So, today I have the opportunity for some awesomely lucky readers to win an invite to the wicked exclusive
Hyundai Santa Fe's Epic Playdate Weekend in Santa Barbara, California. But first, here's
my dream playdate with the gals:
It would start early-
but not
too early. (This is, after all, a "dream.") Maybe 8 or 9? Can we all agree on 8 or 9am? And it would be at the beach. Of course. But not a super trendy, crowded-with-hot-bodies-who-by-comparison-make-me-feel-badly-about-myself kinda beach. Nor would it be filled with tween boys who want to impress tween girls by kicking sand all over the place. No. Mine would be a quiet beach with a cove, a gentle tide, some nice areas to explore...and an ice cream truck. We'd bring a breakfast picnic, a snack picnic, a lunch picnic,
another snack picnic, and a cooler of non-kid-friendly beverages. (Because all of my best friends and family members would be there with
their kiddos, and I've seen them drink. Backup is key.)
A big ol' art project under some shady trees (because there's a wooded glen near my dream beach) would be the first order of the day- perhaps some sort of found object collage- and we'd paint and glue and get as messy as humanly possible. No one would tell anyone to wear a smock, and there'd be no talk at
all of watching out for the floors and walls and cats. It would most likely end up being some sort of ornamentation for the world's most opulent sand castle-
...So next up would be the creations of the world's most opulent sand castle. We're talking turrets and balconies and moats and- yeah- even a sand dragon. Then we'd swim and float and pose like mermaids, stopping occasionally to gather the perfect shell or heart-shaped rock, and then dry off to eat one of our multitude of picnics. We would read under cavernous umbrellas. And we'd nap. (Taking turns amongst the adults, obviously, to make sure toddlers didn't wander off or fall into the castle moat.) We'd wake up just in time to catch the beginning of a beach concert (a kid-friendly hair metal 80's cover band- it'll be awesome) and dance and snack and dance some more. On our way home, we'd stop at the coolest- and safest- playground we'd ever seen; tire swings without chains that catch long ponytails, tall twisty slides, gargantuan hopscotch squares- and an ice cream truck.
And then we'd all fall asleep early and stay in bed until 8am the next morning. A girl can dream.
Now for the real deal:
Hyundai's Epic Playdate Weekend may even be cooler than my snacky, beachy fantasy. On April 27th, an insanely fun day is planned from 9-5 in Santa Barbara; mammoth bloggers such as Dooce, Girl's Gone Child, and How To Be A Dad (to name just a few) are camping out on the beach and hosting ridic awesome workshops like kids' photography, paint fights, and ice cream sundae bars. You want to go, right?
Here's how:
1) Enter via
my special-awesome link.
2) You
must have a Pinterest account for this one. Full deets
here.
3) When the form asks you how you heard about this crazy cool sweepstakes, select "Clever Girls Collective."
{Optional}
4) After you've won and attended this fabulous event, take your favorite blogger to a beach of her choosing and babysit her kids while she naps under a striped umbrella.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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