The Hoosier Outdoor Experience is also our family’s chance to try activities we don’t get to do often – or might not ever try in our whole lives. We’re suburban slickers, but in the past two years – thanks to the Hoosier Outdoor Experience – we have tried skeet shooting, shot a bow and arrow, used a pellet gun, rode in an UTV and taken a 30-minute family horseback ride.

Including the fun stuff I just mentioned, there are 50 activities scheduled for this year’s event, including fly fishing, hay rides, disc golf, panning for gold and tiny tots mini-bike rides. Other reasons to go:

1. The great outdoors literally offers something for all ages. I have taken my kids, nieces, nephews and parents, so that’s an age range of eight to 70 years old. Each year, we have found something (or several somethings) that everyone enjoyed.
2. You get to do so many activities for FREE. Let’s be real, we’re in a tough economy and getting the whole family out for a day-long activity is costly. You can’t go to Chucky Cheese, a water park or gaming facility, stay all day and try 50 activities for free.
3. You get to use real equipment. They have the shotguns, the bikes, the fishing poles, the boats – everything you need to really try out an activity.
4. You are guided by the pros. Each area has experienced people on hand to teach you about their interest. They’ll show you exactly how to use the equipment correctly, tell you places in Indiana where you can enjoy different activities, discuss safety and more.
5. It’s a great way to get your tween, teen or gamer away from a screen. It might take some convincing, but once they are there they can’t help but have fun. They might even thank you. OK, that’s crazy talk, but you might catch a smile when they realize they can hit a real target instead of a virtual one.

A few tips before you head out for the day: 1) Wear comfortable shoes. They have a great bus and trolley system set up, but you still may have to walk a bit and 2) Food is available for purchase, but throw some snacks and water in a carry-on bag to enjoy during the day.

Don’t miss this annual event. It’s something your family will be talking about all year.

What special family events does your family look forward to each year?

I will admit that I don’t have anything close to a green thumb. I had heard that gardening is really very therapeutic. I had heard it’s good for the soul to dig in the earth. I had heard all of these things, but I never really got into it.

Last year, I started visiting a local community garden. I was with my wellness coach and she had me doing “weed therapy.”  Basically, I was pulling weeds, but she said to think about what I needed to weed out of my life. I LOVED it. I loved being outside. I loved understanding the gardening process. I loved learning how important it is to grow your own food.

Miss Mary’s Wellness Garden has your basics: tomatoes, peppers, collards, carrots and beets. We are also growing strawberries. YUMMY.  I’m excited. It’s been great to see young people getting outside, getting some exercise and being excited about growing things. I’ve learned that gardening is really a great physical activity. I get a workout every time we have a workday.

Get involved at a local garden. Keep Indianapolis Beautiful has been working with us, and they have a list of community gardens where you can help.  Many gardens welcome children to help and learn as well. It’s a great opportunity to learn how to start your own small garden.

Here are some pics of our garden, located at 2447 Bond Street!

If you have pictures of your garden, please share on the FitCity Indianapolis Facebook page.

Oh. my. gosh. Did someone turn the heat up over Indianapolis or what? This weather has me thinking about those icy cold days in February — not because I wish they were here. But because my family has taken to being holed up inside the house to escape the elements.

If you’re a mom, you know that’s no real solution either. Kids + stuck indoors + cantankerous weather = stir craziness.  So what’s a mom to do?

Indoor interventions for the hot weather

1. Make fruity ice pops. Blend up fresh fruit with ice and a little fruit juice. Pour into paper cups and freeze. Once slightly solid, insert a popsicle stick. When completely frozen, tear off the paper and enjoy. Let your kids make their own flavor combos.  I’d go for peach/apple/raspberry.
2. Crank up the tunes. While you’re blasting the air conditioner, blast the iPod or the Pandora Radio station, too, and have a dance party. Vote for best moves, most creative, best use of props.
3. Play body-moving games. How long has it been since you’ve played Twister? When my kids were younger, they loved Cranium Hullaballoo. They might still love it — maybe we’ll try it tonight. Good old-fashioned charades can be fun or new-fangled games on the Wii or the xbox Kinect.
4. Build a fort with pillows and blankets. Let the kids crawl in it to watch wintry movies (you know, mind over matter). They can eat their fruity ice pops or make some easy fruit kabobs.
5. Put ‘em to work. Gather old toys and clothes to be donated to the Goodwill. Have them empty one kitchen cabinet at a time and wipe them down.  Maybe offer a small reward — a Redbox rental or a trip to the frozen yogurt shop — for a job well done.

