Outdoor Birthday Games for Kids' Parties

Whether your birthday party is in your backyard or at a park, these party games are sure to get the kids moving and having fun. When the weather is perfect, these outdoor party games will go with any themed party. Place the cake and presents on a table outdoors and let the kids enjoy some outdoor games. Does this Spark an idea?

Pop the Puzzle

You will need large balloons and enough puzzles for two or more teams. Buy puzzles that have 10 to 20 small pieces (make sure to buy all the same puzzle for fairness). Before you blow up the balloons, place one puzzle piece inside each balloon and keep those balloons together. Repeat the steps for the next puzzle and make sure to keep each set of balloons separate. If you have two teams, put the two sets of balloons about 30 feet from the teams in separate piles. When someone says, "go," one team member races to his pile and pops a balloon using his hands, bottom or feet. The teammate retrieves the puzzle piece and races it back to his team, tagging the next person in line. That person will do the same and return tagging the next person in line until all puzzle pieces are retrieved. Once the team has all of its puzzle pieces, it can work on putting it together. The team that puts its puzzle together first wins the game. Have the children stand around a hard table or flat surface so it is easier for them to put the puzzles together.

Pass the Hula Hoop

Have children stand in a circle and hold hands. An adult will place two hula hoops in the circle by detaching the hands of four children. The object of the game is for the children to get each hula hoop all the way around the circle without letting go of their hands. If you have enough children to make two circles, you can use one hula hoop for each circle and make it a race to see which circle gets its hula hoop around the fastest.

Happy Birthday Game

Play this game just like the old-fashioned game of Marco Polo. Play the game on land or in the water. Select one child to be "it" and blindfold him. Designate a play area in the backyard. Players cannot run outside of this area. The "it" person will yell "happy" and the other children must yell "birthday." The "it" child will have to find and tag another child by listening to where their voice is coming from. Once he finds someone and tags him, that person will become the new "it."

Indoor Gym Games for Kids

Keeping kids physically active is important for a healthy lifestyle. Running and playing outdoors is an excellent way to promote exercise. However, if the weather is not ideal, there are indoor gym games for kids that are just as fun as those played outside. These games just take a bit more of an imagination.

Wombat Ball

Wombat Ball is similar to baseball but designed for indoor gym play. It uses a wrapped up towel and volleyball instead of a wooden bat and ball.

You will need one wombat--a beach towel, rolled in the shape of a cone and taped together with athletic tape--volleyball, one orange safety cone and five bases. Place the safety cone in the area where the batter box is or at the beginning of the batting line. The batter must hold the wombat with both hands and may not bunt. The batter gets four pitches to hit a fair ball and is considered out if he throws the bat more than five bat lengths away from home base. The runner may not slide into base or lead off base before the ball is hit and is out if hit by the batted ball while running bases. The runner is allowed one base on any thrown ball that goes out of play. The team playing defense may not stand on top of a base to force an out, block a runner when not possessing the ball or throw the ball at a runner to get an out, but instead must tag the runner on all unforced plays. After three outs or after scoring five runs, the teams switch positions. Only five runs per inning is permitted, unless a team is behind by more than five runs, then they can score as many runs as needed to get ahead by one. This keeps the game much more interesting and fun.

Voyage Across the Ocean

This game is best played with a larger group of kids. Divide the kids into groups of five or six. You will need two square gym mats, measuring 5 by 5 feet for each group of kids. The idea of this game is to tell the kids that they are on a desert island and need to cross the ocean, which is the gym floor, on two rafts (the gym mats) to get to the other island that has food and water waiting for them. The kids need to figure out how to do this without any group members touching the water (gym floor). This is accomplished by having all team members stand on one mat while carefully pushing the other mat in front and then everyone stepping onto that mat. Of course, do not tell the kids how to do this, the fun is watching them struggle and try to figure out just how to accomplish the task.

Man From Mars

This game is fun and gives kids lots of exercise. All kids but one stand in a line at one end of the gym. One kid stands in the middle of the gym as the Man from Mars.

