This post may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
Well, the official kickoff to summer 2020 is here! And with lots of camps and activities cancelled, this summer we are all likely to be spending more time than usual at home.
At the end of last summer we bought the best toy ever, and I’m sharing it again today for anyone who wants a little extra fun for the kids in the backyard. I seriously love this water slide so much, and I want to pass it along so you too can bask in its glory.
This toy is amazing, especially if you don’t have a pool and if you, like me, find the beach with small children to be a cluster and a half.
Behold the glory of the Shark Water Slide…..
You guys, I love this thing.
The kids go nuts on it, and you can use it for parties (when it’s not a pandemic!) or just for an afternoon at home in the heat. It’s the one thing that’s keeping everybody cool and happy this summer!
This is our second season with the shark, and the kids love it just as much now as they did when we first got it (maybe even more, because they’ve learned how to do some tricks on it).
I hope it lasts through several more summers, but if we just get another season out of it I’ll still be pleased because we’re getting so much mileage from it now.
As you can see in the photo above, children like to attack the shark head, incapacitating the great beast. This is not how the toy should be played with, per se, but WHO CARES!
(Sometimes I care a tiny bit, if the kids get too crazy and threaten to ruin this magnificent toy. Let’s not lose our minds with reckless abandon here).
Every kid that’s used it so far has taken to shouting “Surf’s Up!” very loudly as they go down the slide, which you may or may not find endearing.
*The annoying phrase your own children choose to shout may vary.
Yes I know that my fence is strangely two-toned right now. It’s not a yard fashion statement, more of a “we can’t get to everything at once!” situation.
Back to the shark. We bought this bad boy after going to a birthday party last summer, where it was the highlight for my kids. I have to have that, I thought.
Actually, I have to have that if it’s not very expensive, to be more accurate. I keep my desires in check that way.
This slide has been a real hit. We’ve used it for days on end in the backyard and it saves me from having to think of activities that require me to gather up my minions into the car, which with a toddler is similar in enjoyment to a colonoscopy.
The slide comes with two surf boards that have held up well for us. It does take about 15 minutes or so to blow up the shark, and if you don’t have a little air pump you’ll need something like this Coleman Electric Pump . Then you just hook it up to your hose and you’re good to go!
If your ambition level happens to be slightly higher than mine and you do take your kids to the beach, we also really enjoy this beach surfer toy. You throw these little surfers into the ocean, and they ride the waves back toward you, much to the delight of your child.
Surfers aside, when I took the kids to the beach last summer I was a mess, mostly because I was totally unprepared. A pigeon stole our BLTs (not joking, I was NOT HAPPY with that bird!) and I neglected to bring anything that would provide us comfort or entertainment.
Like the amateur anthropologist that I am, I closely observed my fellows moms, and immediately ordered some of the items they had taken with them, as everyone looked vastly more comfortable than me. Which led me to these towel/blanket hybrids which pack up nice and thin. I’m pleased with them. And I’m hoping that it’s safe enough to go to the beach this summer so I can show what a prepared mother I have become.
That’s all I’ve got for summer recommendations right now. Like the rest of you I’ll be trying to survive this endless quarantine, and I can say with confidence that this shark toy will be a big help.
Summertime! And the livin’s easy. (*These photos were from pre-pandemic times. But you can still have popsicles during a pandemic, so at least there’s that).
Want A Mothership Down delivered to your inbox? SUBSCRIBE HERE.
Need more laughter in your day? Follow A Mothership Down on Facebook! (A lot of the action is over there).
[…] or not. If we end up stuck at home through the really warm weather, I would also HIGHLY recommend this water slide! It’s the same kind of idea, but with […]