Summer isn’t fully here still in Oregon but the
holidays are!
Alternating between a drizzle, a cloudy sky and a hot
afternoon, the weather still remains inconsistent making it difficult to build
a routine around outdoors.
On the very first day of school holidays, I woke up to
a house scattered with toys and ear piercing screams of the girls pulling at
each other’s hair. That kind of gave me an idea of things to come. The best
course of action would be to keep them occupied as much as possible, I decided.
That also meant that I had to be on my toes with them but till date it has been
well worth the peace of mind.
So here’s a roll of what we have already covered in the
first three weeks of the holidays….
Park
picnics – we have had a couple of those already. Taking the
kids to a nearby park, in my opinion, is the cheapest, easiest and the
healthiest form of entertainment. Playing outside is good for the minds and bodies,
plus its free so you don’t spend a dime and because it is so convenient you can
just pack a picnic lunch or snack and even make a play date out of it. The kids
can play together in the park and moms can chat while keeping a watch.
The
beach – playing at the beach is one my favorite things to do
whether its dipping my toes in the cold water or running around to catch the
Frisbee or building sand castles with underground tunnels. The sight of rising
waters coming to the shore and then going back in is soothing beyond words. The
beach is an hour and half away from where we stay, close enough to head for it
when the temperatures rise. Of the two times that we went to the beach this
season, each turned out to be memorable in its own way.
During the first visit
we enjoyed the sun and sand to the fullest, played on the beach, had a picnic
lunch and jumped on the cold waves as they came crashing to the store. The kids
also had ice-cream and a ride on the carousal. The other trip we made was with
friends who came to visit from out of town. It wasn’t as warm that day but we
took our chances and went to the beach anyways. Luckily the weather improved as
the day progressed. We picked up fresh berries of all kinds on the way from an
organic farm store and had a delicious lunch at the beach town.
The best part
of the trip was when we rented a bicycle which could sit all 9 of us together
and paddled on the streets, along the beach singing songs. The bike ride is not
going to be forgotten for a long long time.
The
library – books are a savior. I can’t express how lucky I feel
to be staying near a library. Even if you chart a ton of things for the kids to
do there are always days when you have nothing planned and then some days you
are too tired or in no mood to entertain them; recovering from a previous day’s
outing. Books come in handy, especially so on those days. In my house,
everybody reads, so we don’t really have to wait for a spare day to read books
but whenever my 6 year old complains there’s nothing to do, we take a short
walk to the library and bring back a stroller full of books, enough to last a
week or so. Most of the times, my 2 year old decides half way that she’s big
enough to walk all the way to the library, we still take the stroller anyways
and always put it to good use!
Fireworks
–
This year, the 4th of July brought with it some nice weather and a
lots of fun. After a nice lunch and a relaxed couple of hours near the lake,
our group of 15 people including kids took a long walk to gather at a place
where the neighborhood had organized fireworks. The fireworks were spectacular
but our walk to and back from the venue was even more memorable. The small dim
lit road that had a few cars going at that time of the night and never any
pedestrians that late was bustling with people walking, sidewalks crowded and bubbly
as neighbors/families came out to enjoy this dazzling event. It was a rare
sight, watching the street come alive and the night so full of life.
By the time we walked back home, it was almost 11.30
p.m. The kids were tired but so excited with all the outdoor fun; it took a little
bit of convincing to put them to bed. And as we settled on the couch with a
bowl of strawberry ice-cream to watch a movie, it seemed like the perfect
ending to a gorgeous day of summer!
