Snap on the spandex, turn on the hose, and let’s get down to business.
Jumping through the sprinkler in your bathing suit is one of the greatest joys of childhood. Your backyard turns into a Waterpark as you pull off one of these classic moves:
1.The Original. Get the sprinkler sprinkling and motor at it full throttle before jumping as high as you can right through that wall of water. No fear.
2. The Gymnast. Flipping over the sprinkler with wobbly cartwheels or high-flying somersaults is an advanced move which may result in accidental wetface, separated shoulders, or spontaneous applause from the gallery.
3. The Leapfrog. Here’s where you convince your little brother or sister to stand beside the sprinkler and then run and jump over them. Careful, though — nobody likes a wet crotch to the back of the head.
4. The Spray Gun. Also known as having your big brother pick up the sprinkler and chase you around the yard while singing the Contra theme song.
5. The Slow Shower. This is when you stand still in one place with your eyes closed and let the water calmly hit your face. Also known as your Backyard Zen moment.
Of course, there are more, there are many more — after all, you could be jumping one of those rat-a-tat-tat sprinklers in the park or running along one of those misty green ones that look like a garden hose with pinholes in it. But no matter your style and no matter your taste, it’s always a beautiful moment of sparkly-eyed fun when you and your friends go outside under the sun to run around the sprinkler till the day is done.
AWESOME!
Ahhhh, I LOVED this! Before my sister or I could drive, running through the sprinkler was always the alternative to going to the pool when no one wanted to take us. The smell of the hose water, the seemingly-freezing water temperature, and the way my dad made us move the sprinkler each time we played to avoid ruining any one particular area of yard are all fond memories of sprinkler-play.
Another favorite was putting it under the trampoline :)
By the way, the girl in the bikini is SUPER INTENSE about her sprinkler jumpin’. Hilarious!
Ahh! YES! Putting the sprinkler under the trampoline was the best way to spend a summer’s day! (:
hey laura,
ur rite, the little girl in the bikini is super intense about her sprinkler jump… too funny
She is pwning that sprinkler!!
That sprinkler is a total nOOb…
Hi Neil. I listened to your talk on TED tonight and was inspired. I have now found your blog which is wonderfully positive! Thanks for doing this. Best regards, Dave (NZ)
SUMMERRR, i miss you so freaking much!!!
water balloon fight + sprinkler. bring it. (just go pick up all the dog doo first — not a fun mess.)
Ooh, water balloons, another fun water/yard activity!
I miss SUMMER so much, too!!
Can’t wait to put sprinkler under the trampoline and JUMP JUMP JUMP!
We never had sprinklers since we always got good rain. However, I have been know to have an awesome yard routine with the water hose.
Ha, just did this today – it’s summer down under. The kids and I spent a very happy hour bouncing on the trampoline with the sprinkler blasting. Life doesn’t get much better!
Neil, I know you’re having the same weather I’m having if you’re at home right now. This post is making me salivate for summer. Sprinklers = AWESOME!!! I’m so doing that this year – I haven’t since I was a kid!
We used to set the sprinkler up in front of the swing set, double whammy, swings and sprinkler together! Also, the taste of hose water, awesome!
Hahah YES hose water, Mmm… almost as good as bathroom tap water!
On one of the absolute coldest days so far this winter in Chicago, this post brought a HUGE smile to my face! Just thinking about summer and running through the sprinkler (or riding down the sidewalk through the neighbors’ sprinklers on my bike) makes me warmer already! Awesome!
I would always get in trouble running through the sprinklers right after my dad just mowed the lawn…ruining the fine “rows” of grass he just made. Not Awesome.
It is well below freezing here today, chilled right through to the bone.
Thanks for running this post today, it helped to remind me that the warmth will come!
Neil,
I’ve been following your blog for over a year now and it’s GREAT. I just saw your TED talk this morning, and I appreciate it even more. Thank you SO MUCH for reminding us to open our eyes and appreciate the wonders in this life!
I had a snoopy sprinkler! Snoopy and Woodstock spun around and I think one was holding a hose, but I can’t remember. It was very retro.
My friends an I used to do this in the park after cross-country practice. It was gross recycled water but after you’ve just run 8 miles and there are industrial sized sprinklers calling your name, you just have to “accidentally” get caught in one of the sprinklers before returning to get yelled at by your coach.
You should’ve just claimed that you all got really, really sweaty. Who’s (s)he to judge your level of perspiration?!
;)
Oh I tried that once. Didn’t fly at all :/
Neil—Nice to see you in top form! LOVE the mention of the Contra theme song. Now it’s in my head. This is the kind of awesomeness that inspired my own http://www.1000babysteps.com
Check out my post today about what we truly *need* to enjoy life.
I was just thinking about y’all today. Hope you’re doing well!
Those days are wonderful.
All of the above techniques are indeed awesome. But amazingly, you could add just one long strip of yellow plastic, and all of a sudden you’ve brought your game to a whole new level..
That’s right – the slip & slide (ours was actually called the “Wet Banana” and had a banana shaped sprinkler that came with it).. Man the number of grass stains I would get on my face and general friction burns from skidding off the plastic tarp too soon could never damper how awesome this activity was.. I haven’t seen these in use much anymore, but they were such a key part of summer when I was young..
Slip n’ slide! Those were the best!! If you didn’t walk away with a mouthful of mud and a couple lacerations/bruises at least once per session, you weren’t doing it right.
Good memories.
By the way, I wonder what possessed a toy manufacturing company to name their product “Wet Banana” …
Wet Banana!!! Wow that is so wrong!
Anyone who hasn’t experienced this is missing out!
Makes me want to put on my bathing suit and head outside… oh wait… darn… the snow is about three feet high. ;P
Who needs a swimming pool, when you can water your lawn and entertain your kids simultaneously??
And no, no one wants a wet crotch to the back of the head! LOL.
THAT MOOSE IS INTENSE!!!
I did this so much when I was little! And what the heck is that? A camel, moose, or deer?
I still run through the sprinklers with my kids every year. :)
New Zealand Summer holidays….summed up best as….Beach, Pool or Sprinkler?
No fair!!! Haha, I was in NZ about 2 months ago and now I’m back in snowy, cold Canada!
It’s colder in Houston than Boston right now and I’m dreaming of summer! This brought a smile to my face and reminded me of riding my bike through the sprinkler during hot Indiana summers as a kid. Thanks Neil!
Hey — it’s 15 degrees in Michigan! OUCH!
Sprinkler + Unsafe Metal Slide and Swingset = Water Park in 1989
Woo hoo!
YES! This truly is awesome!!! Thanks!
lol that last picture is absolutely HYSTERICAL! haha
Something I always used to do and brings back fond memories..walking down the street on the sidewalk and someone’s sprinkler spraying just that tiny bit of water onto the sidewalk. I just had to walk through it. :)
what a great thing to think about while we’re dealing with the winter blues
wowwww….this is sooo goood! really funny and creative names for sprinkler leaping freaks:) I’m now a hadcore fan of yours
on a summer day – my favorite. like it soooo much.
Love the way you remind us in North America, of the beauties of summer in the winter and the winter in the summer…and the fact that on the other side we are experiencing exactly that…makes sense to me…does it make sense to you?!*