Now that we have play dates on the regular, I often find myself stumped for new things to do. I mean, how many times can you go to the park and play on the jungle gym? Well, I was hit with a ton of inspiration last weekend when I joined a group of my fellow bloggers (including Oh Happy Day, Dooce, Say Yes, Mighty Girl, and more…) and their families at a the Rancho Dos Pueblos campsite in Goleta (just outside Santa Barbara) for an Epic Play Date weekend. The activities seemed so simple, but were such huge hits with the kids. Some of my favorites were…

…the tin foil contest, where the kids used tin foil to create costumes and then ran a relay race in them! Also, writing poems on chalkboards, making balloon swords and animals, playing volleyball with giant beach balls, creating group artwork using colored sand, and using hula hoops to create giant bubbles!

The busy day wrapped up with all of us singing songs and playing under the stars. It really opened up my eyes to some fun and easy-to-do activities with Ruby as she gets older. So, so fun!

And of course, it's always fun for me to catch up with blogging buddies I don't get to see very often!

{Photos by David Crowther for Hyundai}

This post is brought to you by The New Santa Fe from Hyundai. All words are my own. Thanks for supporting these sponsors that allow me to share these fun experiences and ideas with my readers.