Free and cheap family fun: free Slurpees, cool bobbleheads and a cheap date night

Usually the dog days of summer are pretty relaxing with not much going on. But this weekend is packed. From baseball to skateboarding and even a bit of synchronized swimming, you can get your free and cheap sports fix with the kids. Or you and the kids can check out the spiders or you can do a date night. The possibilities are endless.

Date night alert! A $10 wristband gets you wine food and live classic rock at the Dunedin Wine and Art Walk at Pioneer Park (Main Street and Douglas Avenue) on Friday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The stroll is hosted by more than 30 local merchants and galleries.

Get the creeps, in a good way at a free Spider Prowl. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at Chinsegut Nature Center, 23212 Lake Lindsay Road (CR 476) in Brooksville is hosting the informative spider talk followed by a night walk to look for native spiders on Friday starting at 8 p.m. Bring a flashlight and bug repellant. For more details, phone: (352) 754-6722

Why not give the kids a little brain freeze on Saturday? It's free Slurpees on Saturday, July 11 -- or 7/11 -- at 7-Eleven convenience stores. Of course it's just a 7.11 ounce cup of the tasty concoction -- mango's a fave -- but what the heck, that's still a good deal. And with a store on every corner, your kids can get plenty sugared up before you take them home.

Tropicana Field is going to be pretty busy this weekend. First up the Tampa Bay Rays are hosting a beginning at 9 a.m. on the field. It’s part of the fatherhood program, All Pro Dad, started by former coach and now NBC football analyst Tony Dungy 12 years ago. The 2 1/2-hour event will include games for kids, bonding activities for dads and their children and advice for dads from Rays players, Gabe Gross and  Lance Cormier. It’s $15 for one dad and up to four kids. For information, go to the All Pro Dad Web site or call (813) 222-8300. Later Saturday, get your game on when the light-and-sunny retro rockers Smash Mouth will be giving a free show after the Rays play the Oakland A's on Saturday. Game time is 6:08 p.m. The concert is free with game admission. Tickets are $13 and at Ticketmaster or call toll-free 1-888-326-729. They'll do their hits Walking on the Sun, All Star and I'm A Believer. And then on Sunday during Family Fun Day, the first 10,000 kids ages 14 and under who attend the 1:38 p.m. game will get a Carl Crawford bobblehead. It's fitting that just a few days before the All-Star Game, all-star Crawford gets the bobblehead treatment. Tropicana Field is at 1 Stadium Drive, St. Petersburg.

From baseball to hockey: Get ready for hockey season at the free Tampa Bay Lightning Fan Fest by meeting the 2009 top draft selections (including Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman) and watch a scrimmage between the prospects. There also will be games on the plaza at the St. Pete Times Forum, 401 Channelside Drive in Tampa. It starts at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. If you can’t make the fan fest, the team will open up the ice for a free Beat the Heat open skate from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday at the Forum. You have to bring your own skates, though. See the team's Web site for details.

If anyone asks who is in charge at MOSI, the right answer might very well be the kids Saturday when the museum hosts the Kid's in Charge Birthday Party  from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The celebration will be marked by the grand opening of Animation, an exhibit that explores cartoons from concept to finished product. Plus there will be giveaways, face painting, balloon artists, and cake and sweets from local restaurants. The party is free with admission to the museum at 4801 E Fowler Ave., Tampa. Tickets are $20.95 adults (13-59), $16.95 child (2-12), and $18.95 seniors (60+). Member discounts available. Animation is an extra $3 and it also gets you into the IMAX cartoon show. For more info, call (813) 987-6000.

It's too early to even think about this but if you are of a mind to celebrate Christmas in July, then the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks are the place to be. The event features breakfast with Santa, a parade of Santas, kids workshops, games, prizes, Christmas vendors, live entertainment, caroling and a Santa look-a-like contest. Enjoy the holiday merriment at 8 a.m. Saturday at the docks, 20 Dodecanese Blvd., Tarpon Springs. Mostly free but breakfast with Santa is $10. Call (727) 389-1644 for details.

Attention all comic book fans, the Tampa Comic Book Convention will be  in Largo on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Minnreg Building, 6340 126th Ave. There will be 85 tables of comics, videos, toys, action figures, anime, Star Wars memorabilia, artwork, trading cards and more. Dress as your favorite comic book hero or sci-fi legend for a chance in the costume contest. Tickets are $5 and ages 12 and younger are free. Call (727) 522-9032 for more information.

Get out your skateboards for Skatepark Free Day on Saturday. There also will be a Krux Kickflip Challenge as the Skatepark of Tampa hosts a day of free skateboarding and lessons on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be demonstrations by Westside Skate Shop (1 p.m.) and the Krux Kickflip Challenge is at 3 p.m. Free food and drinks provided starting at 11:30 a.m. Raffles benefit the Children’s Cancer Center. The skatepark is at 4215 E Columbus Drive, Tampa. Call (813) 621-6793 for more details.

