Creating Toddler Adventure

So, if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may have noticed that I've been posting a lot of pictures with the hashtag - #creatingtoddleradventure.  And you may be wondering what in the world that is about!

Well, a couple of weeks ago my friend Deanna at Everything and Nothing From Essex posted a blog about creating adventure for her two toddlers this summer.  And she decided to challenge herself to be intentional and creative with her time with her kids this summer.  She posed it as a challenge to her readers as well, and so I decided to join in!  It's SO easy to get stuck in a rut at home, so I needed something to light a fire under me to get motivated!!  I'm thankful that right now our girls are pretty easy to please, so just about anything can count as an "adventure" for them!!  It's been really nice knowing that I have something, even something really simple, planned for each day.  I don't feel as guilty when I do need to step away from the girls to do the laundry or start dinner - because I know that at least a portion of their day has been spent with me (or me and Brandon) in an intentional way!  (Plus it's been giving me an excuse to do some of the fun activities I've pinned on Pinterest!!) 

We're a couple of weeks into our 30 days - and I already think that I'm going to continue to plan out our summer this way.  There will be days where we say forget it, we need to just have a chill out day - or sometimes our adventures may be more spontaneous than planned (Like this morning when I turned on the 1990 TV Show "The Baby-Sitters Club" on Netflix...) - but it makes me feel SO much better as a mom knowing that each day the girls and I have something to look forward to! 

I thought it would be fun to share what some of our adventures have been with our readers - so you'll get what you all love - pictures of the girls - and who knows, maybe it'll spark some ideas of your own for your summer adventures!!!  I'll update again in another couple of weeks as we finish out our 30 days!! 

Helping mommy bake a berry cobbler for Daddy's birthday!

 First time eating Blizzards at Dairy Queen! Yum!

 First visit to Burgerville - a NW tradition!!  Delicious fresh strawberry milkshakes!  And "cheers-ing" with our french fries! :)

 Mommy made masking tape "roads" all over the living room and hallway and we drove our cars all over them!

Riding the city bus

 (they had done this once before, but it was not long after we got home, and it didn't seem to make much of an impact on them at that point - this time they LOVED it!)

 We rode the bus to the Public Library - where they attended their first story time, and got signed up for the summer reading program!  (Which scored them a free book!)

 Finger painting!

 Helping mommy in the kitchen (we made French Toast)

We went on the girls first hike!   

There's a great state park near us that has tons of different trails to explore - it's mostly flat which made it great for the girls!

 Picnic dinner and exploring Lone Pine Farms - 

a great farm in our area!  

The girls enjoyed playing on the playground, feeding the chickens (they weren't sure about the goats!), panning for gold and Dasha was so proud to pick out her own cantaloupe!

"Painting" the fence with water.  

 This is one of those REALLY simple activities that the girls LOVED!!  So easy and they spent over an hour "painting" the fence!

 A simple walk to the park in our neighborhood.

Dasha helped make homemade playdough (scented with KoolAid) and the enjoyed playing with it.  

You might notice the picture in the lower left hand corner - that's when Emily decided to try to eat the playdough! :)  She found out it didn't taste nearly as good as it smells! 

 Scrubbing our toys with warm soapy water.

Another really really simple activity that they loved!

Shaving cream play!