We have been working on this already.  This is  our first year in Texas.  The Texas heat is already here giving the illusion that summer is also.  And no, I don’t want to hear about how much hotter it is going to get.  Nope, don’t want to hear it.  I am plugging my ears.

La la la.  I can’t hear you.

1) Water balloon fight with the neighbors.  We did this yesterday afternoon and it was so much fun.  All I had to supply was a bag of water balloons and the hose.  The kids did the rest.  A wee  bit of advice, buy way more balloons than you think you will ever possibly need.  Because you know what?  There is never enough.  I bought a package of them at Target, 100 balloons for $1.  You really can’t go wrong at that price.

2)Ice cream sundae party.  Invite some of your kid’s friends over on a Friday night after dinner.  Set out all the fixin’s and let them make their own.  Alternately, have everyone bring a topping of their choice and have a sort of pot-luck make your own sundae party.

3) Invest in an old fashioned sprinkler or slip-n-slide.  I really want a slip-n-slide for myself.  I remember how much fun they were when I was a kid.

4) Plant a small container garden.

5) Catch some critters and keep them as pets for a short time.  Read about them.  Learn what they eat.  What their natural habitats are. Then release them back from where they came.  For the record, I am talking about critters like frogs, turtles, etc.  One year we hatched tadpoles and that was amazing.  Right now we are nursing an injured turtle back to health. 

6) Find a grassy hill and roll down it.  Alternately photogrpah your children rolling down the hill.

7) Find shapes in clouds.

Buy a book on constellations.  Go out to an open field at night, away from the lights of the city or suburbia.  Look in the sky for the various constellations.  Read some of the ancient myths after which the constellations are named.

9) Go to a minor league baseball game.  There are stadiums everywhere and it is a great time.  It is much less expensive than going to a major league game.  Eat hot dogs, cotton candy, and perfect “doing the wave.”  Even if you are not die-hard baseball fans, there is something magical about being in a stadium.  Also, can you ever see you children do the chicken dance to organ music enough?  Nope, you can not.

10) Read a book in a hammock. 

Soon enough the lazy days of summer will be gone.