10 Free Family Friendly Summer Activity Ideas

One of the very first lessons that I learned as a mom, was that in order for me to stay sane,  my kids needed to stay busy.  Here are 10 ideas for free family friendly activities that you can try out this summer! 

1. Check out your local library's calendar of events: You may be able to find story times, arts and crafts times, magic shows, educational activities, children’s theater productions, etc.

2. Take your kids to a local museum during their free admission day. Most museums offer free admission one day a month.

3. Check out your city’s webpage to learn about movies under the stars in your area. Many communities offer family friendly movies after sunset during the summer. This is a great experience! You can pack some snacks, bring a blanket and a pillow or two, and have some free family fun!

4. Call your local firehouse and set up a tour for the kids and their friends. Firemen are usually very friendly, and love to teach kids about fire safety. It helps save kids lives when kids aren’t afraid of them. I have gone with mommy groups, school groups, and I have even had firemen ask us inside to look at their helmets and trucks as we’ve passed by. Calling first is the best way to go about setting up a visit, though.

5. Find a free concert in the park.

6. Look into free street festivals where you can roam the area and look at the art from local artists. With a little bit of money, you can buy some tickets for the carnival rides, games, and enjoy some of the street food, too.

7. Look for a local swim hole or park with water features. In our area, there is a park with a wading pool that is knee deep. All of the local kids go there for a cool dip in the summer. If you aren’t comfortable with that, look for a splash pad, where the risk of drowning is slim to none.

8. Go for a nature walk. You can create a scavenger style list to keep it interesting for older kids, or you can simply go for the pure joy of being outdoors. Be safe. Don’t wear ear buds and always be aware of your surroundings. Also, be sure to take plenty of water.

9. Try out Geocaching. It’s a really cool treasure hunt of sorts. You use your GPS (most smartphones have them now) to direct you to a location that you can find on: http://www.geocaching.com. Then, you look for the cache and see what’s inside of it. There are some that are easy and some that are more difficult. You can choose the level that is right for you.

10. Check out Home Depot’s calendar of events. They offer free kids workshops the first Saturday of every month. Check out their YouTube video to see if this is something that your kids would enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ekp5LsEaElU&feature=youtu.be.

Healing

Sarge and I were watching an episode of Undercover Boss yesterday that was about epic employees. One of them, who worked for the garbage company and who I vividly remember watching, went in for back surgery and never came out. Sarge and I looked at each other, and I thanked God for the fact that Sarge is still with us. Yes, he had a lot of scary complications, and it was incredibly stressful when we found out that only one IV medication would work for all of his infections, but He answered my prayers. Our family gets to go on as is. We are blessed. 

Poor Pet Fishies

Mom, I love our fishes so much that I want to share everything that I can with them!

That's why I poured a cup full of my juice into their tank. Did you see how pretty the water turned?!?! It was pink!! Don't you love pink, mom?

That's also why I dropped Daddy's blues hat into the tank. It sank and the fishes swam around it! Did you see that, mom?!?! Did you?!?! That was so cool!!

Then, the fishes looked super hungry when I came downstairs. So, I gave them LOTS of food! Aren't you proud of me, Mom?!?!

Mom, fishes are the best!!

Love,

Wee One

Resilience

Have you guys ever gone and gone and gone until all of a sudden you've hit a brick wall (that while imaginary still hurts like no other)?!?!

I've been there.

Thankfully, Sarge is finally back on his feet after his back surgery fiasco, and he is on the up-and-up with his healing process. However, the emotional roller coaster ride took a heavy toll on me.

I'm still coming to terms with the fact that Sarge will have this bacterial infection laying dormant within his body for the rest of his life. Right now, I feel as if we are always going to be on edge as we wait for it to rear its ugly head again.

Don't get me wrong. I'm sure the worry will fade and eventually it will be buried for as long as he is healthy, but right now, it's hard to imagine it.

