Oklahoma City family fun keeps us active throughout the year, rain or shine, summer after summer.
Every now and then, there is a weekend with so many events and possibilities, I don't even know which one to choose.
Oklahoma City's reputation as an urban community has only improved in the past five years. I've witnessed tremendous growth here and that makes for a surprising number of family events; if you want to be active in the community, there are more ways to do that than ever. Click here for MetroFamily's Weekend Picks, 10+ events our editors choose each week to be featured as the best local things to do for the upcoming weekend; we send an email with this info every Thursday and you can sign up here.
What stands out this particular weekend is the number of events that would be fun to attend with my family, a husband and four young sons. We're volunteering at the Regional Food Bank with MetroFamily's youth ambassadors from the magazine's Cover Kids campaign this Saturday. Kids' Day at the Edmond Farmer's Market is also Saturday morning; we'll start the day with breakfast at Evoke and walk over to the pavilions just behind where fresh produce will have my children counting their allowance quarters in exchange for homegrown beets, carrots and potatoes. We always have a great start to the weekend at the Saturday markets when we go and this week's features games for kids so we'll go see what it's all about. Getting kids into the kitchen really starts at the grocery store or farmers market and mine are much more likely to try foods they've chosen and are interested in seeing on a plate at lunchtime. Part of the growing experience has to be helping others and eating well for our family and it's good to be able to focus on both.
deadCENTER Film Festival is this weekend too, along with See You Saturdays at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and The Great Inflatable Race at Mitch Park in Edmond. Myriad Botanical Gardens is hosting its annual Children's Garden Festival with a 100-Acre Wood Winnie the Pooh theme too, which launches with a special sensory night tomorrow evening (Friday) for children with anxiety or otherwise on the spectrum who would enjoy the event more with low-key activities, smaller crowds and without music. The Children's Garden will be decorated as the 100-Acre Wood until June 17 and there are craft activities each day, beekeepers to talk about Pooh's honey and facepainters on-site.
The Asian District's Night Market Festival is also Saturday night. Our dance card is full Saturday. There are Sunday events too but I have to reserve some downtime. It's our family rule that we have one day without anything to do outside the house each week.
If you're looking for something out-of-the-ordinary this weekend, there's a full calendar of events beyond those selected 10+.
After this weekend, it's Father's Day on June 17 and there are so many activities with that too. Geekapalooza is our STEM event coming up June 23, the 
Saturday after that, and I feel like the summer is just going so fast already. My sons' camps start on Monday. If you're still looking for camps, there are some that have room, with enrollment happening now, and even some Vacation Bible Schools that aren't until later in the season.
This is our first year with four small children and it seems to me that each summer goes by faster than the previous year. I just enrolled my oldest for middle school and we have a newborn in the baby swing. My TimeHop app reminds me of how we were spending each summer day with photos from past years and I suspect that we'll look back on all these things to do as a happy time, that we'll forget about crumbs on the floor and toys littering the living room.
It's not just our city growing but my children too. I hope they look back on summer as some of the best times ever. When having everyone at home gets to be too much, we can head out of an evening and do something different. That's what we'll remember most, I think, with long days that turn into short years.
I'm really glad, though, that this parenting thing is one day at a time. See you around OKC!
