Sunday Sweetness: Backyard Living

Like most homes with children, we have crap toys everywhere.  They are in the bedrooms, the living room, the bathroom (of all places…who plays in there…unless they are bath toys, which these are most definitely not) and especially in the playroom. 

But do you know what gets the most use?  The toys that are in the backyard!

Here in our house we are in the backyard as much as we can be.  I have three boys, I need, really really NEED to get their energy out and it’s not always possible to leave the house and go to a park, or the beach or someplace that will help my older boys expel energy because the baby is still napping, or I have laundry to do, or, or, or. 

So we’ve turned our backyard into kids central!  And do you know what?  Everything gets used!  From the play structure, to the sand box, from the sidewalk chalk, to the construction trucks….everything gets used!  <insert big deep satisfied mommy sigh here>

The boys are perfectly capable of entertaining themselves outside.  But on the weekends, if we are all home together, whenever possible we go outside and have a grand time!

We do bubbles, or draw each others shadows with chalk (my personal favorite). 

In the summer time we swim in the $10 inflatable pool, run through the sprinkler, or slide on the slip n’ slide (okay, the boys do that one while the adults watch…..because running full speed only to flop down on a piece of plastic on the grass is not an adults idea of fun).  There are water balloons, and squirt gun fights.  There are games that mommy and daddy make up just so we can soak the kids so much they look like a wet rat.  We set up a tent in the backyard and do backyard camping. 

We play superheroes and bad guys!  Watch out!

We investigate bugs nature and look at the weeds flowers blooming.

We play sports…boy oh boy do we play sports.  We have mini games of soccer, basketball, and baseball going on all year round if it is dry outside.  Then there is Frisbee, and tag, and whatever random sports the boys make up at that moment! 

There are swinging, monkey bars, and sliding competitions.

There is sandcastle building, construction sites managing, and tree climbing.

The fun doesn’t stop when the sun goes down.  If the weather is dry, there is fire pit sitting, marshmallow roasting, constellation learning, and star gazing. 

So although our house is our home, it’s where we sleep, eat and find comfort.  We do all our living outside! 

What activities take place in your backyard?