Category Archives: summer

Golfing with Grandma

…or How to Play the Longest Round of Golf in History…

As I may or may not have mentioned previously, both my brother and father are avid golfers.  My brother, charades talents aside, has serious golfer potential.
Me, not so much.  I love a golf course.  The pretty scenery, the sand, the little lakes.  But hitting the ball has never been my forte.
So, it was out of the goodness of my heart (and love for my father) that I suggested golfing as a fun family activity.  I suckered my visiting mother-in-law into joining us, which she happily did.  And lo and behold, she loved it!  
Of course, she had lots of free coaching.




And plenty of partners in crime.


So, all in all, it was a day well spent.  And if you’re one of the golfers we allowed to play through, you are so very welcome.  Don’t even mention it!

A Few More Fun Summer Games For Kids

I recently posted about the 9 summer games my kids like best, Clearly, we should’ve made it 10!  At the end of my post, I asked all of you to mention any we neglected.  

Without question, the #1 game we missed was Capture the Flag – who knew so many kids still played this?  Runners up:  2 & 4 Square (added by Allison, who didn’t leave a link to a blog, but did provide a link on how to play!), Flashlight Tag (mentioned by phd in yogurty), and Kick the Can (suggested by Luanne).  

How cool is it that kids still play these games?  So now let’s talk about grown-ups.  Are you a game player?  Card shark?  Outdoor games?  Golf or other sport?  Do tell! 

Cornhole, The Family Bean Bag Game

So I mentioned the cornhole game, right? Yeah, I know, that name sort of freaks me out, too. But still, the kids—yes, people, the kids—loved it. Being the fine parents we strive to be, we decided to buy a set for ourselves. When we asked where to find it, our friends (who introduced us to it) let us know that their set was a gift from a friend, who made it for them. And, “No!” they practically shouted, “Don’t dare buy one. Those are no good at all!” Unfortunately, their craftsman-type friend isn’t also our friend, so we were out of luck. “Make one!” they cheered. “Puh-lease,” I thought.

My industrious husband, however, thought it was a fine idea. He got it into his head that this was going to be a great father-son summer project. The boys would look up the dimensions online (warning: don’t Google corn-hole, who knows what you’ll get!), they’d shop for the materials, and away they’d go.

It sort of worked like that. Except the boys didn’t Google the dimensions, my husband did. And the boys didn’t help him shop for materials. I did. And I didn’t get nervous until I read this part of his list:

· thread

· fabric

· whole-kernel feed corn

Then, I got very nervous.

“Honey,” I said sweetly, “What’s the thread for?”

Smiling innocently, he practically chirped, “Oh, I thought you could make the beanbags.”

Now, how long have we been married?

“Has he gone mad?” I wondered. For a moment, it was a real possibility.

Not wanting to cause a horrible accident on the way to Home Depot, I amiably suggested that perhaps a sewing machine would be required for the creation of 8 homemade bean bags. My one lousy needle and thin black thread might not be sufficient, I theorized.

He remained certain I could pull it off.

I left him at Home Depot and quietly went in search of bean bags, which by the grace of God I found – a beautiful, sturdy, machine-made set of 8, just perfect for a family round of cornhole.





Thank you, Lord, for providing those bean bags!