We know you're thinking of Martin Short in the pool with nose plugs when you think of synchro, but this is a chance to see the real deal in a free show by the U.S. National Synchronized Swimming Team. The demonstration combines music, dance and aquatic athleticism in choreographed routines. Afterward there will be an autograph session with team members. It starts at 10:45 a.m. Saturday at Largo’s Southwest Pool, 13120 Vonn Road. Call (727) 518-3126 for information.

Phew! We're tired just thinking about all of this. But it will be lots of fun. See you out there.

-- Sharon Kennedy Wynne and Sherry Robinson

[Photos: Spider, Times files; Carl Crawford bobblehead, Tampa Bay Rays Web site; Santa, photos.com]

Free Chick-fil-A chicken on Friday, July 10 -- if you dress like a cow!

I hope you have those cow costumes ready because Friday, July 10 is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A. It's the day that if you dress like a cow, you can get free chicken. I told you about the day coming up in this June post and about the contest in which your child could win a $1,000 savings bond in an online photo contest. So get your cow on and head over to your nearby Chick-fil-A for some tasty chicken.

-- Sherry Robinson

New MOSI exhibit is cartoon-iful

I got to take a sneak peak at the new Animation exhibit featuring Cartoon Network at the media day today at Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry before it opens this weekend. My two assistants (ages 6 and 11) gave it two thumbs up. You could have followed along on the tour if you were one of Whoa, Momma!'s Twitter followers, but here's the gist: The wonders of computers now mean anyone can be animator, no matter how well you can draw.

I was glad I had my two experts along because I could see how this  could be a little challenging for preschoolers to get the whole scene without a lot of help, but there's still tons of fun. The MOSI educators say there will be plenty of helpers on hand during the exhibit's run through Sept 7, and life-sized Cartoon Network characters will be wandering the site. If you go on Saturday, you can also stop by the fourth birthday party for the Kids in Charge area with sweets, balloon artists, face painters and cartoon characters from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The first and most popular stop in Animation was the live video and camera area that lets kids create a mini movie in "bullet time effect" (think of the famous bullet scene in the Matrix movie). There are other stops that should enthrall any age, from jaded teen to playful parents who get a kick out of making stop motion animation, making sound effects by crunching paper and ringing bells or doing their own voiceovers on scenes from Codename: Kids Next Door.

That voiceover stop was a tough one for an early reader who couldn't read the script fast enough to keep up with the dialogue. But what a hoot it was for the older one to do the voice of a villian, a falsetto-voiced girl and then see the scene play back with his acting on display.

I will be doing a fuller review in next Thursday's Weekend section of the St. Pete Times and next Friday's tbt*.

It's a separate price to include Animation in your MOSI visit, $23.95 for adults, $21.95 for seniors and $19.95 for kids. That's $3 more than the regular admission price, but you get to tour all of MOSI, Animation and you can get into the IMAX cartoon show, which our movie critic Steve Persall recently reviewed. 

-- Sharon Kennedy Wynne

Is summer camp a dream or a bust for your kid?

We've already been getting some great responses to our questionnaire on rating summer camps. Some of  you have been commenting on the previous post I wrote asking for your opinions on the places your kids are spending their time this summer. But we would love for you to take a few moments to fill out the questionnaire. We will collect the information and share it with all our readers. Thanks, as always, for your help.

-- Sherry Robinson

Add iPhone apps to your list of diaper bag staples

Baby's first iPhone app may soon be as common as a Diaper Genie or as dated as bronzed baby shoes, who can tell? But cell phone apps for moms are turning into big business. Time magazine did a list of its top 7 iPhone apps for new moms, and I only have a few quibbles with it.

The noisemaker for your camera phone is a clever idea that gets the kid to look up at the sound of bells or drums just as you snap. But did they really have to include a weight loss app in this list? New moms have enough pressure without tracking calories. I made fun of the nursing tracker when it first came out, but moms of twins and sleep-deprived zombies say it's not a bad idea. But once you are over the initial nursing learning curve, this seems pretty useless. It can also be used to track diapers and lets you note the amount and quality of waste found inside. I have two thoughts on that. No. 1: Ew! and No. 2: Who is so anal (no pun intended) that they need to keep a digital record of every diaper and a review of every poop? 

I also made fun of the Curious George app when it first came out because I couldn't imagine handing my expensive phone to my toddler, Mr. McClumsyfingers. But several of you readers told me at the time that they often turn to their iPhone in a boring waiting room or at naptime to get their kids to settle down.

Now if they can just make an app that induces sleep at the appropriate times, I'll be camping outside the Apple store myself.

-- Sharon Kennedy Wynne

Go Momma July/August magazine is available now!

