Don't Forget About Your Community....

While in the midst of planning activities for the family, I came across a huge variety of FREE (one of my favorite words ever!) family activities that take place just around the corner (literally). Out local community center puts on many events that are great for the entire family. I subscribed to their weekly updates and bookmarked the website. I should have known better but I completely forgot about the community centers! It is a fantastic resource for economical family fun days. We are planning on attending the "Concerts in the Park" next week and probably the "Movies in the Park" the following week (of course I will write a post about it). Oh, and did I mention that those two events have FREE admission. 


  So if you are searching for a variety of activities to do that will save you money, check out your local community center. They also have many classes that you can sign up for that are pretty reasonable. I believe that some centers will offer a discount for local community members. The classes that are offered range from swimming to cooking to dancing to play camps. How awesome! There are also many FREE events at the local library for infants, toddlers, and older kids. They host family reading nights, storytelling afternoons, and more. This is something I personally love (because of the teacher in me). So I can't wait to check those out as well.


   I also noticed that the center offers various trips the whole family can enjoy at affordable prices. For example, one trip was to a major league baseball game and another was to a popular beach destination. That's a good way to save money and gas.


   So now I know for future reference as well as for future summers to come: I will not forget about my community center resources. Come to think of it, I'll be sure to check out the events offered throughout the year as well. Why not, right? Till next time... be blessed!

Summer Kick Off Backyard Celebration!

 Ok.. so it is a mini tradition for our family to have a summer kick off backyard celebration to welcome summertime, family trips, tank tops, flip flops, and most of all summertime memories. The celebration is very simple and low key. It is just for our family and sometimes grandma and grandpa attend and that's about it.
  For food we have a barbeque of course! Hot dogs, chicken, and hot links are the family favorites. Side dishes include potato salad and baked beans. I also like to bake cookies (the kids like to help) for the dessert to keep it simple. The meal wouldn't be complete without the famous strawberry lemonade with fresh fruit! So tasty and refreshing... perfect to start the summer.
  The boys love to play in their kiddie pool with their toys while we hang out on the shaded patio with the radio blasting (not loud enough to disturb the neighbors of course). After the boys play for a while we like to try to make a simple summer craft. I usually get my craft ideas from an awesome website called Amazing Moms.
 We usually end the celebration with some ice cream in our cute ice cream party bowls that I was able to pick up from our local Party City for half off. 
 All in all the day is fun and stress free for everyone (which is important to us moms). I always try to remember to take pictures at all of our events so I can make scrapbooks and albums to show the boys when they get older. Creating life lasting memories is so important to me no matter how busy we get. Time sure flies and we can't get these moments back.
  So... if you want to try out a mini summer kick of your own I hope this helps. There is really no way you can go wrong. It can be as simple or as elaborate as you want. Spending time with family is the focus and this is a great summer family activity that doesn't have to cost a lot of money.

 Mini Summer Celebration Helpful Tips:
 !. Make sure you have the sunscreen ready for everyone especially the kids. There are really great sunscreen products that even stay on when the kids are in the pool. They can be found at your local grocery stores.
 2. Make sure to also have your camera ready. As you can see I am big on creating memories and having a camera by my side helps to ensure that I capture these events.
3. If you want to display some decorations, Party City has great sales on summer party decor right before the summer begins. If you plan ahead of time you can save money on some really cute theme party ware for your celebration.

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas....

Well, well, well... Summer is finally here and we are so very excited. Summer, for us, is a time when we get to do so many enjoyable activities as a family. However, it takes some creativity to make sure that my 3 year old twins have a blast and not a melt down. It amazes me how much time I have to put into planning even the simplest activities. My husband and I search the web, bounce ideas around, and even make lists that display the pros and cons. It can be a job in itself.

  I'm not sure if it's just me but I find it difficult at times to find activities for us to participate in that are not only family friendly (or should I say toddler friendly) but also inexpensive and entertaining. So now, after such planning, I have planned some fun adventures for my family and would like to share our experiences in hopes of helping other busy moms and dads formulate ideas to entertain their little ones without always breaking the bank!

 In my blogs to follow I will discuss these activities whether they are very simple or more extreme. I am still planning more activities so the process will be ongoing. Some of our summer activities include: regional parks, drive in movies, mini theme parks, the zoo, bowling, simple outside water activities, and of course our summer wouldn't be complete without a trip to Disneyland, and much, much more!