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This COVID summer is one we will never forget. 

Like many other folks around the world, we've had a fairly quiet and uneventful summer. I have made countless trips to local stores like ALDI and Big Lots, on the hunt for fun summer finds that will keep my kids entertained while we stay home. Now, when I say I have been to stores, I have... but I wear my mask at all times, sanitize like crazy, maintain social distancing, and take every precaution to keep myself and my family safe (just in case anyone was wondering).

Keeping our kids busy and giving them a true feeling of summer vacation has been a top priority of mine this summer. We usually travel a lot, check out season openings of favorite parks and attractions, and none of that is happening this summer- our big trip is postponed, and we've been substituting mini day trips for the typical summer trips to gardens, the zoo, and the like.

A kiddie pool has been the big hit of our summer!

In early June, I took a quick trip to our local Big Lots to scout out a kiddie pool. Aside from the larger quick set pools, there were only two or three inflatable pools left. I weighed the option of saving the $42.00 that the pool cost, but opted to go for it, and spend the money. It's been the best purchase under $50.00 we have made this summer!  While they've been hard to find in store, there are still lots of great options for inflatable pools for kids and adults online.

We've had fun in the pool by adding a few pool toys and pool floats.

Having a larger pool allows room for two kiddos to play on inflatable floats, which has been great fun for both of them! My son has loved playing with his NERF Fortnite water gun, which we snagged on Amazon for just a few dollars a couple of weeks ago. I grabbed a couple of pool floats at ALDI last week, but also saw a similar Gummy Bear Pool Float on Amazon! 

Having a sun shade over the pool is helping to keep the hot sun off of us, allowing us even more time to play! Our top pick for a sun shade (for beach, backyard & more) is the Sun Ninja beach shade. It's crazy easy to transport and set up/take down in minutes! We'll be featuring Sun Ninja at length this week in a solo blog post- so be on the look out!

Outdoor seating for any occasion is a must!

While we have two porches- front and back, each with sitting areas and ample seating, I wanted to make sure we had an outdoor dining set fit for summer fun and feasts. We were expecting friends for a cookout, and splurged on a new outdoor dining set from IKEA last weekend. Eventually, we will add a patio back here, but that's a project for another day. This set is from IKEA's APPLARO outdoor furniture line and is on sale through July 19th, 2020. I love the set because it can seat 8 - 12, depending on what type of chairs or benches you choose to go with it. Benches and chairs were out of stock when we purchased the table (snagged the LAST table in store), and made an additional trip back to IKEA the next morning to get the chairs, which had been restocked overnight. We plan to add the benches this week. While our friends weren't able to join us after all, we enjoyed breaking in our new set with family, and we're excited to have it for our own use.