPS marked off of my to do list.

We also made our own bubbles from my Summer Fun Pin Board last week. Still haven't used them yet and have no idea if they work, maybe we will have to try that out today! 

What's on your summer bucket list??

Last Week, This Week

 

Last Week:

I finally seemed to pull out of my funk. A visit from Mom and a variety of activities seemed to help. Getting out the house with the girls during the day helped. Getting out of the house in the evening as a family, a couple, and just me also helped a lot. The fog has even lifted enough that I am looking forward to sewing again. Which is a good thing since.....

 

This Week:

(I am looking forward to)

* Sewing up a number of orders/gifts that need finishing.

*Having coffee tonight with a friend from church.

*Having coffee tomography night with my sister-in-law and another dear friend.

*Having my old college house mate visit for the weekend and

*Getting together with her and our other house mate (who lives here in town) on Saturday

*And most likely hitting up the pool again because Summer isn't Summer with out the pool.

And So Summer Begins

It hasn't been the easiest start to summer. Hubby's crazy work schedule, Goose's new found mobility, and Abi's crazy energy, and a overwhelming bought of loneliness have warped this season I once loved into one I am dreading. But a season it is. One that I will look back on wishing it hadn't passed by quite so quickly. So I pause, and breath, and remind myself that this is my adventure to live.