Beating the Heat...

My kids are sneaky little buggers. I'll think that they are playing nicely out in the backyard, and so I try to get something done in the house, and the next thing that I know, they have dragged all the pillows and blankets off of everyone's beds and they are laying on them OUTSIDE!

So I saw this idea for outdoor pillows in a magazine awhile ago and instantly knew that this was the solution to my problem. They were super easy and cheap to make (made out of a vinyl picnic tablecloth and a $3 pillow from wal-mart), and now I don't have to spend the rest of the day washing bedding just so that we can get into our beds at night...

The only downside to outdoor lounging in the middle of the summer is the darn heat. So we remedied that with our swing-set tent...

There was even enough room under there that you could still use the swings. I have to admit, this was one of our families all-time-best forts...


I hope that my kids remember these kind of days, spent in the shade, in our own backyard. Just lounging, reading, playing and laughing. I sure will.