Summertime
It’s officially {but not officially} summer here in Northern California! My son just finished first grade, and he is super excited that summer is here! My 3 1/2 year old daughter is excited that her brother is now home every day.
During the summer, my kids love to play outside, whether it’s squirting each other with water guns, blowing bubbles, drawing with chalk, jumping on the trampoline, or playing in the sandbox. And inside, we enjoy putting puzzles together, painting, reading books, playing with Play-Doh and building with Legos.
But I also like to get out of the house and play/do/see/learn/experience NEW things in June, July, and August. And if I’m really being honest: Being out and about helps me keep my sanity (and enjoy some adult interaction) when my husband is working long shifts.
Below are some activities that my kids and I love to do during the summer months.
VISIT THE LIBRARY | My kids and I regularly visit the library during the school year because well, we really LOVE books. But we also go in the summer time to participate in our library’s summer reading program. Our local libraries host activities such as movie nights, puppet shows, slime-making events, animal shows, and live music.
LISTEN TO BOOKS ON CD OR PODCASTS | We enjoy listening to books on CD in the car as we drive to karate or gymnastics classes. (And yes, we check out them out from our local library!) If we don’t have a book on CD to listen to, I put on a podcast episode. The kids enjoy Big Life Kids, Story Pirates and The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian.
SEE A MOVIE | Regal Theaters offer $1 movies for kids and their caregivers every Tuesday and Wednesday morning at 10:00 A.M. We saw Despicable Me this morning with friends. Thank you, Regal!
GO SWIMMING | We don’t have a pool at our home, so we often swim in one of our local public pools, in a nearby lake or river or at our neighbor’s pool.
PLAY AT THE SPLASH PAD | Just ten minutes from us is a small splash pad that the kids really enjoy on hot days. We bring along two plastic buckets for water play and a few sticks of chalk, and the kids are entertained for at least 30 minutes.
PLAY AT THE PARK | We love to meet friends (usually before 11:00 AM when it is still relatively cool outside) at the park for a snack and some play time!
RIDE BIKES | We live in a rural area with lots of hills, so we often ride bikes at the elementary school, the middle school or on the walking trail at the park. Another option I just learned about is the fairgrounds. The Nevada County Fairgrounds is open (and free!) to walkers and bikers {almost} every day. Just enter through Gate 4.
ATTEND A SUMMER CAMP | Our son is excited to attend a sports camp with a few of his friends in July. The camp is offered through our local parks and recreation district. In the past, he’s participated in a British soccer camp, a Lego camp, and a space themed day camp.
TAKE SWIM LESSONS | Every summer, we enroll our kids in swimming lessons at the beginning of the summer. This summer is no different — the kids have swim lessons all next week at a local high school pool.
PAINT ROCKS | I’m not sure which activity the kids like better: Painting the rocks or hiding them in our local downtown area.
PARTICIPATE IN A PARADE | Last summer, our kids loved riding their bikes in our town’s 3rd of July parade. The night before the parade, they decorated their bikes with American flags and red, white, and blue streamers and bells (all from Target and Dollar Tree stores).
TAKE A HIKE | Living in the foothills, we are fortunate to have a plethora of walking trails nearby. Our daughter doesn’t always want to walk the whole way, though, so we often bring along a hiking backpack.
FIND A GEOCACHE | Have you ever tried geocaching? This week was our FIRST time ever searching for a geocache (or hidden container), and while it was challenging to locate it, we received some much needed help from a park ranger. Thank you, Ranger Lynch! To get started geocaching, just download the “Geocaching” app on your phone (it’s FREE), and search for geocaches near you. (Look specifically for “easy” geocaches that have been found recently!)
And here are a few activities that we haven’t tried yet, but hope to this summer.
GO BOWLING | Did you know that kids can bowl for FREE during the summer months? Yes, it’s true! At participating locations, kids ages 2-18 can bowl two games EVERY DAY from April 15 to August 19. Pretty sweet, eh?! I just signed my kids up! Go to kidsbowlfree.com for a list of participating locations and to sign up.
MAKE SOMETHING | Michael’s Art Stores offers Camp Creativity on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 AM to Noon from June 10-July 26. It’s just $3 per child to make a craft! Each week there is a new theme. We hope to attend a session in July!
What do you and your kids like to do during the summer time? Please COMMENT below!
Family Update 2017
This is us: Our family of four in the fall of 2017. (Thank you to Chloe Photography for these beautiful images!)
NOAH | Noah is five and in kindergarten. He is loving school! He is officially "reading" and the child development major/former educator in me is thoroughly loving watching this process unfold. Seeing him blossom and bloom in the areas of reading and writing is simply the best. Noah played soccer in the fall and scored a few goals. When the season came to an end in November, he was disappointed; he genuinely wanted to keep playing. Recently, he came to me and said he needed more sports in his life. So, he's all signed up for a 6-week basketball class starting in January. Noah is currently obsessed with the music from the movie, Sing. In fact, at least once a week, we'll find him pounding away at our piano and belting out "I'm Still Standing." I see piano lessons in his future.
The week before Thanksgiving, Noah created an "I am Thankful For" turkey at school. On the feathers of the turkey, he wrote what he was most thankful for:
- My dad
- My mom
- Good dreams (How sweet is that!)
- My friends
- Maui (We spent a week in Maui in October.)
Yes, he neglected to include his sister, but he does love her. And I think most days, he is thankful for her -- except when she gets into his LEGO bin!
We are so thankful for Noah.
BETHANY | This little 2-year-old girl loves to go, go, go -- nonstop. Bethy climbs on counters and jumps off chairs and she is happiest when she is at gymnastics "nastix" class, swinging on the rings. She dances to "Hair Up" from the Trolls movie as often as she can. She sings "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" over and over, along with the ABC song.
Her car seat now faces forward, and she's become quite the backseat driver. It's not uncommon to hear her yell "Faster, Daddy, faster!"
Beth loves to eat. Fresh eggs from our chickens are one of her favorites! When she really likes a food like pizza or spaghetti or black olives, she'll say "lishis." When she counts aloud, she's likely to say 1, 2, 3, 9 and 10.
Her favorite phrase right now is "try again." I hope it's a mantra she carries with her for the rest of her life.
BRIAN | Still fighting fire. Still cheering on the Notre Dame football team.
Still misplacing his sunglasses on a regular basis. Still secretly planting flower bulbs in the yard for Jennie every fall. Experimenting with yoga. Cooking with his new pellet smoker. Working on his bachelor's degree, one online class at a time.
JENNIE | Still super thankful to be a mama -- and a mama who gets to be with my kiddos A LOT. Still taking photos of my kids and other people's kids. Still serving as a Little Free Library steward.
Still biting my nails. Loving a new practice: once-a-week heated yoga. (And really loving that they have free childcare.) Enjoying teaching monthly art lessons in Noah's classroom. Dreaming up our next travel adventure.
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
The Laird Fam
A fun photo session with this family of four!
It's busy season right now, and I'm loving taking photographs of sweet families like this one!
A BIG thanks to mom and dad who stood right behind me and did who-knows-what to get the kids to giggle. Fist bumps for your efforts!
And one more image -- just because! Isn't the daughter's "scarf" too cute?! It's actually a headband that mom re-purposed. So smart!
If you'd like photos taken of your family this fall, do not delay! I only have two more session openings between now and Christmas. Contact me for more information.