What are you doing with your kids this spring?

Spring may be a little late to the party this year, but it is finally starting to warm up and the snow is almost gone from the backyard. So I have started to think about all the fun things I want to do with my little guy in the next few months.

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The boy wants the snow to be gone

My son is two now, and has no shortage of energy. He loves to explore and learn about new things so there are plenty of things I am looking forward to.

I plan to get him in the woods a bit. He loves the Bangor City Forest and I want to let him out to explore. I’m looking forward to showing him bugs, frogs, squirrels and birds. He get’s all excited when he sees animals so the city forest is a perfect place for him to get up close to some of the smaller ones.

I see a lot of backyard baseball and soccer in out future. He has a new tricycle and I can see his mom and I, one on each side, trying to keep him upright.

Now that he is a little older he rides better in the car and we might even be able to plan more trips to the beach, state parks and other fun places. When planning a car trip it is important to think about the snack to mileage ratio for your child. With mine it is roughly 1 snack for every 10 miles we travel.

I asked some friends and fellow blogger to weigh in with what they are looking forward to doing with their kids this spring. Below are their responses.

Chad Lothian (friend who likes good beer and his 2 boys) 
Old Town
Children – 2 boys (both under 5) 

I’m looking forward to getting my boys outside. Watching my older son wear the tires off his big wheel while doing powerslides in the driveway and playing with Tonka Trucks in the mud, even if that results in me getting yelled at by my wife for muddy prints that will inevitably be tracked across the floor. I’m also looking forward to taking the boys on a walk and stopping at a playground without having to worry about frostbite, then a good night’s sleep (dare I say sleeping in on a Saturday) because they ran off all their energy outside, instead of being cooped up indoors.

Check Chad out at If My Coaster Could Talk

Todd McLeod (Coworker and friend with a pile of kids)
Belfast
Children – 4 boys (6, 8, 13, 16) 2 girls (6 and 16) 

I am looking forward to getting outside and throwing the baseball around.  We like to go to the ball field as a family and practice hitting and fielding.  We are also looking forward to ATV riding.  The kids love to strap on their ATV helmets and go mudding; the more wet and muddy the better!  The kids also look forward to going to the playground here in Belfast and walking on the rocks down at the ocean.

Ben Sprague (Skilled city councilman, rookie dad) 
Bangor
One child – 14 weeks old
Ben and his little guy

Ben and his little guy

I’m most looking forward to walking the many trails in Bangor, including at the Bangor Forest, Walden Parke, and along the Kenduskeag Stream.  Since we live near Bangor Muni I’m also looking forward to walking up there and introducing William to the game of golf.  He is only a few months old but just being outside in the fresh air and sunshine will be good for him. They say at six months you can start running with a child in a running stroller, so by June or July we’ll be able to do that.  Mostly I just want to get him outside.  Since he was born in December we haven’t been out much but on the days when we do get him some fresh air he seems to sleep a lot better at night.  Needless to say we want to get him outside as much as possible.

Ben has a City Council Facebook Page where he does good things. You should check it out.

Steve Vose (Outdoors junkie, blogger, hook and bullet aficionado) 
Augusta
Children – 2 boys (Wildman and Savage)

ice fishing will be replaced by regular fishing this spring

ice fishing will be replaced by regular fishing this spring

Old man winter has finally released Maine from his icy grasp and now my thoughts turn to spring time and the multitude of outdoor adventures my children will be subjected to over the next several months.

Kicking and screaming, I will drag my unsuspecting spawn deep into the Maine wildlands where they will be tortured by biting insects and receive self-inflicted cuts, bruises, splinters and perhaps even sunburns. They will ultimately get smoke in their eyes, while attempting to roast marshmallows over a roaring campfire, fall into some ice-cold mountain stream while fishing or catching frogs, get muscle aches while hiking “big” mountains and be forced to endure for days at a time having dirt under their fingernails and annoying pine pitch stuck to their little hands. You want to know the big secret Mom and Dad? Kids don’t care one bit about dirt and grime and small boo boos . . . it is YOU who are worried about them and passing that fear on to your children. Parents must understand that kids need to get dirty to learn about and experience the outdoors in all it’s fantastic glory and that ultimately it’s ok for kids to skin the occasional knee.

The outdoors is not big and scary and a child will love every blessed minute they spend camping, hiking, backpacking, canoeing and fishing as long as that time is spent with a caring, nurturing adult who is dedicated to helping that child live a life a little bit more “wild”. Life is nothing if you don’t LIVE it and children must be taught not to be fearful of the wilderness and the “wild” beasts within it.

Follow Steve’s crazy antics and awesome happenings on his blog

Alex Steed (Friend, fellow blogger, smart dude, tallest hipster I know)
Cornish
One Child – Daughter

Our daughter is very excited about playing baseball outside this Spring and she has asked about when we will be attending our first Sea Dogs game of the season. We are also looking forward to taking her to a Red Sox game. I don’t really care for baseball, but she is very excited to go to Boston, get a hotdog and see this so-called “green monster.”

What I also find exciting about the emergence of this season is that I will finally be able to spend time outside with her. We work and attend school an hour away from home and so there was a very long stretch where we would leave the house when it was dark and return when it was dark and so our times outside were few and far between. We have already been fortunate to spend a few warm afternoons at the playground, taking walks and hiking in the woods. I am enthusiastic for more of that.

Alex has the best blog on the internet here (well… it’s not the best, but it is very good).

Pat Lemieux

About Pat Lemieux

Pat has it all, family, big old house, dogs, a young son and a quarter-life crisis. He blogs about trying to be who he has always been and be who he now needs to be. He enjoys 90's grunge metal, tasty local brews and the outdoors.