Outdoor adventures for the hot weather

1. Hit the pool, the splash park or the sprinkler early. Even before lunch if it’s open. Even if you can only stay for an hour, everyone will appreciate the change of scenery. Late arrival (after 7pm) also offers (slightly) cooler weather to enjoy.
2. Go for a bike ride. Yes, the weather is still hot and yucky, but at least when you ride a bike, you create your own breeze. Plus, you can look for sprinklers to ride through.
3. Have a water gun fight. Make sure everyone is adequately armed — including Mom.
4. Make your own sidewalk paint. It might not keep them occupied for hours, but it could buy you the 20 minutes you need to recharge your sanity.
5. Do a few outdoor experiments. Can you really fry an egg on the sidewalk? How long does it take an ice cube to melt if it’s in a paper cup outside? What if it’s directly on the sidewalk? Try some of these ideas.

Photo credit: Denise Rosser

This week our guest blogger, Cindy Tow, mother of two, shares how her family takes advantage of neighborhood resources like the Garden on the Go truck, parks and greenways to keep her family moving.

Yesterday I was slicing a cucumber to put in a salad when my 3-year-old son asked, “Mommy, is that a cucumber or a zucchini?” I thought my job as a parent was done, my kids know about vegetables and they actually eat them too. I told him the answer and he immediately asked for some fruit snacks. I guess I still have some work to do. Luckily, we have a great resource in our neighborhood that my kids call the “fruit and vegetable truck.” It’s one of the things that give me a reason to be active and have a meaningful experience for my kids in the mean time.

Once a week, the IU Health Garden on the Go truck pulls onto Riverside Drive and gives me the opportunity to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at a reasonable price.  Garden on the Go makes stops Wednesday through Saturday at various locations around Indy. Check here for their weekly schedule.

The best part about our weekly visit to the Garden on the Go truck is that my kids look forward to our outing each week because they get to pick the food right out of the bins.  They can eat their selections as a snack on our way to the park. I get a brisk walk pulling the kids in their wagon, and they get to eat a piece of fruit and run around the park. This is one of the ways that we stay active and healthy as a family.

It’s not always easy to fit exercise into our busy schedule, so I look for little ways to adjust our routine that allow us all to get moving. Finding parks, libraries and other kid-friendly places that we can walk or bike to is an important way for us to keep moving. I could easily drive to the Garden on the Go truck, pick up my food and then continue my errands (which I still do on occasion), but walking there and taking the kids to the park gives us all the opportunity to exercise.

We live close to the White River Trail so we use the Indy Greenways system to go many places.  We can bike to the Central Library for the kids to get their summer reading books and to the IMA’s 100 Acre park to have a picnic.  I love using all of these assets in our neighborhood to our advantage. They inspire me to get out and get moving.

What assets do you have in your neighborhood that can inspire you to get moving?

Tell us what you and your family like to do in and around Indy and post your pictures on our FitCity Facebook page. We might choose your photo for one of our blogs!

And check back in the weeks ahead for more pictures of real people in the Indy area being healthy, having fun and looking beautiful.

We officially kick off our photo blog with pictures of our beautiful FitCity Moms.

Kelly and her hiking "buddies" at Southeastway Park.

Jennifer and her kids "fall" for hiking after a trip to Turkey Run.

Liz and her two kids take a short break from their adventures at 100 Acres at the IMA to take a picture.

Danielle's family checks on the new piglets at Traders Point Creamery. Later, they enjoyed ice cream and cheese.

Instead of being just a spectator, Lisa plays with her daughter while watching a track meet.

Honestly, I thought it might be awful. Relay races, chin-ups, jumping rope and dodge ball for 6 hours a day? Ugh.

But this was not the gym class of my high school years.

The school Annie will attend is located in an urban area. So much of their daily activity was spent walking to distant locations. Twice they went to the City Market to enjoy the weekly Wednesday Farmer’s Market. They walked to Military Park. They walked to the expanse of grass just south of the Central Library.

These “city walks,” as the teacher called them, would be anywhere from three to six miles round trip. Often, when they reached their destination, the class would play “capture the flag” or some other game suitable for large groups of teenagers.

They also had to keep a journal and write a paper about a sport that is not popular in the U.S., but is played in another country. (Annie chose hurling from Ireland.) There definitely was no homework in my gym class.

I have a friend whose children are also taking summer gym in their school district. But instead of being comprised of hiking around town or playing team games, this school district offers online gym. Yep. Online gym. The kids have to log in each day and record their activities.  For $50 and an internet connection, you too can get credit for gym class. I suppose the onus is on the parents to make sure the kids are getting the activity and are being honest in their reporting.

Another friend of ours took gym during the regular school day. She said it was one of her hardest classes. Physically demanding. Papers, quizzes and tests.

