Stay Cool This Summer

If I haven't said it before, I LOVE SUMMER! I love doing fun things you can only do when it's warm outside with my kids. This week we decided on a new sprinkler and slip n slide. I found an awesome tutorial here. Be sure to check out the rest of her blog, she shows how you turn this sprinkler into a tent. Yeah, I'm all over that! Also, she compares the price of this to other toy sprinklers you buy. I couldn't agree with her more. Those things never last longer than a week at our house and this only cost $17. This will last so long. That is if the pieces don't get lost. (I'm considering gluing some of the pieces together.)


Even our dog got in on the action!

I'm not going to do a tutorial here, because hers is great. However, here are some hints:

• I used 1/2 inch pipe instead of 3/4. I thought it would be better for our water pressure.
• Be careful about how many holes you drill. I got a little overzealous and drilled a lot. I had to use a new piece of pipe; the water wouldn't make it to the top!
• Trust her when she says use a 1/16 inch drill bit. It really is big enough. I had my doubts.
• You can make the side pieces 3 feet instead of 2.5 if you buy 10 foot lengths of pvc.
• If you buy 10 foot lengths you only need three or four depending on how tall you want it. (If you do taller than three feet, drill a lot less holes to start. You can always add more.)

This is my boy. Isn't he the cutest thing?

For our slip n slide I simply used leftover black plastic weed barrier from our garden. The entire roll cost $11. I rolled a nice length out, cut it off from the rest and turned the water on. I didn't have any stakes handy so we had to straighten it out a lot, but no on seemed to mind. We just moved the sprinkler down when the end dried out.

Look at this kids dimples!

This was so fun for us! It was 90 degrees when my son, the neighbor, and I played, so the cold water felt good. Want to be a hero? Slip n Slide with your kids! Show them how a pro does it. They'll worship you!

Yes, that's me. I may have had more fun than the boys!