Frugal Family Fun: Kool April Nights

Last Friday, Dave and I packed the kids up and headed for a night out on the town. It wasn't completely free, but pretty close to it and could have been if I'd done a little more planning. You see once a year, our town hosts Kool April Nights. It's a week long car event with Park and Shine, Car shows, and events all over the city. The funnest part of Kool April Nights is the cruise on Friday night. It's loud, packed with people, and ... best part... absolutely free! You can make your plans as elaborate or as simple as you want.

Our plans were spur of the moment so they were humble, but the kids still thought it was a great time. We ran to In 'N Out before the cruise and grabbed some burgers and fries. I'm still lucky enough to share a meal with Lydia, but my days of sharing with Noah are long gone. I swear that child has a hallow leg. I don't know what I'm going to do when he's a teenager.

Then we found a parking spot in Safeway and walked along the route till we found a spot to sit. I saw families that had made a day of it, complete with lawn chairs and coolers. Luckily we found a spot pretty close to the parking lot and Safeway as we made multiple potty breaks.

Here are Noah, Lydia and myself. Trying to keep the kids entertained before the cruise started was quite a feat. I must remember to pack some bubbles and cars if we decide to do this again.


But once they got started, the kids thought it was great. They made a game out of looking for Monster Trucks and Snot Rods and then screaming as loud as they could when they saw one.

I wasn't sure how Lydia would handle it with the noise, but she loved it. Especially the screaming. We never knew she could be so loud.


Here they come!




We had fun. I haven't been to Kool April Nights since I was pregnant with Lydia so it'd been awhile. We almost skipped this year as I was tired and leary of taking two little ones out in the crowds. But it really turned out alright. And for the cost of a few burgers and fries, we had a really great evening. Just goes to show that if you keep your eyes peeled, you can find frugal family fun around the corner.

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