Ever since the baby's been born, I feel like we, as a family, waste our weekends away. We either get so wrapped up in doing things around the house that have been neglected all week, or have so many trivial obligations that we usually just end up sitting around the house doing a whole lot of nothing. We own a small boat club on the river, so any time we have that we don't spend at home, we dedicate there. I really want to clear my schedule completely, forgo the chores, and enjoy my summer! The problem with that is, we're always so busy with our obligations, that when we do have a few hours to have some fun, we're so out of the loop that we have no idea what to do or where to start... and end up sitting at home [again] as a result. I want to go hiking, camping, SOMETHING, ANYTHING... any thoughts? Money's tight and we'd prefer to be outdoors... it's just been so hot we can't come up with too many kid friendly activities. I had surgery a week ago ad can't swim, so that's unfortunately out of the question. Our kids are 6, almost 5, and 6 months. Thanks!
Local parks ...zoos....camping is awesome ....amusement park ...that can be a little expensive ..but fun ....just a nice walk in the neighborhood playing outdoor games ....the beach but it sounds like the beach might not be the place for you right now...fly a kite.
Parks. We are pretty lame and don't do much when we have weekends. I just spent my morning digging clay and rock at church and got home and my kids and husband are still asleep, so I've been working a few hours away from home, and now have a lot of work to do at home. Our house is pretty well neglected inside just because when the weather is nice we at least get out to the park or play outside.
We are fortunate to have some good fishing areas out here and my husband and I take the boys. I usually walk the trails with one and he fishes with the other since I have not bothered to get a license yet. That is free and gets us outside and the kids love it. I also try to always take a bucket or critter keeper and find toads, snakes, minnows, or crawfish with the kids. We went out and caught fireflies the other night. Sometimes just those isolated fun moments make a huge difference. We are going to try to get up to my in-laws' camp a few times this summer. They just bought one and are fixing it up, but it is over 3 hours away and our gas budget is also pretty tight. You could do a lot outdoors if you have a sling or backpack carrier for your 6 month old. I had a book when I was little called The Young Naturalist and it had great activities for kids with nature, including creating an eco-system in an aquarium, different projects like building a bat house, creating a pond, studying animal tracks and leaves. Activities like that would be great for your older children. There is also a website called lostladybug.org which is a project for kids to do taking pictures and reporting on ladybugs. That might also give you some focus for your time outside.
Nature walks in a nearby forest preserve? The zoo. We go camping, it is cheaper than anything else. You still buy food, but you would at home also.
We hired a cleaning lady $45 every other week, so I do not have as many house chores so I can spend that time with my son.
Pull out the lawn chairs, lemonade and sprinklers. Let the kids have fun while watering your lawn, while you sit back enjoying some cold lemonade.
I have teens...
If we are home:
Laundry, dishes, out door chores
If it's fall:
Marching Band competitions
If it's winter:
Marching Band fundraising,
If it's spring:
Handbell conferences, band events, concerts - free ones...
If it's summer:
Polo in the evenings, berry picking, driving to summer camps
Everything we do involves our kids - even laundry and dishes.
Relax and enjoy your little one... they don't stay little long enough. I have to say we had many years when we did not go anywhere - no money, no energy.
YMMV
LBC
We don't do chores on the weekends. I like to get those done during the week so the weekend can be spent relaxing, etc. We swim, go to water parks, amusement parks, movie theatres, go to the mountains, nature walks, just relaxing inside with a good rented movie, cooking out, eating out.
We work around the house, shop, dine out a lot. Our daughter is 15 so I have teens here a lot hanging out.
We go to the country club for golf, swimming or dining, last week daughter and I went to see Wicked at the Music Hall, and just enjoy hanging out together.
When my son was about 2 yrs old, when we lived in northern Va, we spent a lot of the summer doing one county fair after another. We'd just go and walk, see the 4H animals, look at tractors and trucks, and we always did the merry go round on the midway. In between county fairs, there were fire house open houses (my son was SO into firetrucks!), and various community festivals. There were little zoos, parks, a few water parks. We did the Baltimore aquarium, and in the fall the Maryland Renaissance Festival in Crownsville near Annapolis. You can also get a little kiddie pool and have the kids splash in the back yard and run through a sprinkler. And then we got a little enclosed camp fire ring and cooked hot dogs and smores in the evening. One time we pitched a tent in the back yard and slept there over night.
