Determined that this would be “the best summer ever” for my son, an accomplish-able feat since he’s only been alive for 3 ½ years, I did a lot of some research and joined a pool.
Not just any pool, but a pool with a splash pad and a mushroom water feature and waterfalls!
Feeling proud of myself, my son and I invested in a new pool bag, plenty of bathing suits, loads of sunscreen, and pool toys.
And then this summer in Richmond happened. In direct contrast to last summer’s dry and oppressive heat, this summer has been wet and humid. Though it does make for cooler temperatures, I feel like we should be preparing an ark and my hair is looking a bit like this:
Still determined to fill our days with fun activities (even if they don’t include the pool), I’ve resorted to other ideas to keep this summer entertaining.
Richmond offers a wide selection of summer camps, vacation bible schools, and Mom’s Morning Outs. We’ve signed up for them. A lot of them.
We’ve had some really fun play dates, even if they did involve umbrellas.
Cutest play date ever!
I’ve even pulled out my inner Pinterest creativity and we created our own indoor car racing ramp. This game is highly addictive (if you’re three) and surprisingly louder than you would expect. It also usually involves more than just cars racing down the track. Think pillows, buckets, and anything your toddler will deem worth throwing.
We also tried a lovely idea of painting with flowers. If you are like us, your yard has an excess of flowers due to lack of mowing and lots of rain, so it was a lot of fun to walk through the yard to gather flowers and then set up to paint with them on the kitchen floor. Be prepared that flower painting will yield in beautifully decorated paper and might also give your kitchen floor and dishwasher a freshly painted makeover.
And who can resist fun summer food? We had a blast dressing up like cows for Chick-fil-A’s cow appreciation day
and have enjoyed some wonderful nights with food trucks and music.
Food Truck night!
We’ve also taken advantage of some of the great indoor play places around Richmond and spent time at The Children’s Museum, Cartwheels and Coffee, and my son’s new favorite place, Jumpology.
This may not have turned out to be the summer I envisioned spending hot sunny days by the pool, but we are still having a great time and keeping busy.
What are you doing to keep yourself (and your kids) entertained this summer?
