10 Family Fun Things for Summer

Recently I blogged about preparing for a staycation.  I hinted that I’d be doing another post talking about the fun stuff we’d do on our staycation. I also want to mention some of the the other things we like to do for fun as a family during the summer.

What do we like to do?

1. Picnics!  We have a beautiful park with a lake nearby.  Lots of ducks spend the summer at this lake.  Sometimes we just go to the park to walk trails near the lake and visit the ducks.  Sometimes we’ll grab some sandwiches and find a picnic table.  One summer we even brought along a game to play.  The girls are excited to take the grandparents to the park for a picnic. Tailorbear has even made some special loaves of French bread to make sandwiches.
2. Sleeping in a Tent: No, this not my idea of fun.  I like my bed thankyouverymuch.  My girls, especially Tailorbear and Turtlegirl, however, think it is very fun to set up a tent in the backyard and pretend they are camping.  I guess you could call it Backyard Camping.  Since those two are giving up their bedroom for the grandparents, I think they’ll be “backyard camping” during part of the visit.
3. Go to the beach! We live just far enough that my preference would be to do an overnight trip to the ocean but we have done it as a day trip.  We grab some “to go” type breakfast like muffins or breakfast sandwiches and we pack a picnic lunch.   We won’t be doing this on our staycation with the grandparents but we will be going to ocean this summer.  We even have the date blocked off on the calendar.  I love walking along the beach.  I love the ocean.  I wish we lived a tiny bit closer but I am thankful to live in a coastal state.  And if you count Puget Sound as “ocean” (it is saltwater and it does take you out the Pacific!) then I am fairly close. 
4. Go to the Mountains!: I know I said I lived close enough to the ocean that I could do a daytrip, but I live even closer to the mountains.  I love the cascades.  If I crane my neck, I can see them from my bedroom window. We love to pack up a lunch and take a drive.  As part of our staycation, we’re taking a slightly longer day trip to Mt. St. Helens.  We’ll have to do the “grab and go” breakfast to eat in the van but I think it will be worth it.
5. Have a Game Day! and I do mean DAY.  We like to set aside a day for just playing board games.  We try to do one in the summer and it is our tradition to do it on Thanksgiving and sometimes Christmas.  We like to play Wits & Wagers (Family Edition), Say Anything (Family Edition), Tri-Cross as well as other board games.  I’m hoping that a new game that I get to review will be here in time for our planned Game Day during our Staycation.
6. Go to the Zoo or Museum! Some years we get a membership to the zoo and some years we get a membership to the science center.  This year we renewed our membership to the science center.  We’ll be heading up to the science center to see the King Tut exhibit.  We even got tickets for the grandparents.  This I think is the highlight of our staycation.
7. Have a Barbeque in the Backyard! At least once each summer we like to invite friends over and have a backyard picnic.  Sometimes it’s just one family and sometimes it’s several.  We grill up some hamburgers and hotdogs and friends bring a side dish to share.  Great food, great fellowship and great fun for the whole family.  Sometimes we do this for the 4th of July or around a birthday.
8. Take a drive: There are many small towns around here with interesting historical sites.  My family enjoys exploring.  Last year we found a small town with a war memorial and Carnegie library.  We were able to tour the library and I sat in a comfy chair and read a couple of picture books to Supergirl.
9. Have a Water Fight! Ok this is another one that mom doesn’t really participate in but the girls (and sometimes dad) like to do.  Put on some bathing suits, find some water and “attack”.  Usually the girls just use the hose and a bucket or two.  Water balloons and squirt guns have also been used.  Warning: This requires a very sunny warm day which makes it an activity more for late July or August here in the Pacific Northwest.
10. Have a Lazy Day! One activity that I love to do is have a sit in the sun and read a book all day.  Sometimes the girls will take their books outside but it works to find a spot in the living room by the window with the sun streaming through the glass.

What does your family like to do for fun in the summer months? You can read what other Schoolhouse Review Crew members are doing for Summer Fun on Tuesday.  In the meantime you can always read past Blog Cruise posts here.

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