Summer 2017 Favorites

Our summer months this year look a bit different than in year's past.  Reason being, we decided to hire a nanny!  Normally, both kids spend their summers with their daycare providers.  However, to give Rowen a fun summer before kindergarten, and to lessen the burden of having two kids at two separate daycare facilities, it was the best choice! So far it’s gone very well, and the kids are having a blast!

When we were packing to move last summer I ended up donating a lot of toys we weren’t using.  Included in the donation box was a lot of their summer toys, pool noodles, water guns, etc.  By that point we’d had them for a number of years and they were starting to get gross so I just decided to do away with them to help lessen the load for the move.  Well, fast forward another summer and I realized I needed new stuff to keep the kids entertained!  So today I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite summer items (links for everything in descriptions below)...

1. Intex Wishing Well Pool -  I initially bought this pool because I liked the idea of having two pools in one.  I liked the fact that Wyatt could easily play in the middle portion and Rowen could swim in circles around the outer ring. So far both kids love the outer area the most!  Wyatt loves to put his cars and trucks in the pool and drive them along the edge!  It's the perfect pool for toddlers because they can easily step in and out without assistance.

2. Aruba Mesh Beach Tote Bag -  We use this as our pool toy bag.  It's a cooler/bag combo!  The top 3/4 features a mesh bag (perfect for wet toys) and the bottom 1/4 is an insulated cooler. Whenever the kids visit the pool or splash pad they want to take along toys and it's usually pushing lunch time or dinner time when we are there so this is the perfect solution!

3. WooHoo Toys Big Children Playhouse Pop-Up Play Tent -  My oldest loves to play pretend so I thought this would be fun. Some of the other fold-able tents I found weren't very big, but this one is huge - you can easily fit multiple kids inside!  Unlike other play tents, it doesn't require poles, it simply pops up and folds back down for easy storage.  Bonus is that it comes with stakes so that we can take it outside as well!

4. Splash Balls -  An obvious necessity when it comes to summertime and the occasional water fight with dad! :)

5. Sportspower My 1st Waterslide - We've only put this up a handful of times this summer, but it's a lot of fun, my neighbor kids love it, too!  Much like a bounce house it uses a blower and inflates within minutes.  So far the quality seems to be great!

6. Dew Drop Ocean Beads Ocean Animals Adventure Kit - These water beads are a total hit with my kids!  They're cheap and great for sensory play.  I keep them in a plastic tote out on our deck, under the umbrella and send the kids out to play daily.  This particular pack of beads comes with small ocean animals to play with.  I love to play with these too, there's something very relaxing about them! I bought these Squeezy Tweezers, which are great for little hands, too!

7. Wiggle Car by Lil' Rider - This is by far my daughter's favorite thing to play with outside when we are not in the pool.  The speed she has when she's on this thing is crazy - they are low to the ground, very easy to ride, and come in a bunch of different colors. I highly recommend it for younger kids!

Summer Staycation

Two weeks ago, Ryan and I took a week long "stay-cation" and it was marvelous!  As a mom who works full-time, I don’t get to do a lot of the fun things stay-at-home moms get to do with their kids in the summer.  So, it was my plan to become tourists of our own city and jam pack the week with fun things we could do as a family!

Local Wading Pool:  

The week started off warm so we decided to kick things off with a trip to the local wading pool!  This particular zero depth pool is a popular hangout for toddlers in our city and just so happened to be the perfect spot for Rowen to practice her most recent obsession, swimming like a mermaid...so funny!  We arrived right as the pool opened, let Rowen swim for a bit then took a break and had a picnic lunch.  Such a fun way to spend a warm summer day!

Science Center:  

Next up on the list was the Science Center!  The City of Des Moines has some great educational opportunities for kids, and the Science Center is definitely one of them.  I was a bit worried that Rowen was too young to get the full experience, but I was wrong.  There was a designated area for kids her age, which she loved, and we even got to hang out with Elmo and the rest of the Sesame Street gang in the planetarium! For me, the best part of the entire visit was watching her figure out how each "science station" worked and seeing her interact with the other kids that were there!

Backyard Pool Day:

One of the gifts we gave Rowen for her birthday was a large, inflatable pool.  Rowen will take any chance she can get to swim, but sometimes it’s inconvenient to pack everyone up and head to the local pool.  Instead, we made our own fun in the backyard!

Natural Playscape:

Jester Park's Natural Playscape was the top "must see" item on my list for the week.  I'd heard a lot of good things about this park and decided I just had to see it!  The playscape is located inside Jester Park, a large state park, not too far from our house.  

Before I go into detail, I will warn you that the park is a bit tricky to find as it's sort of hidden at the back end of the park.  If you go, be sure to follow the signs as they direct you though the windy roads within the park and give yourself plenty of extra time! 

The information I had read about the playscape said it was designed for kids five years and older, but I would disagree.  Rowen is only two and had an absolute blast.  There are tons of things to keep a child younger than five entertained.  

• Archaeological Dig – A large sand pit filled with natural toys to dig with.

• Tree Tunnels – Gravel paths take you through the park and along the way you'll find hollowed out trees to crawl through

• Water play -  The park has a pool of water at the center, with a few small water features.   If you come to the park, be prepared for your child to get wet!  I would recommend bringing a change of clothes and water shoes.  The water was freezing, but Rowen loved it!

• Log Stairs - Small logs line a hill to create a climbing feature.  Going up was easy, going down was a bit more challenging - so neat!

• Bison Bluff -   One of the best things about this playscape was the company it keeps.  There are Bison roaming the area right next to the park!  Who knew!

That was our staycation in nutshell!  It was wonderful spending so much quality time together.  Ryan and I enjoyed our week so much that we agreed to try to do it every summer for the foreseeable future!

Summer Bucket List

For me, Memorial Day is the official start to summer, and I wanted to share with you a few of the things that are on our summer bucket list as a little family of three! 

Most of the items on this list are simple activities our family can do as a way to spend quality time together.  This is the first bucket list I've made, but I think it’s something I want to continue doing each season - filling it with our favorite things, places we've wanted to go and things we've been eager to do.  

So, I’ll get right to it, here is our Summer Bucket List for 2014:

What's on your summer bucket list?  I'd love to hear!

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Corn, Beans, Pigs, & Kids