Kabobs

Summer kabobs are the perfect solution for lunch. You use leftovers of cold items and the kids put it together themselves. Besides food on a stick is always popular.

Options included turkey or pepperoni, cheese, tomatoes, pita bread, and cheese tortalini

My "example" kabob is also in the picture.

Hers is a little tomato heavy, but look how proud of it she is

I sense a pattern...

Water Balloons

When you get back from a bike ride and you want to cool down, 100 water balloons are a great idea.

Filling them

Throwing balloons at the house

Throwing them on the roof

They also threw them in the tree, on the tree, and all over the fence. It was fun and as always went way too quickly.

Sprinklers

Beautiful weather means water fun. Some days the pool is closed for maintenance, so we get creative.

It's a water slide...

Using a racquet to keep water off his face (it didn't work)

Different day, now playing with sprinklers in the front yard

Jump!

Wee!

Race to get wet

The fastest way to get wet in the sprinkler

Kids Bowl Free

There is a summer program here that lets kids bowl for free - up to 2 games a day. It doesn't include shoe rental, though. They also have upgrade options so I paid a small amount to also be able to bowl with them. We figured it out and as long as we went twice, it was worth the cost. Here are photos from the first, of many, bowling trips of the summer. Since it is so hot here during the Summer this is a great way to get out of the house.

Sweet Daughter's turn

Sweet Son's turn

To find out if this program exists in your area, go to www.kidsbowlfree.com

Swim Lessons

We thought we were done with swim lessons for the year. Then Sweet Daughter started doing flips underwater and pushing herself past her ability. We decided to add another week to help keep her safe.

Sweet Daughter's turn

Sweet Son's turn

Yes, there were 2 kids to 1 teacher. That is a typical ratio for this swimming school, though sometimes it is 3 kids to 2 teachers. They make so much progress because they are constantly working and not just waiting for their turn. Remember the videos of Sweet Daughter jumping off the diving board with glee while Sweet Son had to be either thrown off or bargained with for a long time before being willing? Here is the progress:

Sweet Daughter is still fearless.

Sweet Son showing some confidence!

Indoor Fun

It gets hot in the Summer where we live. It's not uncommon for it to be over 90F (32C) around the clock, often getting to over 100F (38C) during the afternoons. This means we spend a lot of time inside.

At the point the kids are turning the furniture into a playground, we know we have to do something.

A short drive brought us to this great indoor playground. If you look at the top you can see me with both kids.

Here Wonderful Husband is on the yellow bridge with both kids.

Do you have indoor playgrounds where you live? What other activities do your kids enjoy when it's too hot to be outside?

Ice Skating

The best activity when it is over 100F (38C) outside? Ice skating obviously.

I can't skate, so it's up to Wonderful Husband to teach the kids.

They are both getting better at skating on their own.

The independence is great so they don't have to take turns on the ice.

Here the three of them are racing toward the camera! hehehehe

It's also a great way to exhaust the kids, which is a running theme around here.

Backyard Fun

The kids still love the swing set that Wonderful Husband built. I love these photos!

Rain!

We are in a drought and any rain is welcome. It's even better when there isn't any lightening so we can go splash in it. I also love photos that look like my kids are levitating.

We walked down the street to the biggest puddle we could find.

The problem with having such great drainage is there are very few splashing puddles.

Yes, the kids are in the middle of the street. However, we are standing with them and watching for cars. There isn't a lot of traffic on our street, but we were watching.

Such a graceful jumper!

The next time it rains, just put on some sandals and jump. It makes the entire day feel great, even if it's dark and cloudy.

Space Science Camp

We enrolled the kids in multiple Science camps at the museum near us during the Summer. The one they were the most excited about was the one focused on space. At breakfast the first morning of camp the kids were coming up with things they wanted to learn. Sweet Daughter wants to know what the astronauts do with their trash. Sweet Son wants to know why iron makes Mars red and methane makes Neptune blue.

