Summer is Here at Last!

Posted June 16, 2014 by Prairie Wife - 3 comments

Here in Wyoming the cold tends to drag it’s feet and stick around a little longer than most places. In the mountains there is still snow but, here on the Prairie, it’s been a few weeks since we had snow. I think (hope) this last week brought us our final night of frost. At least I hope so, because I plan to take the Cowkids to the store to replace their Tomato and Watermelon plants that couldn’t take the cold. As part of our summer tradition, the Cowkids and I spend a ton of time at a local state park. It’s only a few miles away from the Prairie Homestead and offers a small “lake” and sandy beach, as well as the North Platte River, playgrounds, and an amazing shady trail that I love to run on. It’s a park we go to almost all year because once it’s too cold to go swimming we bundle up, and the Cowkids ride their bikes through the leaf piles on the trails. I encourage everyone to check out your state’s park systems. Often times you can buy a state park pass for under $50 and go to any park all year long. As we travel around after The Cowboy it’s a great way to spend the day as a family, and we always make wonderful memories.

I keep a picnic blanket and two mesh bags with our beach gear in the back of the van (thank you Target), that way we are ready to go as soon as everyone is suited up and sunscreened. One bag has all of our sand toys and the other has their life jackets. Cowboy J is a proficient swimmer so he only wears it when swimming in deeper water. It just keeps my mind at ease to have the kids in one, you never know what might happen. I also throw in sunscreen, bug spray and a few bottles of water to keep the trips to the car down to a minimum!

We usually go to this park once a week all summer long and it felt SO good to hit the sand with the Cowkids. Cowboy C is just the right age to really enjoy all the digging and splashing!

The bigger Cowkids have the routine down pat by now, and are pros at making mini lakes, dinosaour habitats, and sand castles galore!

I have learned that it is well worth the money to make sure each kid has a bucket and shovel of their own…trust me…

After about two hours in the sun and water we are all pretty hot and hungry so the Cowkids take turns chaning into clothes while I set up a picnic in the shade. I couldn’t do it without my thirty-one bag!

I usually try to cook pretty healthfully but there are some things that are necessary for our picnics. It just isn’t summer around here without Capri Sun juice pouches and fruit snacks. You can’t go wrong with old fashioned PB and J sandwiches and some fresh fruit either!

As we rest and gather our energy for the drive home we like to listen to the leaves rustle in the never ending Wyoming wind.

Take some time this summer to get outside with your kids, their is nothing better than watching your kids loving life and laughing in the sunshine with your children!

What are some of your summer traditions?

Categories: Life As It Happens, Prairie Life

Tags: , beach, children, family time, motherhood, park, picnic, summer