Hampton Roads has so much to offer, there's never really any shortage of things to do here if you have children. As a family, we aim to spend 1000 Hours Outside each year, so we've become pretty acquainted with fun, outdoor, and free things to do around here. (If you're interested in our 1000 Hour Outside Challenge and adventures, you can read more about them here!) This list is a little different than other lists floating around because this was made from kids I have surveyed myself and then I'll put my 2 cents in at the end. 

One of my personal favorite places to visit, although not free (but very affordable!), so I'm not including it in the list, is First Landing State Park. The beach access side is wonderful and super easy to navigate. There's a little shop, restrooms, showers, and a snack bar there too. They have a little hands-on discovery area for kids too that has crabs and fish and lots of education exhibits. It's on the bay, so the waves are minimal. The trail side across the street is breathtaking. They have a marsh with bald cypress trees and Spanish moss with lots of well maintained trails for you to use. The Visitor's Center has a few exhibits as well (with little critter encounters too!), restrooms, and picnic tables. It's an amazing way to spend the day. Hike in the morning, eat lunch, swim and lounge around the beach in the afternoon!

What are some of your favorite free things to do in Hampton Roads? I want to hear about it! Maybe you've been somewhere I haven't and I need to check it out! 
Let me know in the comments below. 
Also, if you've got a session on the books with me, be inspired! Let's visit some of the places and explore together! I'm always up for an adventure. 
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I guess Fall is over seeing as how it is now February. Ha! My bad. Better late than never, right?! I felt it was still important to update you on how we spent our hours outside this Fall. Hopefully it will give you inspiration on how to get your hours in! 

Here in coastal Virginia, we are really blessed with fantastic weather (usually). It's pretty mild in the winter (I'm cringing writing that because I am 100% cold intolerant and I am absolutely freezing below 50 degrees!) and in the fall we are still having really warm days. Although we can't really swim at the beach in the fall, we definitely are still making trips to visit and play in the sand, walk along the beach, and hunt for shells. This is an activity we all enjoy, from the oldest to the youngest.

For some reason, I feel like we don't get many foggy days here. But you better believe when the fog hit, the kids threw on their shoes and headed outside to play! And of course, I was more than happy to shoot in it! We talked about animals and birds and how they use their colors to camouflage themselves against predators or how they used the fog to their advantage in hunting. 

One of our favorite hangouts is a river shoreline and we can easily spend hours here! We look for fossils, spot river creatures, track animal prints at low tide, and enjoy the setting sun. The littlest loves to throw shells in the water. The younger ones bring toys to play in the mud with as well (trucks, action figures, sand toys, etc.). I do not expect to come home clean on these days!

There are a ton of other activities we did in the Fall that are not pictured here, mostly because I am still behind on editing my personal work. (Ooops!)
But here are a few of the things we did to rack up our hours:

• bike rides throughout the neighborhood
• fall sports (I count practices and games in their outdoor hours!)
• pumpkin patch 
• corn mazes
• pumpkin carving
• pumpkin painting
• helping to prep the yard and garden for winter
• nerf wars
• short, local hikes after school
• playgrounds
• skateparks 
• trash pick up/neighbor hood clean ups
• build a bonfire (collecting materials, chopping wood, building the fire, etc.)

We use these handy, printable trackers to help us have a visual record of our time spent outdoors. (They also have an app now!) They are free and the kids love them. Let me know your favorite outdoor fall activities and give me some ideas for next year! 
As always, learn more about the 1000 Hours Outside mission on their website! 

If you follow me on social media (if you don't, here's my Instagram and here's my Facebook ) you've probably heard me whine and complain that summer is gone. Officially. It's just...gone. I'm like a child- I'm just plain sad and a big ball of big emotions. I love the warmth of summer, the freedom, the beach, the sunshine, the laid back summer vibes... and it's just slowly ended and faded to Fall. 
You also might know that as a family, we participate in something known as the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge. It's a big part of our life. We aim to spend 1000 hours each year outside. And to say that it's been life changing is an understatement. It truly has changed our lives and how we view our time outside. I also know that I really, really, really struggle in the winter, so we try to pack in as many hours outside as possible in the summer months. 

So, I try to update ya'll on what we've been doing to keep busy and how we spend our time outside. Honestly, for us, summer is the easiest month to spend time outside. We don't mind the heat. We stay hydrated and seek shade when possible. We get our hours in early in the morning and late in the afternoon. This year the kids pooled all of their money together (and with a little help  from mom and dad) got a blow up water slide and that has been a HUGE hit! We have enjoyed it so much and so have the neighborhood kids! 

Here are some of our favorite ways to rack up hours in the summer:

• Eat Outside (and cook outside too!)! We have a little table that is shaded most of the day that we eat at and if not that, we will throw a blanket under a tree.
• Go to the beach
• Walk the boardwalk at the beach
• Fly Kites
• Swim
• Skateboard
• Visit different parks in the area
• Ride bikes with neighborhood friends
• Nerf gun battles with friends
• Eat ice cream or popsicles outside
• Walk around town in the beach front communities
• Play with water toys outside
• Play Sports
• Have a garden (our kids learned a bit about cutting grass!) 
• Go on a hike in the woods
• Science Experiments outside 
• Read books in the hammock under the tree

We have had so much fun this summer. I enjoy our time together and I like to think we make the best of it. Winter becomes a lot more challenging for me, but it's all about harmony and prioritizing your time. 
If you'd like to read more about what we did previously, check out this blog post. 
If you'd like more information about the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge, click here to be taken to their website. 
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