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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.
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We took a our kids on their first beach vacation. It was GREAT!!!:)
Getting together with a few other families for a BBQ – good food, good friends, good fun!
A day at the beach for water fun and games.
We love the beach! Great days spent playing and swimming.
We love to travel and experience new places together. We all love it!
Swimming and the park.
It’s been so hot this summer – we discovered the interactive children’s museum. So much fun!
we love spending time at the pool!
We love to go to the beach during the summer.
We love the beach. And, we love our annual 4th of July fireworks extravaganza/cookout with family & friends. Nothing like swimming, playing volleyball, eating lots of food, watching little kids do sparklers & big kids do bottle rockets…and adults (who think they’re kids) shoot off the big fireworks. Makes my heart full & happy every year!
It’s HOT here in the desert, too. We always went to the movies as much as possible in the summer, looking for the cheapest matinee price we could find. So nice and cooooool in the movie theater!
I absolutely love playing outside with my nephews and nieces! Their laughter is catching and there’s nothing like hearing little kids shout on a summer day to make you smile. :)
Anything where we can get out of the heat! Pool, air conditioned movies, that kind of thing. We save the outdoor fun for fall. :)
We love being at the pool with friends. It is definitely our favorite thing to do. :)
We love going to the beach!
I’m going to say something silly, but I really love summer reading programs. To see my kids sprawled over the floor at the end of a long (and hot) day reading something they enjoy, well, that is my favorite thing.
That, and um, eating grilled hot dogs and watermelon.
I have nothing but young adults left. We love to chill on the beach and ride bikes on the boardwalk.
We love to go camping. Grilling hot dogs and marshmellows on an open fire.
Staying in our pajamas as long as possible, then changing into swimsuits and spending the day at the pool!
We enjoy just spending time with our family, whether it is cooking out, spending a day at the pool, or just being together!
This was my little one’s first real summer (last year he was a newborn), and it has been so fun just to be able to get outside with him to run around, play in the pool, and pop bubbles.
Playing outside long after dark, catching fireflies and watching the stars. :) And then sleeping in the next morning!
Swim at my parent’s pool!
Swim in the pool and swim at the beach! My most absolutely FAVORITE activities in Summer!
Believe it or not, we like to stay in our pajamas all day! Not every day, of course.
Going to beach and the pool!
Going to a local low-water creek and just exploring!
Long weekend at the beach with 2 families that our children (ages 24 -29) have grown up with. All 18 of us were able to be there – a miracle in and of itself. Precious time with family and friends.
I can’t wait for next summer, when my now-4-month-old will be big enough for the annual beach trip with our good friends – relaxing at the beach or pool, then hanging out in the condo and chatting till late in the evening each night!
Just kicking back and relaxing with the kids at a neighbor’s pool– bringing over all the junk food we have to share, while we slowly roast in the sun. Nothin’ better!
Visits to Savannah, GA to see our grandkids! And of course their parents:)
Playing in the water fountain downtown!
We love boating on the lake. We take lunch out there and find a nice cove to swim in. My five year old, learned to swim in the lake three years ago and we can’t keep him out of the water since.
We’ll my son is 4.5 weeks away from being born… so our favorite activity this summer is sitting in AC areas with fans on and as little clothing as possible.
I love taking them for ice cream. It’s a small thing, but their faces just light up. I especially love it after a day of swimming. Wet hair stuck all around their faces, sticky ice cream hands. So cute and sweet.
My kids and I have spent a lot of time at the pool, but I would have to say my favorite day so far this Summer was a rainy Saturday afternoon when my kids and I went to the Library and I read to them for hours. It was a time to just sit and be cozy in a corner of the library, and just spend quality time with them that I will never forget.
We go on a City Adventure each spring or summer for two or three days. We pick a city we’ve never visited before, research and pick five or six things to do there (at least two of the activities have to be free), and we explore a new city together.
We’ve gone to Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta and this summer we went to Amelia Island.
We never eat at a chain restaurant. We always make sure we eat at local places. And we research to see if there is a restaurant which has been featured on Diners, Drive-Thrus and Dives nearby. If so, we always eat there. Great fun. (We ate at a restaurant called Thirteen Gypsies this last trip. It was fantastic.)
We’ve been on guitar factory tours, visited Graceland, taken line-dancing lessons, ice skated in Centennial Park in Atlanta, and boogie boarded in the Atlantic Ocean.
Our next City Adventure… Louisville, Kentucky. We can’t wait.
Thanks for doing this! I don’t have children yet, but my favorite vacations when I was a kid were camping! We went on all sorts of more glamorous trips, but those times in the tent playing cards with my family after cooking out are some of my best childhood memories without a doubt.
We spend a week staying in a camper every summer so that our kids can show livestock at the local county fair. It’s hot and humid, but I love all of the togetherness and the memories we create!
We go to the beach and then spend a few hours at the boardwalk. Everyone is relaxed and happy and it is wonderful.
My boys and I love to take long walks, usually with our dog. This year it’s mostly been through our neighborhood, but we also like to visit the state park in our town.
Camping!!!!!
Love to go swimming!
cookouts, swimming, and the beach.
Just hanging out each day with no particular schedule…
Having Family Fun Night with our girls (6, 4, 2), staying up late, watching movies, and eating junk food!!!!
We love to hang out with family and friends!
We love to take our mountain bikes to a nearby lake where there are great trails to ride on. We make a day of it.
We swim in our pool – we live in the desert so it is our only reprieve!
We love to travel!
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