Adventures with the Grands: Big Memories Don’t Require Big Trips!
When you hear the word adventure, what comes to mind? Maybe it’s a family vacation to Disney World, a road trip across the country, or an exciting visit to somewhere you’ve never been before. We tend to associate adventures with travel, elaborate plans, and sometimes a pretty substantial price tag.
But I’ve come to believe that some of the best adventures happen much closer to home. They don’t have to involve expensive tickets, hotel reservations, or hours in the car. Sometimes an adventure is simply doing something a little different, exploring somewhere nearby, or spending time with people you love.
And sometimes an adventure begins because you need to get two energetic little boys out of the house!
Welcome to Camp Mimi!
This summer, my husband and I had the pleasure of entertaining our two grandsons, ages five and six, every Wednesday while their parents worked. We called our special days together Camp Mimi, and they quickly became something we all looked forward to.
Now, anyone who has spent much time with boys that age knows two things: they have an almost unlimited supply of energy, and they are curious about absolutely everything! They’re eager to explore, ask questions, experiment, and discover how the world works. Keeping them entertained isn’t necessarily difficult, but keeping up with them can be another story!
Our original plan was fairly simple. We would spend Wednesdays at our house, working on projects, doing science experiments, creating things, and finding plenty of ways to have fun together.
And we did all of those things!
But as summer progressed, our plans needed a little adjustment. We had put our house on the market, which meant keeping everything neat, clean, and ready for potential showings. If you’ve ever tried to maintain a showing-ready house while entertaining two active little boys, you probably understand the challenge!
Five- and six-year-old boys aren’t particularly concerned with keeping pillows perfectly arranged, toys put away, and fingerprints off freshly cleaned surfaces. Nor should they be! They’re supposed to be playing, exploring, and enjoying themselves.
So we decided to take some of our fun on the road.
Fortunately, we had already purchased car seats for our own vehicle. It was one of those practical decisions that made life so much easier. We didn’t have to transfer seats from their parents’ cars every week, and we could head out whenever we wanted.
Suddenly, our Wednesdays had a whole new set of possibilities.
The Adventures Didn’t Have to Be Grand
When I say we went exploring, I don’t mean that we planned elaborate excursions or spent a fortune on special activities. Some of our outings were things the boys had already experienced before, and that’s part of what made the summer so enjoyable.
One Wednesday, we went to a movie theater that had the coolest playground right inside! The boys got to play before the movie, burning off some of that seemingly endless energy, and then we settled into wonderfully comfortable reclining seats to watch the show.
The seats were so comfortable that my husband even managed to enjoy a refreshing nap during the movie!
I’m not entirely sure that was the theater’s intended attraction, but he certainly appreciated it.
Other Wednesdays found us doing all sorts of ordinary things. We went out to eat, stopped for ice cream, played at local parks, and visited a nearby creative play space where the boys could explore and use their imaginations.
On one particularly hot, rainy afternoon, we found ourselves at an indoor playground. It was the perfect solution to a day when playing outside wasn’t especially appealing. The boys could run, climb, play, and have fun while we stayed comfortably out of the heat and rain.
None of these outings was particularly extravagant. We weren’t traveling to famous attractions or checking destinations off some elaborate summer bucket list. We were simply finding enjoyable things to do together in our own community.
And that was enough.
Sometimes the Surprise Is Half the Fun
One of my favorite parts of Camp Mimi was that the boys never quite knew what to expect.
They knew Wednesday was their day with us, and they knew we’d find something fun to do, but the activities weren’t always the same. Sometimes we had something planned in advance, and other times the weather, our schedule, or circumstances helped us decide.
That little element of surprise made the days feel special.
Would we be heading somewhere new? Working on an experiment? Making something? Watching a movie? Going out for a treat?
The boys didn’t always know what was coming, and I think that was part of the excitement.
As adults, we sometimes underestimate how much children enjoy a change of routine. To us, stopping for ice cream might seem like a perfectly ordinary afternoon activity. To a child, an unexpected ice cream outing with Mimi and Grandpa can become the highlight of the day.
And that’s something worth remembering. Children don’t necessarily measure an experience by how much it costs or how far they traveled to get there. They’re often much more interested in what they get to do, what they discover, and who gets to share the experience with them.
Finding Adventures in Your Own Community
I think we sometimes overlook the opportunities for exploration that exist right around us.
