There are few things that hold Max and Elly’s attention for long, but water is one of my best bets when I need to keep than occupied on their own for more than a few minutes.

The day I prepared all the food for our day trip to Arusha National Park I needed a big chunk of time to myself in the kitchen. Even with a great helper like Anita, it’s still difficult to keep Max and Elly from wanting Mommy to be with them.

So to keep them busy for a while I set up a makeshift water table outside. It was a warm sunny day, perfect for playing in the water.

I carried the coffee table outside and covered it with the shower curtain liner I had just taken down the day before. Then I filled up a plastic container with warm water, gathered a few measuring cups and small bowls and voila!–instant water table (for zero cost, I might add).

Max and Elly jumped right in, needing no instruction on what to do with the water and cups.

Look carefully under the table and you’ll see that Max and Elly weren’t the only ones there.

When I was putting the shower curtain on the table, the cat saw his chance to hang out in a shady spot and get some sleep. Imagine his surprise when streams of water starting flowing down all around him!

Eventually he made a break for it, but not before getting his tail soaked.

Max and Elly did a great job moving the water from the large container to the smaller cups.

They also looked super cool in their sunglasses.

The water fun kept Max and Elly occupied until their morning snack and then it was nap time from there, giving me the time I needed to finish making our picnic lunch for the following day.

With the weather getting warmer here, this will definitely be one of our go-to activities.