by Ruthie Delk

Summer in Florida…when I first moved here I hated it! But now that I’ve gotten used to the weather and know about a few fun things to do, it’s not so bad.

Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. Winter Park Farmers Market every Saturday morning (year round) by the old train station. Great produce and pastries, flowers and even homemade kettle popcorn and a vendor that sells butterfly plants with butterfly larva for you to take home.

2. Winter Park Morse Museum of Art. If you have lived here more than two years and have not visited this museum with the largest collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s lamps, windows and jewelry you have missed out! They have even reconstructed the chapel (made completely out of mosaics) that he built for the world’s fair in 1893. Kids will even like this if you combine it with homemade icecream from the Briar Patch across the street. www.morsemuseum.org

3. Popcorn Flicks in Central Park downtown Winter Park. Once a month they offer family movies in the park on a big screen. It’s FREE. Bring blankets, chairs and food. The next one is July 12 at 8pm featuring “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Also a great date night. Check their website for future flicks. www.cityofwinterpark.org

4. Downtown Sanford for July 4th fireworks along the lake. Go early to get a spot. Also Lake Eola has Fireworks at the Fountain on July 4th

5. State Parks -As Kelly mentioned in her last post, there are so many that have wonderful cool water springs! Check out Blue Springs, Rainbow Springs (you can rent a tube and tube through the springs) and Deleon Springs (kayaks and canoes for rent, great hikes and my favorite pancake house where you make pancakes right at your table!) www.floridastateparks.org. Type in the name of the park and you will get all the info you need.

What about you? Any other suggestions?

For those of you who don’t know, let me tell you about Kelly Park. It is a fun, cheap time in Orlando, perfect for a hot summer day. Kelly Park is a God-made lazy river. The water is part of Rock Springs, so it’s cold but crystal clear. A wooden walkway takes you to the place to put in your tube and start floating. When you reach the end (maybe 20-30 minutes later), you pick up your tube, walk back, and do it again…and again!!

Park admission is only $1.00 (kids under age 5 are free!), and you can rent inner tubes at many places on the drive to the park, most for around $5.00 per tube. Pack a cooler, bring a big blanket, and claim a patch of grass with prime view of tubers passing by. There are picnic tables and grills available, too, as well as a concession stand. You can even camp there.

Kelly Park is perfect trip for those with kids and those without. Who knows, maybe an otter will pop up next to you while you float…it happened to me!!

Park hours (summer): 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM

**TIP: Get there early! It’s popular, and you don’t want to be turned away.

In case you ever need Play Doh, and don’t want to go to the store. Or you need Play Doh “right now.” Or for whatever reason, now you can make your own. My kids like the adventure of making their own, but since it’s so cheap to buy I usually just get mine store-bought. (When I actually have it around. Honestly, I get tired of all the play doh “crumbs,” so don’t offer it too often. Of course, when I do it’s a big hit.)

Play Doh from Currin Ann Seely

1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp cream of tartar
food coloring

Stir several drops of food coloring into water, which is in a medium saucepan. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir over medium heat until almost ball stage (about 1 minute.) Turn ball on a lightly floured board As soon as it’s cool enough to manage, knead into a small ball. Store in a tightly covered container or ziplock bag. Lasts a long time when stored properly.

During a game night in our small group this question was posed to us…Would you be upset if your make up was taken away for a whole month? What do you think?