Let’s face it, once you become a parent, summers are for kids. I remember being so excited when summer started when I was a child. I’ve been saying yes to summer for as long as I can remember and even though my kids are still pretty young, they are excited about summer too. My years of late nights, long weekend getaways to the beach and hanging out on the stoop (the porch for those of you from the burbs) are long gone. My early summers were always spent in Jamaica. My later summers were spent going to the beach, having picnics or riding the train to Coney Island or the Village. And my summers just before kids were filled with all kinds of single twenty something years old fun.
But now I’m living this mama life and my yes to summer is all about my kids. I want them to have the same fun summers I had. If only my mom would move to Jamaica so she could keep them all summer long but in the meantime, my kids are ready to have some fun. While we do have a few trips planned and a week of camp, most of our summer will be spent enjoying the outdoors.
Picnics & Parties
We kicked off the summer with friends at an end of school year block party hosted by a parent from our school. It was good old fashioned fun. He roasted a pig, we bought sides and the kids enjoyed the day in a bounce house, playing tag and riding bikes. We left for bedtime but we plan to stay for the next movie night on the lawn.
Ice Cream & Treats
What says summer more than ice cream does? Leave it to the hubs and kids and we would be eating ice cream for breakfast. There is no doubt we will enjoy many ice cream dates over the coming months. No one is complaining about this at all. Mama will just have to skip a few cones or pay the price in the gym later. Don’t forget other fun treats. Zoe totally enjoyed bobbing for donuts at a party last week. Throw a little caution to the wind and enjoy a few treats thus summer.
Playgrounds
We will most definitely spend many summer mornings at the playground. This could be the traditional playground, a splash pad or even our favorite park which has a playground and a pool. And when it’s too hot out, we have a few favorite indoor play places to enjoy too.
Gardening
Zoe is so excited about our vegetable and flower gardens. She is up bright and early each day ready to weed, water and prune. I love that she is really into gardening and anxiously awaiting her crop. Every day she asks when we will get to eat the cucumbers or tomatoes. Talk about a lesson in patience for an impatient 4-year-old.
We designed the perfect Evite® invitation for our upcoming Summer Shindig with family and friends. I love that we can create invitations for more than just birthdays using Evite®. Plus we get to add photos from our event all on our private sharing feed attached to our invitation. I discovered this neat feature thanks to the many preschool birthday parties we attended during the year. Wonders never cease. LOL.
One more thing, be sure to say yes to a few kid-free days, weekends or events.
Now it’s your turn to say yes to summer by entering for a chance to win a $500 Visa Gift Card from Evite®. That a lot of bbq, face paint and ice cream money. No kid would ever say no to that. And no mom would say no to spending that gift card on a kid free shopping spree. LOL. Good luck and Happy summer friends.
