Let’s Go Fly a Kite!

We spent this weekend on the southern Maine coast with my sister’s family and my mom. It was cold – right around 45 degrees and lots of wind. Though it would have been very easy to stay curled up in the house, warm and toasty, while watching movies together, it was not meant to be… Kim’s kids had just gotten new kites. Yes, it was cold, but it was also windy  – the perfect kind of windy for flying kites… and our little ones seem impervious to cold when there is an adventure to be had outdoors. So Kendra, Kim, and I gathered the troops, bundled everyone up in a ton of layers, assembled the kites, and headed to the beach.

On the way, I got everyone going by singing a rousing rendition of the chorus from Mary Poppins’ “Let’s go Fly A Kite!”

Oh, oh, oh!
Let’s go fly a kite
Up to the highest height!
Let’s go fly a kite and send it soaring
Up through the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
Oh, let’s go fly a kite!

Not surprisingly, we had the place to ourselves. (I am confident this was because of the weather, not my off-key singing.)

Once we got the kites up and going, everyone had a blast. The cold seemed to melt away as Grace and Eoin playfully competed with each other, trying to get their own kite higher. Addie and Bria were too little to control the kites, so they spent some quality time splashing in puddles left from high tide.

I was a bit surprised by just how much fun we had. So, if you’re feeling cooped up on a cold day, and the wind is kicking, don’t be afraid to layer up and head to a wide open space with your kids and your kite. It turns out chilly, windy days are PERFECT for flying kites at the beach!