With the summer coming to an end I wanted to share one of our favorite things to do – kayaking with the kids!

Last summer we went on a family vacation to Lake Gaston and the lake house we stayed at had a kayak. And Daniel fell in love with kayaking and wanted to purchase one but I was hesitant about it. Well, a year went by and we ended up in the season of COVID where there was really no where to go and doing to do with the kids.  And you guessed it, we purchased a kayak. Daniel found it really relaxing to go out by himself in the evenings. And we even tried it out with kids….we soon learned that we needed a second kayak. After some trial and error, we are now the proud owners of two kayaks!

*Wondering how we kayak with two little ones? Daniel takes a kid, and I take the other one. Both kids are small enough to sit in the very front of a one-person kayak.  

We launch from the James River Marina just a few minutes away from our house and paddle out with the kids. We pack a lunch box with snacks, a few sand buckets, and of course the life vests and hang out in the water and play in the sand for a few hours.

We have found kayaking with the kids relaxing during this season of unknown. We have enjoyed the fresh air, the  scenery, and the beautiful sunsets. And the kids have enjoyed playing, learning, and experiencing God’s creation.

Want to try to go kayaking with your kids? Here is a few quick tips: Make sure your children are fully ready before they get into their car seats (bathing suits, sunscreen, etc.), buy waterproof cell phone cases to carry your phone and car key, pack earth-friendly snacks…kids make lots of crumbs and are messy, so we try to pack snacks that will not litter the earth, and make the backseat of your vehicle a changing station. We always dry off and change our kids before they go back in their car seats. This avoids a lot of the water and sand getting on to the car seats.