Fun Summer Ideas

Dear Ladies,
I HATE snakes. Thankfully I rarely see one, but today I had an up close encounter. I was working in my flower garden, I pulled up a plant to transplant and as I pulled out came a snake. I jumped and scream. All of the men were in the backyard, heard my scream and quickly came to my rescue. They found the little guy and took care of him. We had encountered a small one about 6 weeks ago and I'm hoping it was the same snake. If so, he had grown, but was still small. Summer is a great season, but I could do without the snake encounters.
Our summer vacation time is almost half over. Before we know it will be time to start school again. Is your summer getting away from you? Have you created any special memories with your children yet? It isn't too late to create some fun family memories together. Put on your thinking cap and begin to think of some fun activities you can do with your family.
Here is a list of inexpensive, fun ideas to try with your children this summer.

Pack a picnic and meet your husband at his work for lunch.
Go fishing. Children don't need a fishing license and only one parent really needs one, plus kids poles are relatively inexpensive. Kids usually love fishing.
Find a place where you can walk in the woods, take along a plastic bucket or bag for the children to collect things. The next day they can glue their findings to a piece of cardboard or display them in a pretty jar or basket. (after a week or the collection can quietly disappear.)
Find a stream. My boys always loved playing in streams and looking under the rocks for Crawdads. Smithlake Park has a pretty stream that is fairly shallow.
Find the nearest state visitors center and pick up brochures of near by places to visit. We have one just north of Fredericksburg on I95.
Have friends over to splash in a baby pool.
Bake cookies together on a rainy day.
Attend a local Vacation Bible School.
Spend the morning/afternoon at the pool. Curtis Park has their baby pool open in the morning and it only cost a few dollars. When my kids were little a group of us would meet at the baby pool and then have lunch afterwards. I have fond memories of visiting with my friends.
Create a mural with chalk on the driveway or sidewalk for Dad to see when he comes home.
Read together when the weather is just too hot to be outside.
Catch bugs. Buy a cheap net at the dollar store and save some old plastic jars. If you want to mount and label them put a cotton ball soaked with nail polish remover in the jar to quickly kill them. Or just let them go when you're done. Fireflies are also fun to catch.
Go camping in your backyard or just have a campfire in the evening. Roasting hot dogs and marshmellows around a campfire is great time for Dad to tell a story or share about something he did as a kid.
These summer days hold so much potential for fun and bonding together as a family, so enjoy. Ladies, I'm always blessed with your feedback and enjoy being able to mentor you as you need. Please don't hesitate to call or email.
Melissa
657-6453
esms4@yahoo.com
www.amomlikeyou.com