Spring can be pretty fickle in Denver… it swings between 70s and snow, with rain and hail mixed in between. As a result, we often prograsstinate on getting the yard ready for the season. But this spring, I’ve partnered with Roundup® For Lawns, and I’m telling the dandelions to “weed ’em and reap.” As my boys are getting older, they want to spend more and more time outside, and they are starting to really enjoy playing lawn games. Their enthusiasm has me mowtivated to get the lawn looking good so that we can enjoy it every chance we get.{Ok, now that I have your attention, I’ll stop with the bad puns already!}.
A couple of weeks ago, I posted about our curb appeal goals, and my plans to use Roundup For Lawns to help get our yard looking great for summer. The way our front lawn looks can really make or break the appearance of our whole yard, so I don’t trust it to just anyone. Roundup has been the #1 weed killing brand for over 40 years, so when I learned about their new formula for use directly in your lawn, I knew it would make the job of killing weeds and getting our lawn ready for family play time quick and easy, and would keep our grass looking great.
There are two Roundup For Lawns formulas designed specifically for the different grass types found in the northern and southern regions of the country – but since we are located pretty much in the middle, I did a little checking and confirmed that the norther region formula was right for our grass. This formula controls more than 250 types of weeds {who knew there were so many?!}, including dandelions, crab grass, clover, and yellow nutsedge, killing them right down to the roots!
Roundup for Lawns comes in several different forms, and I chose the “Ready to Spray” concentrate to save time and treat the whole lawn at once. Following the instructions on the bottle, I attached the hose, moved the thumb switch to the “ON” position, and I was ready to get started. This made treating our lawn so quick and easy, and because it is rain proof in as little as three hours, I didn’t have to worry about our ever-changing weather.
We made sure to keep the boys in the house while we were treating the lawn, and didn’t allow them to play in the yard again until we were certain that the spray was totally dry.
Now that the weeds are dead and gone, we’ve been spending lots of family time enjoying the yard. I know a lot of you also have young kids or grandkids, so I wanted to share our current six favorite lawn games that are perfect for young kids, and fun for the whole family:
1 – YARD DICE
A couple of years ago I spotted some large wooden lawn dice at a store, but the price tag was a bit too steep for me, so I decided to make my own. The project was even easier than I expected, and you can find the full yard dice tutorial here.
I picked up a lightweight plastic bucket big enough to hold all five dice at once, and we use it to shake up the dice and then roll them out on to the lawn. We enjoy playing Yahtzee, but the dice are also perfect for simple math games that sneak in a little learning while we play!
2 – LAWN BOWLING
My boys love bowling, so it’s convenient that the long thin strip of grass in our front yard between the sidewalk and street creates a perfect bowling alley. These colorful bowling pins are soft on the outside but weighted on the bottom which helps them stand up on the uneven surface of the grass.
3 – BEAN BAG TOSS & CORN HOLE
I’ve never met a kid who didn’t love a good game of bean bag toss. Corn Hole is a popular version among adults and kids alike, but our boys’ favorite is set up more like skee ball, with numerous holes that the bean bags can fall through, providing a higher chance of success for little ones who are still learning to aim and control.
4 – CONES & BALANCING STONES
We discovered these brightly colored “balancing stones” at a birthday party last year, and Cooper was immediately hooked! They come in different sizes and heights and can be positioned close together or further apart for more of a challenge. In addition to stepping from stone to stone, Cooper also loves lining up orange cones to create simple obstacle courses.
5 – ANIMAL CROQUET
We have a traditional version of croquet that we’ve introduced the boys to, but they find it a bit challenging to keep track of the metal croquet hoops. I recently picked up a kid version of croquet with freestanding “hoops” shaped like animals. Not only are these easier for the kids to spot and aim for, they also don’t require being staked into the grass, making them easier and safer for the kids to move around and rearrange on their own.
6 – POP UP SOCCER GOALS
I’m officially a soccer mom! Both boys are playing soccer for the first time this spring, so of course they are now eager to practice at home as well. We set up pop-up soccer goals to quickly transform our small backyard into a soccer field that is perfectly scaled to the size of our kids.
I’m always looking for new, fun ways to keep the kids engaged and active, so I’d love to hear your favorites as well! What lawn games do your kids most enjoy?
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Roundup® For Lawns.