It’s easy to get caught up in planning vacations and major outings while forgetting that our own communities offer plenty of opportunities for fun. Local parks, libraries, nature centers, playgrounds, museums, and small businesses can all provide opportunities to do something a little different.
And many of those experiences are free or relatively inexpensive.
One of the things I particularly enjoyed about our Wednesdays was the flexibility. We didn’t need to commit to an entire day of activities or plan something weeks in advance. If the weather wasn’t cooperating, we could look for something indoors. If we wanted a quieter outing, we could go for ice cream or see a movie. If the boys needed to burn off energy, a playground was usually a good choice.
Not every outing needed to fill the entire day, either. Sometimes an hour or two away from home was plenty, especially when we had other activities waiting for us.
And because we were staying close to home, we didn’t have to spend hours traveling or worry about complicated schedules.
Our summer reminded me that exploring doesn’t always mean going somewhere far away. Sometimes it simply means looking at familiar places as opportunities for new experiences.
The Adventures Were Only Part of Camp Mimi
Of course, our Wednesday adventures were just one part of the summer.
We also spent time at home doing science experiments, making crafts, watching movies, and enjoying all sorts of activities together. As a former science teacher, I particularly love opportunities to turn a child’s natural curiosity into a little hands-on learning.
And with two boys who are eager to investigate practically everything, there’s certainly no shortage of curiosity!
Some activities required preparation and supplies, while others were much simpler. We mixed creative projects with active play, experiments with entertainment, and planned activities with spontaneous fun.
That variety was important. I didn’t want Camp Mimi to become a rigid schedule of activities we felt obligated to complete. I wanted it to be something we enjoyed together.
We didn’t need to make every Wednesday bigger or more exciting than the week before. Sometimes the best activity was simply whatever sounded fun that day.
And some days, just spending time together was the whole point.
It’s Not About the Money. It’s About the Memories.
I think grandparents sometimes feel pressure to make every visit with their grandchildren extraordinary. We see elaborate vacations, expensive attractions, and beautifully planned activities shared online, and it’s easy to think we’re somehow falling short if we’re not doing something equally impressive.
But I don’t believe that’s what children need from us.
They need our time, attention, and willingness to share experiences with them. They need opportunities to be curious, to laugh, to play, and to feel that spending time together is something worth looking forward to.
A trip to a neighborhood park can become an adventure when you take the time to explore together. An ordinary lunch can become a special outing. A rainy afternoon can turn into an unexpected visit to an indoor playground.
And sometimes even a trip to the movie theater can provide Grandpa with a much-needed nap!
Our Camp Mimi Wednesdays weren’t about spending a lot of money or planning spectacular outings. They were about creating a little space in our week that belonged to our grandsons.
The boys looked forward to Wednesdays because they knew we’d be doing something together, even if they didn’t know exactly what that something would be.
And we looked forward to them for exactly the same reason.
Make Room for a Little Adventure
If there’s one thing I hope our summer encourages other grandparents and families to do, it’s to look for opportunities to explore closer to home.
You don’t need an elaborate itinerary, a large budget, or an exciting destination. Start with what you already have nearby. Think about places you’ve passed a hundred times but never visited, activities you haven’t tried together, or familiar favorites that might be fun to experience in a different way.
Be willing to change your plans, especially when the weather or circumstances don’t cooperate. Some of our adventures happened precisely because our original plans needed to change!
Most importantly, don’t feel that every outing has to be remarkable. Sometimes the ordinary experiences are the ones that become special simply because of the people we’re sharing them with.
Our summer of Camp Mimi was full of little adventures, creative projects, laughter, learning, and memories. We didn’t travel very far, and we didn’t need to.
Because sometimes the biggest adventures are the little ones we share with the people we love.
And I suspect that years from now, when our grandsons think back on those summer Wednesdays, they won’t remember how much the outings cost or how far we drove.
I hope they’ll simply remember how much fun we had together.
What About Your Family?
Do you have a favorite local adventure you enjoy with your children or grandchildren? Maybe it’s a park, a special ice cream shop, a favorite playground, or an unexpected discovery right in your own community.
I’d love to hear about it! Sometimes the best ideas for new adventures come from hearing about someone else’s favorite places and experiences.
What’s your favorite way to make an ordinary day feel like an adventure?
Happy exploring!
Donna
