freeze

Hi, friends.
Do you ever find yourself packing up the kids to go to Target because you're bored and you're just going to "look" but then you spend $30 just in the dollar section of the store?
What about heading to DI every Saturday for a family outing where everything is so cheap that you fill up your cart and before you know it, your free family outing isn't free anymore?
The Anderson family has gotten into the habit of shopping for family entertainment and I am determined to break us of it next month!
So, I've been brainstorming ideas. My goal for the month of April is for us to find FREE things to do as a family. Not just cheap--actually free. Most weeknights are too busy with baths and homework for us to feel like we need to go somewhere, but Saturdays are hard. Saturdays sometimes feel like they go on, and on, and on. We like to do something as a family every Saturday, and that usually includes spending money. Gotta break the habit!!
Our other big challenge for the month of April will be spring break. I want to give Tempe a fun spring break, but still stick to my goal of not spending money on entertainment.
So here's my list:
1) Zoo. We have a family membership so we get in for free and we always pack a lunch. If I bring homemade cookies, I can avoid begging for a churro from the kiddos. The only money factor here is gas to get there, so I will have to see how I am doing on gas for the month.
2) Visit different parks, like the bird park in Kaysville. Hopefully the weather will be warm enough for us to do so! We go to our neighborhood park a lot and we love it so much, but visiting a new park is a great family activity for a warm Saturday afternoon. The bird park is fun because there is a playground but it's also a bird sanctuary, so lots of birds to feed!
3) Walk on the Lagoon trail, all the way up to Farmington Pond.
4) Go to the library. The children's librarian at our local library just transferred to a different branch, so I think it would be fun to go visit her! She absolutely adores my girls. Sometimes story time was embarrassing because she favored them over the other kids so much.
5) Wii games tournament. 
6) Board games/card games.
7) Family movie night with special dinner menu.
8) Take Easter pictures at Tempe Square. Yeah, I know Easter is in March, but the flowers won't be at their peak yet, so we will do pictures in April.
9) Work in the yard together.
10) Draw a huge collaborative picture on the driveway with chalk.
11) Clean out the playroom and kids' rooms; donate unused toys.
12) Yard cleanup and trip to the dump.
13) Jump on Grandma's trampoline.
14) Make a special treat and watch General Conference together. This will also be hard--I usually spend some money on activities for the girls to do during conference!
15) Bubble machine.
16) Go for a walk around the neighborhood and take pictures of flowers, green grass, leaves on trees, etc to show that spring is arriving.
17) Make play-dough.
18) Try a new recipe (only with ingredients in the pantry!)
19) Go for a hike if it's not too muddy.
20) Do a project with craft supplies on hand and fabric scraps. Helena is the best at this. She can take a pile of my fabric scraps, some yarn, and a hot glue gun and come up with all kinds of things. With my help, she has made several mermaid dolls and she loves cutting out "clothes" for her stuffed animals.
21) Playdates with cousins, friends, and neighbors.

That's my list for now--if you have more suggestions of FREE family activities, please, please, comment!