How to survive the summer with your kids
It is coming.
You notice it first as an uncomfortable niggle behind your right ear, but it quickly moves to your neck in the form of a tennis ball of tension. Spreading down into your arms, you feel as though you are covered by one of those lead blankets they drape you in at the dentist.
You can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know you have felt it before. What is this extra load of stress that has descended upon you?
Why it is summer vacation of course! That stretch of time where the sun shines occasionally and you can actually turn your furnace off. Unless of course, you live in warmer climates where you don’t have the same weather related issues.
You love your children, but the thought of having to listen to the “I’m bored” chant start so soon after school ends is stressing you out of your mind. Fear not, for we have the solution. Or a few solutions anyway, to taking the edge off the summer boredom.
If you live in Vancouver, you know that we are ridiculously close to the border. Many of us actually shop in the US on a regular basis, if only for the fact that they have SMORE Pop Tarts and we do not.
Survive the summer and have fun with your kids by grabbing your passports and hitting the USA. You might be surprised at what is only an hour or two from Vancouver:
- Wild Waves Enchanted Village Theme Park – If you’ve ever driven down the I5, you would have passed this theme park. You might think it is just a run of the mill waterslide, but you wouldn’t be doing it justice. The 70 acre park was previously owned by Six Flags, and boasts a wide variety of rides, roller coasters, water slides, and even a massive wave pool. I could write an entire article on this place, and I plan on after visiting again for two days this summer. If you have little ones, rent a cabana and watch the waves as they take a snooze. Best of all, this place is actually reasonably priced for a theme park. It less expensive than a day at the PNE, and a million times more fun.
- Great Wolf Lodge – We can’t count on good weather the way that California can. There is a reason that Stephanie Meyer decided that the Pacific Northwest would be an excellent place to host a band of Vampires. We have a fourth season here, and its called “Gloom.” When the gloomies hit your house, pack up the kids and head to Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, WA. This massive indoor waterslide is inside a kid-friendly hotel. There are quite a few activities beside the water-slides, including stories by the fire and kid friendly crafts. Be sure to bring your credit card though, because this place is expensive.
- Pike Place Market – If you are like me, you want to share new experiences with your kids. When I dig in the garden, we examine worms. And when I cook, I explain where the meat came from. This might be why I have turned my daughter into a vegetarian, but the path to learning is paved in bumps. Just for a new experience, take your kids to Pike Place Market in Seattle for an afternoon. Located on the beautiful Seattle waterfront, Pike Place is full of dead fish, fruit, and botany experiments gone wild. We sat and watched the boats go by while eating chocolate covered strawberries, and I have to say, we all loved every minute of it.
Yes, summer vacation can send you all into a tizzy. Routines are broken, kids get bored, and Mom wonders if she can coerce them into another Toy Story viewing just so she can pass out on the floor for awhile. My advice? Take a trip once in awhile, if only for the day. It gives the kids something to look forward to, and will give Mom a much needed change of scenery.
