Since we live in a particularly sunny part of the country and near the water, we rarely leave the house without hat and sunscreen. Days at the beach or at the pool however, present another set of problems. Head gear and sunscreen work less well in those wet and wild environments.

When venturing into the water I do lather up my son with sonscreen sunscreen but also outfit him in a full length swimsuit that blocks out some of the harmful rays. I’ve been doing this since he was small, so while I haven’t been able to divulge in the, oh so cute and skimpy, swim suits available, he’s somewhat safer from skin damage.

This UPF50 swim suit from Protect-a-Bub however, combines the best of fashion and function -cute colors and sun protection in one. I’m planning on purchasing two for a summer sure to be spent mostly at the pool. Gas prices as they are these days, its makes little sense to venture too far a field.

My big find this year though is this fantastic beach tent. Though our pool fortunately is surrounded by shady trees, our beach, for obvious reasons, is not. That means every time we venture forth I end up dragging along my beach umbrella and repositioning it every half hour or so as the sun makes its way across the cloudless sky. This cool beach tent will give us instant shade and a great place to eat lunch and play games out of the heat