LouFamFun $10 Challenge – September

A week of after school adventures-using only $10!

I did a lot of thinking and researching once I heard I was given the $10 challenge. I wanted to do something that would take myself and two kiddos around to various places all over the city. But, that’s hard to do when you are working around two different nap schedules. So, with the start of preschool last week, I decided to try and do an adventure everyday after school to celebrate their first week back. This was a lot of fun and I may do this again for a birthday week. Here’s what we did:

Monday– We hit up Plehn’s Bakery for a cookie and a handful of their mint meltaways. I love it there because it has such an “old time” feel. There’s plenty of “eye candy” in their cases of baked goods for the kids to see. Afterwards, we took the short drive to St. Matthews Eline Library where I let each child choose a book from its sale corner. The sale of these books benefits Friends of the Library. It’s a bargain at .50 per book! Spent: $3

 photo IMAG0327_zps6b5f0c93.jpgTuesday– I redeemed a coupon for a free ice cream at Chick-Fil-A leftover from the Lyndon Family Festival. I bought an additional child-size cone for .90 as well and we headed over to the St. Matthews Community Park (directly behind Chick-Fil-A). What a hidden gem of a park! Their equipment was new and different and had baseball fields galore. We wandered to the back of the park to the exercise path-which we renamed the “forest” and took a “hike”. There were lots of bridges to throw sticks from, completely surrounded by trees and a paved pathway throughout.  Spent: $.90

Wednesday– We are members of My Gym, so on this day we took advantage of our free access to free play. Non-members are also welcome for $5 per child. We have been enrolled here for over 3 years. Both of my kids love it! Breadworks is only a few stores down from My Gym, so next we had races down the sidewalk to grab our free samples. The staff here is always super friendly. Spent: $0

 photo IMG_3585_zps4da85505.jpg photo IMG_3587_zpsd4c24f5f.jpgThursday– This adventure took a bit more planning, but worth every minute. My four year old is obsessed with all things tennis and is a big CARDS fan. I called the UofL tennis club and they allowed us to come visit. We got to watch the team practice, take a walk around their facility, and even got to hit a few balls on an empty court-FOR FREE! Tennis may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it may be worth checking with the other athletic departments-either at UofL or other universities such as Bellarmine for practice times. Afterwards, we cooled down at Dairy Kastle with dreamy orange ice cream. Spent: $3

 photo IMG_3631_zps23d4e0cd.jpgFriday– We opted to check out the Flea Off Market this day. It wasn’t that crowded, which was a bonus for us stroller users. I let the kids peruse around and look at everything. My eldest was most excited about the Ultra Pop booth-wielding lots of Star Wars and anime themed toys and candy. There was a group performing belly dancing, but mine didn’t seem too interested in that. Ultimately, we decided to use the remainder of our $10 on some amazing doughnuts from Hi-Five Doughnuts. One word. YUM. Spent: $3
The remainder .10 I plan to let the kids use at the Zoo or Science Center’s spiral penny donation well.

Thanks for a fabuLOUs week, Louisville Family Fun!
By guest contributor: Jennifer 
DCPD
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