The summer is almost over and with a tight budget this year there was no formal vacation. With school right around the corner I was starting to feel guilty about not giving the girls a "real" vacation. So in a last stitch, guilt ridden, effort I tried to save summer break last week without breaking our bank. I guess you could call it a "staycation" but without hubby taking time off it was really just a week of almost completely free fun all within an hours drive of home.

Monday: Feeling guilty while folding laundry I devised a plan of affordable action.

Tuesday: I coordinated with a friend to take our kids to an neighboring towns playground that is "new and different" for them. We packed a picnic lunch and carpooled there and back. The kids had a great time and so did us moms.

Wednesday: We stuck to our usual routine of spending our morning at the library for story hour and crafts followed by a brown bag lunch concert with friends at the local band shell.

Thursday: After dragging the kids to a few garage sales in the morning we headed straight to the beach. We enjoyed several hours of jumping waves and playing in the sand. Everyone went home tired including mom.



Friday: The National Blueberry Festival is held in a neighboring town which happened to be this same weekend. Of course we had to take our blueberry monster (aka baby daughter) to it. Us girls had a blast watching the pie eating contest, sampling blueberries in every form and watching a professional chief make yummy blueberry everything.




Saturday: Saturday was the best day. I was able to get free tickets to the World Pulse Festival which was held about 40 minutes from where we live. This all day, 5 band, Christian music festival was a wonderful way for my 5 year old and I to have a mother-daughter day before school starts. We rocked our hearts out while praising the Lord. I was even brave enough to put her on my shoulders and wade our way through the sea of teens to get to the front of the stage not once, but THREE times. She loved every minute of the day.




Sunday: After a fun but exhausting week we ended the fun with a late afternoon swim at a friend's pool the kids enjoyed the water and us moms enjoyed the Mr.'s homemade/ grown salsa with my friend's homemade margaritas. It was a great way to end the week.

It was a wonderful week of fun for the kids (and me). We enjoyed our time together and it really didn't cost us much. The only extra cost was the parking and food at the festival on Saturday. I spent $60 total for: parking ($20), food and water ($20) and t-shirts ($20). Not bad since the tickets were free.

Did you have a fun yet affordable summer? Tomorrow I'll have a post just for YOU. I would love for you to share with others your affordable summer fun. I'll have a place to link back to your own posts about affordable summer fun.

Join us tomorrow for more affordable fun ideas!

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