Dumb it Down

My new motto for the kids this year has been, “Dumb it Down.”

Maybe it’s not the most flattering expression, but when I say it, Adam knows exactly what I mean.

Adam and I are both overachievers when it comes to making plans. We don’t just want to have fun, we want to pack as much fun as possible into every day as we can.

But this philosophy doesn’t leave time for the most important part of the equation for fun – down time.

So for the past two days, we dumbed our play down.

We spent an entire Saturday afternoon goofing around at one little park near our house.

It was the first time this summer we did it, and we noticed lots of changes from all of the kids.

Like the fact that a playground alone is no longer fun enough for Jack. But if you add a few balls to the equation and some open space, he is happy for hours.

Or that Ben can finally pedal a bike without having to get a starter push each time he stops.

And amazingly, if you show Sam how to do the monkey bars just one time, he can repeat it perfectly for you.

I thought we’d only be there an hour but we ended up playing for over three hours!

The next day, we scrapped our extensive plan to drive to the suburbs to our favorite breakfast spot, then spend the day at the Botanical gardens for a short walk to the Farm at the Zoo.

Feeding the cows

petting the goats

the kids put on the play for us.

petting a bunny

In the afternoon we found a large grassy area just outside of the farm which was perfect for picnicking, playing ball, finding sticks and just enjoying the perfect weather.