Each day they came home excited to tell me everything they had learned. They also brought home their art. Here Sweet Daughter is showing me her space suit. She is trying to hook up her breathing tube to the helmet. 

Here you can see Sweet Son's oxygen tank on the back. This was such a quick and simple craft, but the kids loved it and wore them until they fell apart.

Here you can see a satellite and rover for exploring other planets.

I couldn't attend the camp with them so I only know what they shared with me. At the end of each 3 hour morning, they would talk for 3-4 hours about all of the things they learned and did during camp. They were always excited to attend and sad when the camp was over. After 6 weeks of camp (not consecutive), when I told them they were going back to school they weren't sure what to think. They love school, but they love Science camp as well. Needless to say, we are enrolled for more camps this Summer.

Summer Adventures, part 2

The Dallas visitors bureau started a campaign advertising Dallas as the BIG D. In a few places around town you would see a large B&G. The instructions were to stand in the middle and make your own moment - placing I in the BIG D. Sweet Son wanted in the B since he's a boy. Sweet Daughter wanted in the G since she's a girl. I took the center position. I tried standing with my feet on the suggested places, but those were wider than my shoulders and made for a really awkward photo. This was my favorite.

These are still around Dallas. If you search online you can find the current locations and make your own moment.

Included with admission to the Summer Adventures was admission to the aquarium. The kids had no interest in petting the sting rays, but Sweet Daughter because so excited to see her favorite animal.

The iconic swan boats were also free (included), so we had to take those for a spin around the lake. 

The boys take a selfie in a swan boat.

Now for the bad news. This highly entertaining way to spend a day is no longer open. They didn't advertise very well and attendance was awful. After spending $30 million to open this and just breaking even running it, they have decided not to have it again. I wish they would have given it longer to be successful. Expecting any new business to be profitable in the first 3 months is crazy, especially with the lack of advertising. We were looking forward to going again and the kids are already asking when we can go back.

Summer Adventures in Fair Park, Dallas, Texas

I had heard about the Summer Adventures at Fair Park from some friends. You pay one price to get into the fair grounds and then all of the rides are free. In addition to that, they added splash parks, free sunscreen dispensers, and you got one free bottle of water with each admission. This sounded perfect for a family adventure!

Getting ready to go inside. 

There were no lines. Ok, the log ride had about a 5 minute wait, but that was the only line we saw the entire time we were there. There were also a few state fair style shows that we walked by or attended.

Riding the Texas Star!

This ferris wheel is a Dallas icon. It goes more than 20 stories high and on a clear day you can see the Fort Worth skyline (40 miles away). During the state fair this costs $7 per person and has the longest line at the fair. We walked right on and rode for free (included in ticket price). We quickly did the Math and realized we only had to ride 2 things to make this cheaper than the fair.

Sweet Daughter jumping.

I think everyone who has seen these wants a turn, but they are usually so expensive. However, they were included, so we all four took a turn. 

Sweet Son jumping.

 We do have photos of the adults jumping, but they aren't flattering so I'm not posting those!

Riding on a roller coaster!

The log ride - the only ride that had a line.

Driving tractors - Sweet Daughter in pink, Sweet Son in blue.

Riding on flying dragons

After getting our fill of the rides, shows, and splash parks we had some fair food. We discovered in addition to the typical fried foods, they also offered some healthy options. We ate inside an air-conditioned tent and enjoyed the large clean bathrooms. Just about the time this sounds too good to be true... the post will be continued tomorrow!

Tennis

In addition to trying soccer and dance, the kids wanted to learn tennis. We found a week long camp and they loved it. Of course, I only remembered to bring my camera on the last day.

Before class starts

She loves her pink/purple racquet.

There were multiple stations set up and different groups going through them. I was sitting by this one so there are no actual pictures of them playing tennis. Yeah, I'm not only a bad blogger I'm a bad Mom. On the other hand, she's clearly levitating over this ladder.

His jumping style was a little more energetic. By the end of the camp, they knew two different hits and could hit the slow tennis balls over the net either way. They had fun and a year later are still asking to go back to tennis.