A family who plays together stays together

Today is my husband and mine anniversary and one thing that I have learned is that a family needs to designate time to just play and be active together as a unit. Instead of sitting in front of the TV watching cartoons or reality TV shows, go out and get muddy. Yes, I said it...muddy. I am a mother of two young girls, and at first I hated the idea of them getting dirty, tangling their hair, scrapping their knees, but one thing my stepson has taught me is that everyone needs to get dirty every once in a while. It can be difficult during the summer to find time to play with one another because it can get so hot that all you want to do is sit inside with the air conditioner and catch up on the shows you recorded over the year or catch up on that spring cleaning you were meaning to do. However, life is so short and your kids will not be young forever. Instead of wasting their "wake time" by keeping them closed up in the playroom, take them outside, turn on the sprinkler, create a mud pool. Find something that you can all do together that keeps you cool and keeps you active. Trust me, not only will you feel better about yourself for exercising in a fun way, but you will also establish a closer bond with your children and even your husband. Where we live in California, it is extremely hot and I despise hot weather. I know, I live in the wrong state, but since we are stuck here for a few more years, I have really had to think outside the box in order to keep active in this heat. One idea my husband and I had was wetting down our trampoline with one of those sprinklers that shoots up and around. My son loved dodging the water as it came around, and my one year old daughter giggled with delight as the water shot up and soaked her in the face. Another idea we had was we put a kiddy pool at the bottom of our plastic slide. We filled the pool up with water and then ran the hose down the slide, creating our very own waterslide. The best laugh I had was watching my six foot, four inch husband slide down the kids' slide into the kiddy pool. It was a great time and it only cost us a little more on our water bill. These are memories that our family will have forever and it is totally worth the messy house and the chores that have not quite gotten done yet. After all, our kids are only kids for a few years and then you will have all the time in the world to make your house look the way you want it. Until then, enjoy the laughter and enjoy the mud. If you have any other ideas on how to stay active with your family post below. I welcome any new ideas that I can try with my family.