With our cross country RV trip coming to a close, we were all looking forward to being home. Don’t get us wrong, we could have stayed traveling for another month but it’s always nice to come home, right?

The kids are also “back in school”…well, virtually. We took a couple days at the end of the trip to set up some study-friendly spots around the house. We also decided to take a look at the backyard to make sure it encourages the kids (and us) to get off the screens and out of the house and indulge our heightened sense of adventure as much as possible! Here’s a few tips and products we used to make the most of our backyard…

Step One: Get an Accurate Layout

You probably have heard the old contractor mantra, “measure twice, cut once” but now the measuring part, just got a lot easier! Say hello to Carta from Plott. Carta is the world’s first digital measuring wheel to virtually map any outdoor space in real time. It works with your smartphone to virtually measure any outdoor space and transmits information to the Let’s Plott app. Carta then guides users to the points in real life to complete a variety of tasks, enhancing the efficiency of construction projects. Yep…super simple.

Step Two: Add the Fun!

Our kids first zip-lining adventure was back in Colorado Springs with Adventures out West. They had SO much fun!! So adding a zip line to our backyard was first on their wish-list.

In searching for a high-quality residential zip line, we found these two great options from Zip Line Gear.

The Chetco Zip Line Kit comes with Cable, Hardware to connect to two trees, Safety Stop Block and a Steel Blue Trolley with Built-In Handlebars. It has a 1/4″ cable designed for zip lines up to 200′ long.

The Sleadd 250LX is a premium kit that is like a party in a box! It comes with EVERYTHING you need (well…except the ladder). The cable is 5/16″ for a zip line up to 250′ long! The kit also includes a harness to connect riders to the trolley and a bungee brake kit for smooth stopping over long distances. AND it comes with a 10 year warranty!

Next up…The World’s Safest Trampoline!

As college cheerleaders in our past life (yes, both Chip and me…that’s actually how we met), we’ve been flipping on trampolines for decades! But it wasn’t until we became parents that our eyes were opened to the dangers of a trampoline. In fact our littlest guy broke his arm on a trampoline when he was just three years old. And it’s not just falling off that scares us…it’s pinched fingers in exposed springs, faulty frames, and much more. I think you get the point…BUT a trampoline is still just SO fun and can keep the kids entertained for hours. Our dilemma was solved by the SPRINGFREE TRAMPOLINE!

Springfree is the only trampoline that uses patented fiberglass rods rather than springs.  The whole product was built around safety from the rods, to the mat surface, to the enclosure, to the placement of the frame  – resulting in a product that eliminates 90% of product related injuries. 

Step Three: Avoiding Extreme Heat

It’s August in Georgia. That means it’s likely 90+ degrees with like 1,000% humidity. Seriously, there’s a reason people call it HOTLANTA. But like we said earlier….with the kids inside doing school work on a computer screen all day long, we really want them to go outside, and stay outside to PLAY! We also don’t want them to turn into a pile of sweat. We found two great options for helping with the heat. One portable and one built in solution.

The Portacool Jetstream™ 230 delivers cooling comfort to the single-person workspace. It is an efficiently designed product that offers maximum versatility for usage in open or condensed workspaces. Featuring oscillating louvers, low-water shutoff and Kuul Comfort MicroTech™ evaporative media, this cooler is great to move from one location to another all around the backyard, the garage, the front porch…wherever we want to be!

This 60′ High Pressure Misting System from COOL-OFF with it’s 30 misting nozzles creates a little oasis for us even on the hottest summer days.  Using high pressure water, the water quickly disperses into the air, which is described as “flash evaporation”. The effect of cooling off the air can make it feel as much as 30 degrees! This technology creates such tiny droplets of water that people can actually enjoy sitting near the mister without getting soaking wet!

Follow more of our tips on instagram (@WadeWorksCreative, @ChipWade) and Facebook (@WadeWorksCreative and @ChipWadeDesign).

Watch this week’s Fox and Friends segment here.