Believe it or not, you don't have to go somewhere tropical or adventurous to have fun. You're probably like, Jackie, come on. Going somewhere during the summer is a must. While vacationing somewhere tropical and preferably with an ocean nearby sounds amazing, you can make summer the best by just having fun in your parents' backyard. Here are some ideas to use when you don't want to be a couch potato during the summer!

1. Paint Slip-and-Slide

Taking the coolest, easiest activity that we all did as kids, but stepping it up a notch. Instead of just water, add a few different neon colors of paint from Michael's and slide on down!

2. Night Bowling

Take some water bottles and drop some glow sticks in there, bada-bing, bada-boom, you've got yourself a homemade bowling alley!

3. D.I.Y. Pool!

If you've got some hay and tarp, you can make your own pool! How cool is this! Now, if only I had some hay...

4. Real-Life "Angry Birds"

If "Angry Birds" on the phone sounds fun to you, imagine if you brought it to real life! Any boxes you have around the house, then you have balloons that you can use as the birds. You can either just whip a ball at it and hope for the best, or use a bungee cord and make your own slingshot!

5. Paint War

Instead of your typical water balloon fight, have a paint war! Have everyone wear white clothes and fill up the balloons with your favorite colors!

6. Glow-in-the-Dark Swim

Hey, remember that pool you made out of hay? Yeah! Throw some glow sticks in there and make it look pretty! You can even have a race to see who picks up the most glow sticks.

7. Backyard Movie Night

All you need is a bedsheet, computer, speakers, and a projector! Hang up the sheet against a wall or a fence and project one of your favorite movies! Instead of a tent, I would blow up an air mattress and grab some pillows and blankets and make it super comfy outside!

8. Messy Twister

I know, I know. You're probably thinking another paint one? Yes. Because paint is messy and after a long semester of college, there's nothing better than unleashing your inner child you had cooped up in there for a few months. I mean come on, you're making a pool anyway, so you can just jump in when you're all done!