Mom, I'm BORED: Free summer entertainment!

The kids are on summer break, and if I hear "I'm bored" one more time I might hang them by their toes. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing some of the fun activities that we've enjoyed on the cheap.

Seriously, though, I do want them to have a fun summer. Of course, they want to go to Six Flags and Disney World, and though I am grateful for what we have, we do not have the disposable income for a Disney trip for four!

Fortunately, fun can be found close to home, at no cost to me!

Today's outing was to the Silver Comet Trail. It's a paved trail that goes from Georgia all the way to Alabama, used for walking, biking, roller blading, dog walking.. pretty much any non-motorized stuff. There is a parking lot and trail entrance just a few minutes from my house. It has one of those fun fountains for kids to play in, the kind where the water shoots up from brick pavement, and a small park area with benches and shade from a big oak tree.

With a high temperature of 96, it wasn't a good day for walking the trail. The fountain, on the other hand... how refreshing and cool! I sliced up a watermelon, put it in a big bowl, and took that, two hula hoops, Eli's contact juggling ball, and off we went.

After devouring the watermelon, we cooled off in the fountain.

The plan after that was for Sid and I to hula hoop, while Eli practiced his contact juggling, with all of us periodically running through the fountain to stay cool. As kids will do, they deviated from the plan, which was perfectly okay.
 

Sid had no interest in hula hooping, choosing instead to keep running through the fountain. E juggled for only a short time before he discovered the climbability of the big oak tree. I hula hooped, while E watched Sid and I from a bird's eye view.

Exercise, fresh air, and mom & kids time. I am pleased.