The other kids chant, "Man from Mars, Man from Mars, will you take us to the stars?"

The child who is the Man from Mars answers with a specific detail like, "Only if you have black on your shirt." Those with black on their shirts get to run to the other end of the gym. The Man from Mars then says, "Go, and the rest of the kids run towards the other end of the gym while trying to avoid being caught by the Man from Mars. Anyone caught then helps the Man from Mars catch kids in the next round.

How to Use Creeping Phlox in Garden Design

Creeping phlox is a wonderful asset to any spring garden, whether a shady woodland garden or a bed that welcomes full sun and little water. This is not the result of a miracle plant. "Creeping phlox" is the correct descriptor for a native plant, Phlox stolonifera, which thrives in moist semi-shaded settings, and a favorite nursery plant, Phlox subulata, with a higher tolerance for heat and dryness. Contact your local native plant society to find out about Phlox stolonifera in your area. Learn to use the more adaptable Phlox subulata in a variety of landscaping designs. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

Shape, Size and Colors

1

Measure the length and width of the area you would like to cover with phlox subulata. You will need enough plants to set them 2 feet apart in rows 2 feet apart. A mature phlox plant can cover an area totalling 1 foot to 18 inches, and you will see substantial growth even during the first year. Within two years, you can reasonably expect the entire space to be covered by this aggressive plant.

2

Purchase Phlox subulata in your desired colors. Phlox subulata can be found in shades of red, lavender, pink and white. An area like a rock garden, where plants are separated from each other, welcomes a variety of colors. A dull slope in danger of eroding can be turned into a dramatic single-color statement, while plants also assure stabilization of the soil.

3

Plan companions for your phlox once blooms fade. By late spring, you will be left with low (4- to 6-inch-high) mounds of fine dark needles that form an attractive but somewhat monotonous background for other plants. Since phlox subulata will tolerate some dappled or partial shade, consider open-branched shrubs like red ozier dogwood, which offer interesting summer foilage and fall bark interest. Back a wide swath of phlox with daylilies; their contrasting foliage textures and summer bloom colors provide a bright summer look.

Other Places to Plant Phlox

4

Tuck Phlox subulata into any rock garden. Its low mounds will not overwhelm other rock plants, and its bright spring colors brighten any rocky slope.

5

Edge stone walls or other visually "hard" surfaces with phlox subulata. Before and after bloom, phlox mounds cascade over and soften rigid lines in landscaping.

6

Edge large planters with phlox subulata and fill the centers with spring bulbs. You will extend your spring color season. When bulb foliage dies back, refill the center with New Zealand impatiens, Gerbera daisies or other strong-hued annuals that can float over a soft sea of cascading green.

Campgrounds at Buena Vista Lake in Bakersfield, California

The Buena Vista Lakes consist of two lakes: Lake Webb at 998 surface acres and Lake Evans at 86 surface acres. Buena Vista Lake boosts three splendid campsites, coupled with an array of hiking trails. The temperatures rise to the 90s F in the summer days and sink into the 60s in the night. If planning to camp in the winter, be prepared as the days rise to highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s.

Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area Family Campsites

As a family campsite, children can enjoy the several installations of children's playgrounds; one is even in the shape of a giant toy soldier. Activities include: fishing, boating, jet-skiing, camping (for families and large groups), picnicking and bicycling. The campsite holds two concession buildings, three covered picnic areas reserved for large groups and numerous other picnic areas throughout the campsite.

Rosedale Village Campland

Rosedale Village Campland offers 155 grassy campsites. Each site includes planted citrus and nut trees, a picnic table and patio. Cable TV is available as well as playgrounds and barbecue. Tours of wineries are offered to travelers. Weekly and monthly rates are available for those planning short or longer term stays.

Valle Vista Campground

Open all year, Valle Vista Campground offers family and group campsites. Restrooms and showers are available as well as RV hookups. The campground even has Wi-Fi access and is handicap accessible.

