What was Your Favorite Activity at Home During the Summer?

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Published: May 23, 2012
By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon
5Comments

Since Memorial Day is about remembering, we’d like to know your fondest memories of summertime at home.

Memorial Day unofficially begins the fun-in-the-sun season where so many memories revolve around home — running through backyard sprinklers, grilling burgers on the patio, watching fireflies light up trees.

My brother and I had a running badminton match from Memorial Day until school began again in September. He was two years older, so he spotted me points just to make the marathon interesting.

When we weren’t batting around a shuttlecock, we’d run through a rotating sprinkler, jumping over the ribbon of spray, shrieking at the sting of water on our ankles when we’d fall short.

Since Memorial Day is all about memories, we’d like to know what you remember about your home in summer. Charging down Slip ‘n Slides? Plucking the first Big Boy from your tomato garden? Splashing in wading pools?

Let’s remember together.

(5)

For years, my family has gone to my sister's North Carolina beach house to meet up with our cousins and their kids every Memorial Day. We "establish the beach head" every morning by setting up umbrellas and chairs and rolling down coolers filled with icy cold beverages. We watch the kids boogie board, read, relax and enjoy the amazing views.
Posted by ddezube on May 24, 2012

A part of my childhood was spent living in an apartment. During that time, Memorial Day meant going to Jones Beach where it was always too cold to swim, but we would have a huge picnic. However, when my folks bought a house, Memorial Day Weekend became magical. Normally, we "ate healthy". My mom never kept sugary treats in the house (forget about soda) and we seldom ate red meat. But when we grilled, the rules would change -- eating healthy was thrown out the window until Labor Day. We had burgers, hot dogs, steaks, potato chips, Fritos, s'mores for dessert and best of all, me and my siblings each got a bottle of coke. For junk food deprived kids like us, it was Nirvana!
Posted by DeDe on May 23, 2012

I lived in the city and sometimes we would go to family friend's house in the burbs; they had an in-ground pool with a slide. The kids in the family with the pool were kind of blase about it. But for me it was a big deal, especially since I had a two or three--foot high paddle pool in my small city patio. That was still pretty fun too.
Posted by Christina on May 23, 2012

Because Memorial Day was the start of summer, we always had the neighbors over for a barbecue. What I remember most is this big brick barbecue my Dad had built in the backyard. It was like an outdoor fireplace, but we only used it for barbecuing on special days. It had slots for heavy iron cooking grates and room for a zillion hamburgers and hot dogs. I liked hanging around and feeding briquets into it when my Dad told me to. It was like a coal-fired engine that kept the neighborhood running.
Posted by John on May 23, 2012

With our backyard patio as home plate and three trees in a close-enough-to-a-diamond pattern, our back yard was the place for all the neighborhood kids to play wiffle ball!
Posted by Courtney on May 23, 2012

They’re lush, green, and all-American. They’re also water-hogging, time-sucking nuisances. In fact, some are saying ‘no’ to turf. Should we get rid of our lawns?

What are lawn alternatives?

Turf grasses

Ground cover

Fake grass

And, yes, lawn paint!