More Time Outside

It looks like we'll be spending more and more time outside as the days get sunnier and sunnier in preparation we've added a few things to our backyard to keep the Peanut entertained and active. I mentioned a few days ago that we got locked out of the house one afternoon which was a huge blessing in disguise that gave me some full on one on one time with the Peanut.

Not that she doesn't get me all the time or that I don't drop everything to attend to her almost every whim (while writing this post for instance I've gotten milk, poured cheerios, retrieved beads from the craft shelf, picked beads off of the floor, squeezed glue for making pom pom caterpillars and put on Bobs & Lolo for her to sing and dance along to while she colours) but with no distractions; the computer, my camera, the keys to the garden tools and any of the other things I might pick up while she's playing were out of reach we played. Really played.

So the plan is that we're going to do that more often, one on one, no distractions, action games. Tag, Simon says, stop and go, dance party, catch, fetch (see above link) Sand Box, T-ball and gardening. The problem is that the Peanut has a fairly short attention span some days. We need all the options that we can find for her to play with in the yard. We have a sand box and a few balls but I've got my eye out for some other backyard games we can add to our repertoire and possibly see if there are any games I can make. We have boxes from our move last year that we can bring out put together and build a castle that she can decorate and maybe we'll take some of the small plastic bottles that seem to accumulate here and turn them into lawn bowling pins and use the soccer ball as a bowling ball...

And then there are those awesome opportunities to win some backyard toys and games. We're keeping our eyes open for any and all opportunities that will give us a chance to add to our back yard toy box.

And of course there is a great give away at Melissa and Doug right now. One of my favourite toy brands is Melissa & Doug. I love the bright colours, the classic toy options like the building blocks and their arts and craft products are fantastic. There's something about their toys that just makes you think about having fun; and every puzzle, game or toy we've ever gotten from Melissa and Doug has been a great success with the Peanut. Their latest give away is for a $50 gift pack from the Sunny Patch line. I'll admit that I've been eyeing up a few of the games and activities (OK all of them) that are available. How much fun could be had for instance by playing a colourful game of Happy Giddy Croquet or Ting toss. And don't get me started about the gardening sets or the sprinklers...

Are you looking for some great out door fun? You can find out more about the give away here