Fishing Amenities

Since the lake is recently man-made, fish need to be added to the lake every year from nearby the California Aqueduct. The lake holds catfish, stripers, largemouth bass, rainbow trout, crappie and bluegill. Some of the trout are up to 12 pounds. Since boating is permitted on the lakes, it is best to fish in the early morning or late evening.

How to Cold Weather Camp in Your RV

As the weather gets colder, many campers put their RVs away for the winter. There is so much to see and do during the winter season, and enjoying these activities from the comfort of your RV can be a refreshing experience, if you prepare your RV for the cold.

Instructions

1

Examine your RV's plumbing to determine what measures you must take to prevent damage from freezing temperatures. Some RVs have plumbing exposed to the outside elements. In this case, wrap the exposed plumbing with heat tape and foam pipe insulation.

2

The plumbing system includes the holding tanks. Some RVs have enclosed holding tanks that are heated by the RV's furnace through heater ducting to the holding tank areas. As long as the furnace runs occasionally, these tanks won't freeze unless it's very cold (below 20 F).

For those tanks that are not heated or enclosed, affix tank heating pads to the bottoms of the tanks. These are very easy to install, thermostatically controlled, and come in both 12-volt DC and 110-volt AC.

3

Yet another part of the RV plumbing system is the holding tank piping and dump valves. Some high-end RVs have these pipes and valves enclosed and heated from the factory. For most RVs though, they are exposed to the elements. As with the plumbing pipes, these pipes and valves can be protected by wrapping them with heat tape.

4

You should keep your gray and black water valves closed until you are ready to dump your holding tanks. If gray water constantly allowed to drain, it will eventually form an ice dam in your sewer hose. As an alternative, you could also try insulating and wrapping heat tape around your sewer hose if you want to leave the gray water valve open. In any case, be absolutely certain that your sewer hose is at a steep angle where liquids drain rapidly and are not allowed to stand. Using a sewer hose support will help with this.

5

Another area subject to freezing is the fresh water supply hose. You can use a heated water hose to prevent freezing. This is a good option if you are in a campground with full hookups. They run on either 12 volts DC or 110 volts AC.

6

To reduce drafts and heating requirements, insulate your RV's windows against the cold with heavy drapes or curtains. You can create an insulating dead-air space inside of the windows by covering them with clear, heavy vinyl.

7

The roof vents are an area where heat can escape. There are foam-type pillows specifically made to be placed in the vent openings. These fit snugly and greatly reduce heat loss.

8

If you have a motorhome, hang a heavy blanket or privacy curtain between the driver's compartment and the rest of the motorhome. This will block the cold radiated by a motorhome's windshield. This works well whether you have a Class A, B or C motorhome because they all have large windshields.

9

Any compartments that open into the inside of the RV need to have good weather seals. Adding some inexpensive foam tape or weatherstripping to the compartment openings and doors will help seal those air leaks.

10

Now that the RV is sealed tight from air leaks, there may be a problem with condensation. Moisture from cooking, washing and just breathing raises the humidity inside the RV. As it gets colder, this moisture condenses on cooler inside surfaces like window frames and doors. This can lead to mold and mildew, and water stains. The best way to prevent condensation is to avoid introducing excessive moisture into the air. A good practice is to always use the range hood vent when cooking and the bathroom vent when showering. These will draw most of the moisture out of the rig. It may be necessary to keep a roof vent open slightly to provide some ventilation and keep condensation in check. Insulating exposed surfaces that tend to collect moisture will also help. A small dehumidifier or some tubs of desiccant crystals may be necessary, depending on the RV and how many people are staying in it.

11

Consider how the RV is going to be heated. Portable electric heaters are a great supplement to the propane furnace. This method of heating doesn't add condensation to the air and allows the propane furnace to run considerably less, saving a lot of propane. Catalytic heaters are another way to provide assistance to the propane furnace, but require fresh-air ventilation to avoid oxygen depletion in the RV.