Tuesday, June 29, 2010

These are a few of my favorite {Summer} things...

I LOVE summer.

I am a teacher, so you can imagine why I especially love summer.

No bed times for my kids.

Playing board games and eating popcorn every night.

Staying out and playing tag or baseball until it is really dark.

Lazy mornings with big breakfasts.

Swim classes and park play dates.

And lots and lots of fun little trips.

There is a huge conflict, however, between doing a ton of fun things and a teacher's summer salary.

Yup, you guessed it.

There is no summer salary.

I never realized that having an exciting summer could be so expensive, but I refuse to stay at home and do nothing because I can't do everything, so I started researching.

There are so many awesome activities ad amazing places to go that are virtually free.

Yes, I did say {almost} FREE.

It took me a while to compile our summer list, and it would take me even longer to post it.

So, I will post a few things here and there.

Venice Beach Bike Ride - Venice Beach is such an interesting place. You can rent a bike for as little as $5 an hour. They have baby trailers and tandem bikes specifically designed for your littles. It takes just about an hour to ride all the way to the Santa Monica Pier and back. You may even have time to stop off at the pier for a couple of games, a ride on their new spiffy ferris wheel, or some funnel cake. Along the way, you will get a glimpse of some insanely interesting street performers, shops, and people just strolling along like you. I am a serious people watcher, and Venice is one of my favorite places to go to take in all of the scenery.


Grunion Run- I have been doing this since high school. {It all started as a extra credit assignment for Biology.} It is just a fascinating experience, and my kids love it. Plus, you get to spend the evening at the beach. If you go early, maybe you could have a little bonfire, make some s'mores, and catch the sunset. If not, stop off at Starbucks, get a couple of hot chocolates, and head over to one of the beaches nearby to catch the grunion action.

kidsbowlfree.com - My awesome friend Cathy passed along this amazing information, and I have already signed my kiddos up. You get 2 free games of bowling every single day of the summer for each of your children. All you have to worry about is shoe rentals, but those aren't very expensive. It can be as little as $3 for each child. It is available in every state for those of you who were getting tired of my ramblings of summer fun in only California that did not include you.

Powell's Sweet Shoppe- This is the cutest, most amazingly stocked sweet shop I have ever been too. They have gourmet chocolates, gelato, cupcakes, and a huge array of our old school candy favorites. We love to spend the evening on 2nd Street in Belmont Shores, and a stop at Powell's is the sweet ending to a fun-filled evening. While you are in Belmont Shores, stop off at Frosted Cupcakery.Their Royal White and Vanilla Buttercream is simply out of this world. Also, ask for their Strawberry Lemonade cupcake. I can't even think about it without my mouth beginning to water. Their cupcakes are $2.95, and I would recommend ordering a couple cupcakes and sharing. Their cupcakes are quite decadent.

Seal Beach Pier Playground- It is just steps away from the beach, it is enclosed by a wall covered in beautifully hand painted tiles, and it is a great little playground appropriate for both my six year old and my two year old. You can definitely make a day of it. Pack a lunch or snack, hang out on the beach, let the kiddos play at the playground, and take a walk down Main Street. There are some fabulous little shops and some delish food. Make sure to stop off for two slices of thin crust pizza {huge slices} and a soda for $6 at Slice of New York Pizza. They don't have a web page, so I will provide you with a bit of info. Their address is 142 Main Street Seal Beach, California 90740. My hubby is Italian, so I have been thoroughly groomed in my pizza critiquing and this pizza definitely makes the cut. Don't forget a little bit of sweet at Sweet Jill's. Try their cinnamon roll. It is sharable, gooey, and delicious. One of my favorite stops on Main Street is Raspberry & Sage. It is filled with gorgeous goodies for the littles from clothing to hair accessories to gifts for mom.

I hope this helps.

I hope this gives you a few more ideas on what to do with your littles for the next couple of months.

I will be posting a few more fun-filled activities later this week.