As I look in the mirror, I notice a few more fine lines that have developed around my eyes, and the  worry lines in my forehead seem to be there permanently. Even Sarge has noticed that he now has twice as many gray hairs in his beard than he used to. I don't think we really realized just how stressful the situation was until we were at the end of it and we knew that he was going to be okay.

During the process, I was in a constant state of getting things done. I was busy trying to keep the kids busy so that they weren't worrying about their dad. I was busy doing household chores. I was busy coordinating with friends and family to help us when we needed it most. I was busy doing my research, so that I knew what was going on at the hospital. I was busy advocating for my husband, and standing up to the health care staff when they weren't taking proper care of him. I was busy trying not to think about the fact that there were only 3 antibiotics that would work on the infection. I was busy trying to not worry about the fact that if the picc line didn't work, my husband would have to be hospitalized for 8-10 weeks. I was busy trying really, really hard not to think about the fact that these types of bacterial infections kill people. I was also trying really, really hard to stay positive while facing the fact that the doctors didn't know what they would do next. I could tell that they were perplexed.

Through out this time, I  was fighting hard to keep on going, but I was losing steam. The laundry piled up. Dinners went uncooked. I just wanted to cry.

After a year of being the sole caretaker of my family (due to his bad back and constant TDYs), and dealing with the idea that Sarge's life could be cut short, I was emotionally spent.

Once Sarge was healed enough that he could help me with Wee One again, and his picc line came out, I finally hit a brick wall.

I sat down and I had a good, long, ugly cry. Then, I told him that I was off the clock for a few days.

I read a few books, I began exercising again, and I promised myself that I would take care of me.

I think I still have a ways to go to completely heal my soul, but I can feel the dark fog lifting, and I can see a few rays of sunshine breaking through.

I am thankful that we, as people, are resilient.

Surprise!!!

For weeks we worked hard to keep our mouths shut about the surprise. I quietly bought a plane ticket. My brother, his wife, and my dad quietly sent out invitations, ordered a cake, and planned every minute detail. It was a milestone birthday for my mom, and we wanted it to be special! I knew she hated surprises, but this one was going to be a good one! 

I went alone, because it was going to be a whirlwind trip (only one full day), and it was expensive. So, I left the house at 4am on Saturday morning and arrived in San Francisco at 10am. I spent the day with my in-laws and grandmother before arriving at the party. My mom had gone out to the city with my aunt to see a museum exhibit, and was expecting a small family dinner at my brother's house. She was so unprepared for the 35 people that were there! 

She walked in the door at 5:15pm, and when everyone yelled, "SURPRISE," she nearly broke down in  tears. Then, I popped out from behind someone, and she began sobbing! It was awesome to see her so happy and shocked! While the trip was short, it was heartwarming, and lovely!! This is one for the record books! We successfully surprised mom!!

Me, my brothers, and my mom.

Middle Child: Mom, do you know the only thing that I don't like about you?

Mom: "No."

Middle Child: "That you don't let me climb trees really, really high."

Mom: "I have to keep you safe."

Middle Child: "Mom, I have no safety limits."

Mom: "I know. That's why you have me." 

Oh, the joys of being a mom…

I feel incredibly appreciated. Lol. 

Potty Training Woes: Please Tell Me That's Mud…

Wee One is really, really interested in potty training now. He refuses to wear a pull-up while we are at home, and he has begun to recognize the feeling of pooping and pee-peeing. This has been a long process. It started a few months ago, but is just now becoming more serious. Quite honestly, I haven't been pushing the issue. 

Anyway, now that it's more serious, we’ve begun to encounter some serious potty training incidents. Like, yesterday when he pooped on the floor and then brought it to me when he was finished. 

I about died!! 

I ran around frantically to get it away from him and then to wash him up. The poor boy, who was looking so innocent, couldn’t figure out why his mother was acting so looney. To him, this was a part of him, and he was so proud! To me, all I could think of was bacteria and the “ew” factor! 

Kids!! Lol