The 4th of July is actually Cassidy’s absolute favorite holiday. In Utah there’s an incredible line up of parades, hot air balloon festivals and awesome firework shows that make for great traditions year after year. That being said, there are a few hours in between the annual parade and the evening BBQ where we have found ourselves with some extra time to kill, and a desire to be outside and have a ton of fun. Each year we try a new activity to kill those few hours – here are a few of our favorites and bucket list items if you are looking for a good summer activity for the holiday weekend.
DIY Water Kickball – this was last years 4th of July activity and we had sooo much fun. We invited over a bunch of neighborhood friends, went to the local park and spread out our game for all to enjoy. We bought our little kiddie pools a while ago and have loved that we will be able to use them over and over for this game, and potentially some other games in the future as well! There was lots of slips and laughs as one particular person completely whiffed the ball and slipped backwards to land on their behind while everyone burst into laughter (they weren’t injured, all was good). Ultimately the game ended with smiles and cheering, and we had a home base slide off competition to some jams and popsicles to memorialize an amazing afternoon. We used some hard kiddie pools that were on sale at Walmart. Amazon has these inflatable ones, but honestly I’d be wary since it looks like it might pop. And this is a game of hopping in and out of these over and over… you want the pools to last.
Floating the River on Tubes or Kayaks – Do you have family memories that everyone laughs about looking back? This is one of Cassidy’s family’s hilarious memories. It was the first time Cassidy took her family down the local river and to be honest the water was much colder than she had ever experienced, and ran a bit quicker as well. To make it even better, her youngest sister’s tube popped, and so she sat on Cassidy’s lap through the remainder and they ended up tipping at one point. The whole experience was hilarious and unexpected. Now we stick with kayaking the river, but Cassidy will still tube anytime to lazily enjoy the scenery.
9-Square – This is one of our favorite games with a large group of people. Volleyball on steroids and laughter all around as people flail around a “floating” set of 9-individual small squares to not let the ball drop in their square, or be the last person to touch it as it sails off into oblivion (or just out of the square… our descriptions can be a bit dramatic). We created a DIY version of this with a bunch of PVC pipe, and will post all about how to make your own in the next few weeks. This summer on our bucket list, we want to create a water version with stringing some misters or sprinklers around the body, and enjoying the water in the hot sun while playing. A slightly wet ball may add a great twist as well!
Water Gun Fight – One year we came home to 6 water guns lined up on a picnic table in the backyard and water balloons equally spread across the yard as well. Each person wielded their weapon and then proceeded to team up and CHARGE! Ha! A great afternoon of water attacks and ultimately ended up with a hose from the backyard against a hose in the front yard to deem the final winners of the water battle at last. If we do that again this year, these are the water guns I’m going for first because they say long range and I have strange desire to really test that claim.
Battleship v.Water Balloon – Think of the game battleship, now think of yourself laid on a side of a volleyball net, blanket draped across the net to block your view, and a big ole bucket of water balloons on your side. Now, huck a water balloon over the blanket covered net and try to hit the other battleship person as they lie awaiting your water bombs. Merek used to play this at the beach often while he was growing up, and Cassidy is excited to try it out with a large group as well here this summer. We will revamp this soon, and post pictures galore!
Backyard Buffs 