Ok ladies, I have a question for you. With the prices of EVERYTHING being way out there lately and school will be out real soon for a lot of us...what low cost things do you all have planned for the kids this summer? What are some of your plans to keep them entertained and keep it affordable? Can we please share them with each other. Summer is a long three months! LOL!
I found a great web site that allows you to buy tickets for half price for things around this area...here is the link

http://steppingouttv.com

Just go there, and click on the half price gift certificates and you can find all kinds of things.

Thanks Michelle for posting, you saved me the trouble. I was planning this thread this week. Like you said, summer is almost upon us.

I am not sure what we will be doing is cheap, but I am looking into some cheap stuff to do for sure!

I do the British Soccer Camp with my kids, It is a lot of fun, but can be pricey, especially when you have as many kiddos as me

We I am sure will take a summer vacation, I need to get on that. By this time of year I usually have something booked, planned, and paid for. I thought about a cruise, but I literally dreamed I was on a cruise and Lilly fell off the boat and we couldnt find her, I nixed nine that idea!

We went to Washington DC last summer. We had a blast. The sales tax is 10.5% so it is very pricy there. I was thinking of us flying to the Caymans maybe? I know last summer there was specials for $99 to fly round trip to the caymans for Florida residents.

I know something we do every summer, and I hope they will do this this summer too, Caribe Royale in Orlando/Beuna Vista has this hotel with GREAT pools/ Their kiddie pool is spectacular and the big pool has a huge slide on it. My kids LOVE this place. The hotel has suites and every summer they will run a Florida resident discount for $99 a night. That is a good deal for us considering it takes a big room to fit us all and if we were to go to a water park it is almost that per person.

Anyone with good vacation plans and tips I would love to hear those too!

i don't have much planed this summer. but a flordia aquarium season pass isn't too much. if you go twice it's paid for. packing a lunch and going to local playgrounds is always fun. the librarys all have books with crafts you can do with kids. i have a 2 1/2 yrold and we made paper fish diffrent sizes, and put paper fasterns for eyes then i made a magnet fishing pole and we sit in the hammock outside and pretend to fish. she loves that. these are just a couple of my ideas.

One of the great resources around here that we take advantage of is all the state parks within driving distance. I know that gas is high, but once you get there it's no (or a minimal) fee to get in. We always pack a lunch and load up our bikes, wagons, etc. to make a full day of it. Most of them around here have some sort of water aspect (river, springs, etc.) to either boat, canoe or even swim. And a lot of them offer campsites at minimal cost for those interested in that (both tent and rv).
Just another idea.

littleT, I really like the state parks idea. Are there some more than others that you prefer?

Three that we really like are Highlands Hammock (Sebring), Myakka State Park (Myakka City/Sarasot-ish)and Rainbow Springs State Park (Dunnellon).
Obviously Myakka and Rainbow are a little farther to drive but definitely worth it for a "full" day or overnight camp.
One that I haven't been to, but my husband likes is Fort DeSoto (which was also just named one of the best beaches in the US or something).

Ft. DeSoto is a beautiful place to go and camp. The water there can be so pretty. If you look on that web site I posted earlier, you can get half off Weeki Watchi and MOSI tickets there too. I have bought from them before and have been very pleased with them. They also have discount tickets to Gatorland. We were thinking about going to gatorland.
FYI, if anyone has a child or a person in the family with a disability, you can apply for a discount pass to the state parks. We have one, we use it for camping in Ocala. You get a half price discount on your stay. You have to go to a ranger station to pick up an appication. They are good for life. It is called the Golden Access Passport and can be use at Federal entrance fee areas and National park services. There is no charge to get a pass.

We love to go to all the different parks in Lakeland. Lake Parker Park, Lake Bonny Park and Peterson Park are both great for biking/hiking/skating. The park downtown by Hollis Gardens has that water feature the kids love to play in, and then we like to walk around the gardens and look at the plants, bugs and animals. Also like to feed the ducks at Lake Morton or Lake Mirror. For indoors, we like to browse the Lakeland Public Library and go down to the Children's Museum (not free but cheap). Also, our backyard has a playset and the kids love for me to break out the slip-n-slide, kiddie pool and bubbles and have friends over to play. We like to have picnics too.

We had a trip for the middle of June planned. My husband's family is having a family reunion in Fredricksburg, VA so we were going to leave a week a head of time and drive through the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Shanadoah Valley then go to Williamsburg, VA and Washington DC, however with the gas prices we had to cancel the trip. We were very bummed and so were the kids.

We do have annual passes for Disney and Cypress Gardens with parking included so we will do that quite often and take lots of snacks and juice boxes. May be looking for a summer camp soon because I am looking for a job so if that happens they will be going to summer camp.

First off let me start by saying thanks for posting that web site Steppingout.com its FAB!
Second Shawn , My son is going to the British Soccer camp this yr for the first time, he is looking forward to it..Its the one Being Held at Dundee Central Park.
and Last but Not least, I have been to Ft Desoto when i was younger and it was'nt that nice, so i am very eager to check it out again.Im sure its way better now...
My Favortie Spot in the whole world "Caledesi State Park" was Named by Dr Beach as the Number one Beach in America...and I hope to check it out again. its secluded and quiet! and a nice safe place for kids to wade in the water, its very calm

We're about set for our summer vacation! Had hoped to visit friends & family in NY & VT, but gas prices being so high, are returning once again to Murphy, NC. We've rented a cabin again for a week. Got a two bedroom this year as our grandson's siblings & maternal grands are joining us for a couple days. This is an opportunity for the children:2, 7, & 10, to spend real time together. Also, it's a chance for we adults to truly get to know one another, as we're all in this for the long haul. We love these kids & are determined that they always have opportunities to be together.
Anyway, I'm packing Hayden's travel back pack, things to entertain him for the long ride between pitstops! We are so looking forward to getting up on a mountain top & chillin'! Vacation starts June 30 thru probably July 10th. Can't wait!
Anyone who loves the mountains should check out the various websites for vacation cabins. We've been doing this for about 7 years now, really love Murphy area, and it's affordable. You don't have to spend a fortune to have a great vacation. However, gas prices make this year one where we'll do less running around. So, we got a place on a river complete with paddle boat, fishing, wading,and lots of berry picking! It's also a working farm which should be great for Hayden & his big brother & sister!

Judy,

I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing time and enjoy the children, the river and each other.

Lisa

lisa, I am so looking forward to spending time with Davvin! I'm all excited! And his sister, Makayla, is a terrific youngster too! A bossy gal with attitude! It's easy to see why Hayden has his own attitudes!
We love NC, the mountains, laid back commune with nature.

quote:

Originally posted by Scrappin mom:
Judy,

I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing time and enjoy the children, the river and each other.

Lisa

Hi, all! We are sort of spur of the moment heading to Kansas City for the BIG (my grandpa had 9 siblings, which netted a total of 30 neices and nephews plus 6 kids of his own!) family reunion over the 4th of July.

Locally, we have passes to Disney (would love to hook up with anyone else who does and hang out!). We also love state parks. Hillsborough River State Park is lovely as well as the others mentioned. Little Manatee SP has a great canoe run (you can choose the long run or the short run) where they take you up river and you canoe down. Myakka is nice, but the canoeing is hard there if you aren't careful (downriver out and upriver back...exhausting!). We also like the beach. Typically, I head to Manatee county. I guess old habits die hard...that's where we went in high school!

Here is an article on some neat ways to spend time with family and not "break the bank"

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/getaways/06/18/family.travel/index.html

LOTS of FUN ideas!