The Dogdays of Summer

August is the time of year where the days are long and steamy and the kids are restless and whiny. To help you get through the rest of your summer, I have consulted with a highly specialized team of “Summer Fun Experts,” AKA…my kids. They are experts at wreaking havoc… I mean…creating fun activities using simple household items. I’ve compiled a list of their most recent escapades… I mean… Summer Fun Activities.

1. Hide the Dog Food Bowl.
Summer Fun Expert #3 is obsessed with dog food. Every day, Experts #1 and #2 are dispatched on a quest to find the newest location of the dog’s bowl.

2. 52,000 Pick-Up
In this dog food game, Expert #3 dumps the bite sized food onto the floor and runs around while Expert’s 1 and 2 throw the dog food back in the bowl.

3. Tattoo Parlor – Sidewalk Chalk Version
Expert #1 likes to paint her co-expert’s eyelids, cheeks and fingernails with sidewalk chalk and pretend it’s make-up.

4. Tattoo Parlor – Stamp Pad Version
Expert #2 likes to use a stamp pad - without the stampers - to decorate Expert #3. This results in #3’s body being covered with bright blue rectangles. (Blue bathwater is an added bonus.)

5. Tattoo Parlor – Magic Marker Version
Expert #3 enhances her natural beauty by drawing all over her face, arms and legs with markers.

6. Naked Tag
Expert #3 strips down and runs away while #1 and #2 chase her.


7. Potty Mouth
Experts 1, 2, and 3 love using bathroom words in various combinations. For example, #3’s favorite is “Poo-poo potty head.” This game is now played in the bathroom since we instituted their pre-school rule, “Potty words can only be said in the bathroom.”




8. Steal the Snacks (Insert Mission Impossible theme song.)
Expert #2 likes to sneak down the stairs, slip into the kitchen and seize forbidden snacks back upstairs to Experts #1 and #3.

9. Kill the Spider Web
Expert #2 uses the garden hose to vanquish the evil spider web that hangs over the kitchen windows. When my windows are open, my kitchen floor gets a much needed bath.

10. Stick ‘Em Up
Expert #3 covers her entire body with stickers or band-aids.







Colleen R. Lee lives in the Frumpy Zone with her husband and Summer Fun Experts #1 (age 8), #2(age 4), and #3 (age 3). She believes that one day her children are going to open up a Tattoo Parlor.