We have recently experienced a cool down to our summer which had thus far been pretty scorching. It’s a little out of sync then but I wanted to share what we did on a couple summer days to cool down!
We broke out our waterpark! We’ve had the waterpark for a long time, a couple jobs ago for each of us since we worked at the toy company. It stayed in a box until just a couple weeks ago. The ages on this is 5 and up, but Jameson took right to it.
Neighbors joined us for the fun in the morning through the afternoon and it turned into an all-day impromptu outdoor cookout since we had burgers for lunch and pizza on the grill in the evening!
Coraline hung out outside in the bumbo chair for a good 20 minutes before she got tired and was due a nap anyway.
For about 20 times, I had to slide down with Jameson in order for him to want to go down. Confession: I didn’t mind at all. The waterpark was a blast for adults, too!
The daddies were a little big for going down that slide, but that didn’t stop them from going down a couple times each. Don’t worry, everyone was well under the supposed weight limit, though the top seemed to sink dangerously when they were up there, haha!
The next task was teaching him to go up the ladder part so that I could go up before him (much easier than going up behind him and climbing over him to get him in my lap). He got the hang of it in a few tries, and shortly we were just calling out to him to make sure he used the handles!
It was a very short step from there to get him going by himself! Which went quickly from standard to sliding down on his stomach. “I go down on my belly” he yelled when he did it (no warning of course, I nearly had a heart attack). “I bounced!” he also yelled, excitedly. Yep, he did get some air going down that slide.
Coraline was up from her nap and quite enjoyed hanging out in the umbrella stroller watching everyone from the shade. We shortly moved her up to proper shade under the porch umbrella where she could also sit eye to eye with Peyton.
Our friends from Florida came up to visit family and work a bit, so Bobby came to play in the afternoon too. He loved letting the water out of the pool (An occasional necessity due to the slight slope in our yard, we had to eliminate some of the water when it reached the height limit. He loved to help, of course)
Bobby had no fear and went down the slide himself from the get-go!
We all were hungry from the day’s activity and nearly all of our three pizza’s were consumed. Poor Peyton was exhausted and passed out in the high chair! It was quite a day.
The second time we put the waterpark up, it was a little cloudy so Coraline even got to experience the water with her very first time in a pool!
It was a little chillier that day and the water was cold though so I was impressed that she didn’t give us the stink eye until she was in it for a bit. (Unlike Jameson who screamed the moment we put him in cool water his first time)
We quickly dried her off, and after her nap she got to come back out and enjoy the warmth in the stroller. We didn’t make her suffer too much in the cold water!
I brought out some squirt guns purchased at Target for $1 and we added those to the mix which Jameson loved. He ran around yelling “squirt squirt!” which was adorable since he only got it squirt about half the time. It takes some strength in those little fingers!
We had a pretty exhausted dude that day, coming down with a cold. He actually relaxed next to daddy for a while in the pool. We sure do love this waterpark! It’s been so much fun and made weekends at home feel like vacation.