Friday Favorites: Summer Shenanigans (At Home)

WHOO HOO and HAPPY FRIDAY Y'ALL! We officially wrapped up the "Summer 'O Fun" this week as Greyson started Mother's Day Out.  And the all the Mama said...AAAAMMMMMEEENNN!!!!  I have had the best time with that little stinker, but even he was ready to go back to school! 

Today, I'm linking up with Narci, who is sharing some darling "transition" pieces, as we are about to move into that very awkward time where it'll soon be Fall, but still be blazing hot. Not summer enough to sport the Lily Pulitzer, but not Fall enough to wear a sweater. 

Since we are wrapping up The Summer 'O Fun this week, I'll share some of the fun "at home" activities that have been most popular in the Wells household this summer.  Even though I've mainly been posting about our big outings and activities, we actually DID have a lot of time at home together  which has been so much fun! Even though I would LOVE to get out and about every day, this little cherub does ask to "stay at home" often.  And I'm always glad when we do. Here were some of our shenanigans around the house...

1) Firefighter Play: If this child doesn't grow up to be a firefighter, I don't know what he'll be.  He's obsessed.  So EVERY DAY, we MUST do something firefighter related....respond to emergencies, rescue cats out of trees, and on this particular day, the solo cups were our "masks".  He ALWAYS gives me the cheapo flimsy hat and says: "Here, you get to wear the SPECIAL hat" 

Nice try buddy... but I wasn't born yesterday...you ain't foolin' me...

2) The Chore Chart: I decided that if G was smart enough to remember what a "hydraulic boom arm" is in a Blaze episode, he's smart enough to get the concept of chores and allowance. So I purchased this very fancy chart with stickers from the Dollar Tree at the beginning of the summer, and every time he'd help me with something, I'd let him put a sticker on the chart and I'd give him a little money. (We started out doing following the days of the week, but I'll be honest, fell off of that! ) We kept his money in a little monkey coin pouch and at the end of the week, I'd take it with us to a store and let him pick out and "pay" for a toy.  Normally, he would spot something in Wal-Mart or wherever we were at the beginning of the week and remember it! He'd talk about all the way until we broke down and went back for it on Friday! The Chore Chart was really surprisingly successful and one of my favorite things we did this summer.  He grasped the concept much more than I really anticipated and when he really had his heart set on something, he'd say: Let's do some chores and get some money!" 

FYI-The "chores" I asked him to do were very simple.  Like taking a few boxes to the recycling bin, throwing clothes into the washing machine, wiping the banister with a wet rag, etc. We will certainly keep the Chore Chart alive.  

3) Bear Hunts: Greyson's little cards from MDO used to say that "Today we went on a Bear Hunt!" I never knew what exactly that meant, but sounded super fun! So one raining day, we got a flashlight and went up to Greyson's room, which is dark because of the blackout curtains.  I would gather all his stuffed bears and hide them around the room while he waited outside the door.  Then I'd let him in and he'd search for the bears with his flashlight.  I started simple with my hiding, and then would get more advanced, like putting one in the dresser drawer with just the foot hanging out.  

It was SO much fun that we would do all kinds of groupings of animals he had....Monkey Hunt, Doggie Hunt, Turtle Hunt...(he has a LOT of stuffed animals.) This activity kept us occupied MANY a day. 

It's hard to get a picture in the dark...this is the best I could do! 

4) Bunny Hunts: Our Bear Hunts then inspired Bunny hunts outside since our neighborhood is OVERRUN with little Peter Cottontails.  We have had some pretty hot weather at the end of the summer, but honestly, the larger portion of it wasn't terrible. I really like to get out of the house, so this made a normal walk around the neighborhood much more enticing to G! Greyson asks to go on a "Bunny Hunt" almost every day! And now that I think about it, we could apply this to anything and all seasons....Bird Hunt, Flower Hunt, Acorn Hunt, etc....

Despite this picture, Greyson really enjoyed riding on his bike this summer while we'd walk and count bunnies. 

5) Home Playdates: And finally, I feel like we just had friends over to play at home a lot this summer, which I loved. While I intentionally planned a lot of outings, I also left a lot of space free to say YES to last minute playdates or spur of the moment get togethers. I feel like those are sometimes the most fun because everybody's sort of in a natural element..the kids just get to play with toys and I actually get to chat with my friends without watching G like a hawk. 

The sandbox and ice cream for the win.....

So that was our "Summer in the Meantime", if you will.  It's not far from me that our summers together are precious, valuable, and limited.  Once camps, tournaments, and other summer activities start, our long days together will dwindle. So I'm glad I was able to have this time with G this summer and I know I'll look back on our shenanigans (event the tacky fireman hat) and cherish these times!