What's the best way to liven up a lazy day at the pool? Just add water toys! Ordinary floats become sharks, airplanes and alligators or even tropical islands big enough for eight kids (or four adults, as the case may be). The beach ball will always be a classic toy for pool play, but try out a game of basketball, ping pong, football, horseshoes or volleyball on your water court. Diving games are great fun with colorful, sinkable rings and sticks that go straight to the bottom. Kids of all ages will enjoy playing catch underwater with hydrodynamically designed toys that zip through the water like crazy torpedoes.

Speaking of exercising, there are a variety of specially designed toys available for use in water aerobics, such as barbells, weight belts, webbed gloves for upper body resistance, kickboards and resistance footwear. Use the links to the left to explore BackyardEscape.com.