I'm off to go play Sorry, bake cookies, and snuggle with my summer lovies.

I hope you all are having lots of fun in the sun.

{Hopefully, this June gloom will go away and we'll have a little more sun to have fun in.}



17 comments:

  1. I just read that you are Team Edward... ha ha so am I (even though I'm a bit too old to be a Twilight fan, me thinks) :-) What, no bed times for your kids? Are they allowed to stay up all night all summer?!

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  2. Thanks for stopping by my blog and becoming a follower. I am now a follower of yours as well. I appreciate the kind comment you left. Seems as though you have a lovely family as well.
    It takes some thought, but fun things can be done for cheap or free. With six kids, it's imperative that I scour the paper and ads to find things that will amuse them without breaking my pocketbook.

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  3. Thanks for stopping by my page!

    I love cheap fun!

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  4. Hi! Following you back today!! Blessings!

    Jennifer @ For Such a Time as This (www.jennifersikora.com)

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  5. Hey Thanks for following me. I am now following you back!!
    http://mommysmargaritas.blogspot.com

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  6. Tabitha I am your newest follower! Thanks for the sweet comments on my blog and your children are beautiful!!! What a cute blog!!!!!

    Karen @ The Mommy Times
    Enter my giveaway's while you're there!

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  7. I am wishig I lived in Cali right about now. What a great list! As a Mom of four it's hard to balance fun and COST.
    It also sounds like your kids are lucky to have such a fun Mom. I am sure you feel just as lucky to have great kids.
    I am following. TY for stopping by my place :)

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  8. Thanks for stopping by my page, following you back! I love your blog! Not only is it pretty but there is lots of good stuff!

    I love finding cheap stuff to do with the kids too! We have been doing a lot of crafts lately hehe

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  9. Hi there. Thanks so much for your lovely comment and for becoming a follower. I am now following your fun blog too! Love it.

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  10. following you back :)
    Your children are precious! I just started staying at home with my boys this year and I was just like YOU, planning our summer packed full of fun, amazing things to do to soak it all up! yep, you guessed it..former P.E. teacher here!
    CUTE BLOG BY THE WAY!!

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  11. Super cure blog! Thanks for following me I'm following you now too! :) I will be back to read more

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  12. The grunion??? Oh my gosh, I did that in high school!!!! Where did you go? I went to Chaminade in the San Fernando Valley. My hubs and I used to live in Venice too, right off the boardwalk. We just moved to CT though. I think it'd be too late to take my kids to see the grunion run. If they are off their sleep schedules it is no fun for mommy!

    Thanks for swinging by and following me. I'm returning the favor. Hope to hear from you again soon. Your blog is adorable.

    Lots of yummy love,
    Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
    www.mawhats4dinner.com

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  13. Thanks so much for the visit and the follow! (Although I don't see your face on my followers list...?) I am glad you could relate to the mama bear post. I figured I wasn't the only one feeling that way. I just signed up for kidsbowlfree! We haven't taken advantage of it yet...looking forward to doing so. Following you back now. :)

    Jennifer
    www.thefarriswheel.blogspot.com

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  14. Love your post, thanks so much for sharing!
    I am a new follower from Welcome Wednesday, so glad to have found your fun blog. Hope you have a wonderful evening!

    Eloise
    Mommy2TwoGirls
    http://mommy2twogirls.blogspot.com/

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  15. What a great post! I love board games and popcorn. My two favorite things :)

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  16. Thank you for finding my blog and choosing to follow. Your comment was so sweet and kind - I greatly appreciate it! :)

    I love that you and your husband were married after 28 days of knowing each other! I think its really great that some people just know. My parents were engaged after two weeks of dating which is funny because Mister and I have only been with each other in person for two weeks and will become engaged when he comes home!

    I will definitely tell Mister you say thank you! Thank you for the support!!

    Consider me your newest follower :)

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  17. Love the so cal outing ideas.... def gonna take my kids... I'd love to hear more ideas... our summer isnt over until mid-august :)

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