Summer Fun!

Hey guys!

So now that it's almost JUNE I'm trying to compile a list of some family fun activities we'll be doing this summer and maybe it will give you some ideas too! Feel free to email me any fun things you guys do so we can check it out!


1. Museum Passes for the Library
As far as I know a lot of county libraries have these. Burlington county has so many different places to go including Camden children's garden, PAWS nature farm and even Grounds for Sculpture. We did Grounds for Sculpture last year and it was pretty awesome. We could have easily spent the entire day there! The food was a little pricey but the gardens themselves were pretty awesome. This is a free program and all of the libraries in the counties have their own passes. You keep them for three days and return them like library books! Each individual pass shows how many people get in but it's always good for me, mike and both girls. It's free and makes a great Saturday adventure!

2. THE BEACH!
Were such LBI fans we might as well just get a shore house down there! We've been taking Brianna and Ashley there forever. We usually go down around 11am or so and get lunch. Then we hit the beach! It's about an hour and a half drive and you do have to pay for the beaches but it never costs us more than $20 for all of us. We always bring our blankets, toys and a cooler full of food and water :) and don't forget your sun screen! We like to use "ThinkBaby" sun screen. It's a completely organic sunblock so were not filling our kids directly with cancer :) It's SPF 50 so make sure you put it on once an hour. Our kids have Italian in them so they hold a tan really well! We also like to do a trip to Ocean City NJ for the day since it has the boardwalk.Atlantic City is always fun, were actually going this weekend. My uncle got us a room with Brianna and Ashley so we can go down the whole weekend and relax with the boardwalk and the ocean and just enjoy our time together. I love our little family adventures!

3. Vacation Bible School
Whichever denomination you are VBS is always such a good experience for kids. Two years ago Leigha was 3 and old enough to attend our church's VBS and I volunteered as a group leader. It was such a fun experience for her. It was the entire week and I picked her up from school and we had dinner at church and then VBS. Minus the awkward moment when Leigha announced to our pastor playing a disciple and the rest of the church that her mom smacks her when she talks about me, it was a pretty fun time! The kids get to learn about Jesus and morals and they usually collect something everyday. Leigha got to see her friends and was super sad when it ended after a week! All the VBS's are free and the age usually starts around 3. Check out your local church and see when yours starts!

4. Lancaster PA
Amish country is definitely a must in the summer. We went when I was younger and I ROCKED that bonnet! They have horse buggy rides which are always super exciting even for adults. The towns usually have the Amish working the markets and teach kids how to dye clothes, clean the stables, make bread and butter and all kinds of other things. The kids are always fascinated by their lack of electronics and modern day advances that we live with everyday. It's kind of an eye opener to show them another way of life, and they have SUPER good food. It's kind of a drive but if you go for the day it's totally worth it.

5. Any kind of fruit festival is amazing
Like the blueberry festival in Robbinsville. If you google festivals they'll definitely come up. I know Pemberton has a ton of festivals because of whitesbogs. We've been there with the kids and it's kind of awesome. They have different trails you can hike and watch them clear the bogs. The kids always have a blast learning how to separate cranberries! They usually have a band playing some old school music and their little convenience store has some pretty good food! There's fruit festivals all up and down NJ so check out one near you!

6. Nature Centers
WE LOVE OUTSIDE! I'm pretty "nazi" like with the kids and electronics and I like to have fun but also make it educational. We have a few nature centers around us including Rancocas Nature center that's open to the public. If you check the website it usually has different dates and times for things for kids and adults. I Know kids have nature hikes where they have to find certain things which is super cute. We love going out and taking pictures of different birds and animals and learning about the babies born in the spring :) Just spray yourself for bugs and check for ticks when you get home!

7. County Fairs
Every county has their infamous county fair! We go to the Burlington County Farm Fair every year and we LOVE it. We took Leigha a few years ago and she had a blast! We take Ashley and Brianna and the rides are pretty awesome. Ashley always likes the animals and sometimes the crazy balloon guy shows up! He just happens to be my uncle so we always get really cool balloons ;) They also have tractor rides and all kinds of vendors out there. The food is usually pretty pricey so it depends on how long youll be there but wawa is right down the street so you can always grab sandwiches. It's a pretty neat fair that goes for about five days and it's always always fun with the kids. They have cotton candy, ice cream and rides! Different rides for different ages :)

8. The Circus!
Me and my friend Kim took Leigha to the circus a few years ago. She got a free ticket from school so we only paid for adult tickets. They had giraffes that you could feed which Leigha thought was the bees knees! I probably spent $10 on carrots so she could feed the giraffe! And probably another $10 so she could feed every other animal. They also had pony rides that were about $5 a piece so she got to do that. They have some food there and then of course the main event! Leigha made friends with every single clown possible and they loved her too! We made it about halfway through the show before she'd exhausted herself so much we had to take her home! You can usually find groupon deals on tickets also but it really is cute!

9. Johnsons Farm
Were huge fans of Johnsons farm throughout the year. We took Ashley strawberry picking last year and she LOVED it. We went with my parents and my brother and we all had a blast. We took the tractor out to the fields and got strawberries and a bunch of veggies my mom ended up cooking for dinner that night. It was fun teaching her how to know when to pick the strawberries and then showing her that we wash them and cook them up to eat all the veggies. It was super educational for her to put all the pieces together of where our food comes from! We also got to see the animal park and play in the kids area. We had ice cream and got some stuff from their super awesome convenience store. They do things like superhero night and the Easter Bunny also! Check their website for updates, they have some great deals!

10. Cape May Zoo
We LOVE the Cape May Zoo. It's a free zoo and we usually give a donation at the gate. This zoo is HUGE and Brianna and Ashley loved it last year. We went down for the day and it took us probably three hours to walk the entire zoo. We got the girls a few things from the little shop and of course Uncle Matt bought them popcorn! They also have this huge park in front of the zoo so we packed sandwiches and had a picnic lunch after the zoo. Then the girls went to play on their age appropriate playground. It was a little bit of a drive but totally worth spending the entire day down there. The kids got to learn about different animals and pick out there favorites. This is an awesome free activity we'll definitely do this year.

There's our top ten things to do in the summer! Of course on those rainy days we take the girls to the movies or stay in and read books and play games. The library also offers a lot of free stuff such as book and craft days. Ashley went there last year and made a craft for fourth of july and got to read a few books with their reader. It was really neat and got her out on a rainy day! We also take the girls for mani's and pedi's a few times to get pampered! Let me know what your fave things to do in summer are so I can add them to our list!