The Indiana Department of Education does have standards for physical education programs at every grade level. And they are, I think, broad enough that they can be met in a variety of ways. I think it’s interesting to see how different schools choose to meet them.

What have your kids’ phys ed experiences been like? Has there been anything unique about them? How do they compare to gym class when you were a kid?

Sitting still: hazardous to your health
Indystar.com
Find out what new research says about how sitting too much impacts your health, plus tips on how to stay active at work.

Indiana Agritourism and Farmers’ Market Online Directory
In.gov
Extensive list of farmers’ markets across Indiana. Search by product, location or county, and find out when your favorite fruits and veggies will be in season.

Freewheelin Bikes
Freewheelinbikes.org
We posted about this organization on Facebook this week, but we had to mention it again. Starting May 21, this local group will lead bike rides around Indy. They’ll travel to the Indianapolis Art Museum to Zionsville to Carmel and everywhere in between. The program is designed for kids ages 10 to 15, but families are welcome too.

Upcoming Indy Area Events
Tuxbro.com
Tis the season for walks, runs, triathlons, 5Ks and more. This calendar has links with details about 15 Indy area events between now and the end of August.

Most parents have a fairly easy time taking their children to parks, on walks, on bike rides, or getting them onto sports teams.  If I want to take Brian to do any outdoor activities I have to plan well in advance and also make sure I have help.  Brian can easily gett over stimulated.  He also tends to try to run away from adults, he throws fits when its time to leave and can just be overall difficult. 

I have always wanted to try him on a sports team or some sort of planned exercise but have never found something I thought he would be able to handle.  Nor have I been able to find something that meets his special needs. Being from the south side of Indianapolis I have never found many team sports or play groups for autistic children. Even the Special Olympics doesn’t offer anything for children my son’s age.

Until this year.

This summer I vowed to find something for him to keep him engaged and exercising. I searched the internet, local newspapers and autism groups, etc. That’s when I got an email about the Greenwood Little League and the challenger division.  This is a special division just for special needs children so they can participate without feeling the pressure that a regular league would give them.  They each get turns batting and if they are in the outfield parents and coaches are making sure they are involved by throwing baseballs to kids.

Granted there are only six games, but since Brian has never participated in a team sport this is a great way to see how he will do.  I can not wait until these games start at the end of April! Finding the Little League option gives me hope that I can find some more activities for Brian to do this summer to keep him as active and healthy as the other kids.

I have been involved with this type of program before and have found much success with it, but this time I decided to change it up a bit.  I encourage each person to tweak Fit Friends to fit their personal lifestyles.  Some people will meet once a week to talk about changes they made, some will get together to workout, and others might just share a log online with one another.  While these are all great ideas, I am really not doing any of these. 

I’m doing a mud run.

During a recent dinner out with friends, we were discussing health and exercise and began to talk about running marathons. Now I’m not a marathon running type person. I hate crowds and doing nothing but running for 15 to 30 some miles really seems kind of boring to me.  When I said this a few others in our group agreed and that’s when the conversation turned to a totally different kind of race.

You run for anywhere from 3 miles to 5 but  while you are running you come across different obstacles - made of mud.  You may have to go over it, under it, or even through the mud.  One thing is for sure, by the end of the race you will be covered in mud. 

I thought this sounded like a great way to do a race and get involved with a group t hat can help make sure I stay on track with my training.  We aren’t meeting to run together and we aren’t calling each other to see how long we have exercised or what we have eaten.  But we will discuss if we will wear costumes or not, and we will figure out which event we want to do. Here’s one choice, close to home, but there are others.  Some may think this isn’t motivating enough, but it’s just right for me. I have people who are relying on me to be ready to run with them. Plus, quite honestly, the thought of not be able to keep up with them and being covered in mud is my motivation.

So here is to each of you finding your friends and your own ways to motivate each other.  Good luck!

Step 1: Drinks
Nourishmd.com
This blog and website were created by two moms who are also health experts – a pediatrician and a holistic health coach to be exact. This blog post shares the importance of getting kids to drink water, plus the 411 on fruit juice, soda and sports drinks.

Lynn’s Addiction
Lynnhouse.wordpress.com
Read how Lynn managed to get her four boys away from the video games and into the streets for a fun neighborhood treasure hunt.

Sneak It In, Mom! Tip #23
Fit2bmama.blogspot.com
Bethany, a stay-at-home mom, shares fitness and health tips that real families can use. We love her passion and her realism. She knows that getting in exercise is hard when you’d be happy just fitting in a shower every few days!

Americans’ daily steps way behind
Blogs.indystar.com/fitforlife
We knew we were behind in math and science, but we’re behind other countries in our number of daily steps, too! Barb’s blog always has interesting health news, plus profiles of real people and information about local health-related events and activities.