In the July/August issue of Go Momma magazine, editor Katherine Snow Smith reminisces about her father's response to the familiar summer whine, "What can I DO?" She was annoyed with his pat answer, "Take off your sock, and spit in your shoe." It was his way of saying it wasn't his job to keep her amused. She suggests it is good not to fill up every summer day with interesting things for your children to do, because it forces them to let their own creativity fill the space where boredom lurks. Such downtime is good for Mommas, too, so schedule some time to let your creativity have its way as well. To help, pick up the new Go Momma to check out stories about some Mommas' juicy secrets; why we envy Goldilocks; and why motherhood isn't an excuse for not exercising. Indeed, all of those should get your creativity juices flowing.

Sexual assaults at Orlando water parks

Look out, pervs in the pool! Like we really don't have enough to worry about, now comes news of four sexual assaults on teen girls in the last three weeks at Orlando’s Wet n’ Wild and SeaWorld's Aquatica. The only good news, if you want to call it that, is the girls all quickly alerted authorities and there have been arrests, but still the creepiness is shocking. An Orlando Sentinel review of more than a year's worth of records shows only four sexual-related complaints at the area's water parks.

A spokesman for SeaWorld's Aquatica told the Sentinel the incidents have prompted a security review.

I don't want to be an alarmist, however. Keep in mind that the Orlando area gets 25-million visitors every summer. So four assaults is very, very low. But it is something to talk to your tween and teen girls, who are most often the targets of sexual assaults, usually by drunken 20-somethings who take advantage of a busy park and vacationers letting their guard down.

-- Sharon Kennedy Wynne

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Tell us about your child's summer camp

I did laundry every day last week when my older son was at the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Pioneer Camp. If you are familiar with it, the kids who attend the camp are generally dirty every day and then get hosed down at the end of the day. So every day he was soaking wet after playing in the mud, getting in the line of fire of squish (it's rotten food than is basically squished by a sledgehammer) or going through the pudding gauntlet. It used to be the pudding pole but the gauntlet is fun too, only maybe dirtier.

And even though I was tired of the daily laundry routine by the end of the week, for the third year in a row my son was as happy as a clam. He couldn't wait to get there every day and when my husband picked him up, he couldn't wait to talk about the expolits, whether he worked in leather, made a shelter with a team of kids or learned a new joke or riddle. If I had some stock in Tide, I would probably send him every week each summer.

So, now we want to hear from you. A few weeks before school ended, Go Momma ran an extensive list of bay area summer camps. But that's only part of the information we want to give you. We want to be able to share what other parents and kids thought about the camps. We want you to tell us about your child's summer camp experience. Did she love it so much she can't wait to get back next year or next week? Or would she rather stay home alone than go one more day? Do your feel like you are getting your money's worth or will you look elsewhere next time? Does it offer extra care or are you out of luck when noon hits? We want to know everything, so Mommas and Poppas, please fill out this questionnaire on your child's camp experience and let us know what you think. Once we have gathered your tales from summer camp, we will share them with readers in the coming weeks.

Thanks in advance for your help. Here's to lots of laundry in your future.

-- Sherry Robinson

[Douglas R. Clifford, Times: Summer Horse Camp counselor Kaylee Rimes, 17, of Tampa, rides through a wetland area near Hire A Pony Riding Academy while on one of several rides Tuesday while supervising riders at the academy.]

Camp recipes needed!

Gory details to follow, but in preparation for an upcoming family vacation, I was hoping to collect some of your tried-and-true camping recipes.

I’ve Googled and gathered some interesting recipes online, but the first test-batch of camp biscuits were only suitable for putting behind the camper’s tires when parked, so I’d be appreciative of any of those great camp-centric meals that your family just loves under a blanket of stars or mosquitoes.

 Leave a comment here or if you’re really shy, you can email me at divamail@suburbandiva.com.

Tracey Henry, Suburban Diva

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My 3-year-old dropped the F bomb

There I was, coloring pictures with my 3-year-old daughter at the dining room table. Side by side we sat, taking turns with her new box of crayons. Typical American morning, eh?

At some point, though, she decided she picked up the wrong crayon. Blue, instead of brown, I guess. And clear as day she said it:

"Oh, F - - - !!!!"

At first I didn't say anything. Truth is, I think I've heard her say it before, but never was sure. This time, no escaping my daughter's F bomb.

"What did you say, honey?" Silence. Alarm. "Sweetie, what did you just say?" Panicked look on her face. "Honey, that's a bad word, but you didn't know it." Tears, face plant in the chair. "Sweetie, it's okay, you didn't know it, but that's not a word we say."

Only, I do. All the time. But never, ever in front of her. Never, ever in front of her. Unless I somehow slipped?

I picked her up and held her tight. She covered her eyes with her hands, afraid to look at me. I hugged her long and hard. Reassured her that she had done nothing wrong, inside knowing I almost certainly had.

Memo to self: Start talking in code or at least, "Oh, fudge!"

-- Amy Hollyfield

[That's Ralphie from A Christmas Story with a bar of soap in his mouth after he dropped an F bomb on his dad.]