Summertime has a whole new meaning this year since I am home with the kids for the first time ever!! Because I’ve always worked during the summer, I’ve never bothered to do a summer bucket list, but this year since we are home, it's on! As a matter of fact, this is actually my first summer not working in twenty years. That is just crazy.
Without further ado, some fun
things that we’d like to accomplish this summer…
O N E – Go to the Beach
Since we went to Disney
World for Spring Break, our beach trip wasn't quite as long as it
usually is, but hey, a beach trip is a beach trip and we had a blast! This one is actually already checked off of our list!
T W O – Celebrate Jacob’s Birthday
Yep, he’s a summer baby, so
we’ll be celebrating our boy’s seventh birthday this summer!
T H R E E – Take the Kids Fishing
There is a huge lake behind
Brian’s old childhood home (where his mom and step-dad still live) and we want
to take the kids fishing there sometime.
It’s one of B’s favorite things to do and he hasn’t gone in years, so
he’s long overdue.
F O U R – Spend Lots of Time at the Library
We have several public
libraries in our area, and we plan to frequent them this summer!
F I V E – Play with Water Beads
The kids got some of these
in their stocking for Christmas and we have yet to play with them.
S I X – Find a Cold Drink at Starbucks That I Like
Confession. I have never liked cold coffee. I once tried a frapp from Starbucks and hated
it. Coffee should always be warm in my
opinion. However, since it has been at
least a decade since I’ve tried a cold brew, I thought I might try it again
sometime, or I might just grab something cold that’s not even
coffee-related. Send your favorite cold
Starbucks suggestions my way, please!
S E V E N – Play in the Sprinkler
This is, of course, a summer
staple, and since we don’t have a pool, this will likely be happening a lot.
E I G H T – Go see a Braves Game in their new
stadium… and City
We took Jacob to a Braves
game a couple of years ago but Olivia has never been, so I’d like to go as a
family of four this time! They have
moved to a new location, so it will be neat to see the new stadium. I just hope we can have nicer weather this
time… I won’t go if it’s 8,000 degrees like it was the last time.
N I N E – Swimming Lessons for Both of the Kids
This is Jacob’s third
year and Olivia’s second year in swimming lessons and I’m hoping that this year
they can get comfortable enough in the water to make it their last year in
swimming lessons, although, Olivia will likely have to return next year.
T E N – Date Nights
Summertime means laid back
time, so I’m hoping to squeeze in at least three date nights with B.
E L E V E N – Get Milkshakes
Olivia randomly asked the
other day when we could go get a milkshake and I was surprised because I’m
pretty sure our kids have only ever had a milkshake once or twice in their
little lives. We get ice cream and frozen
yogurt all the time, but we rarely get milkshakes. I guess we need to remedy that! Chick-Fil-A, here we come!
T W E L V E – Play on All the Playgrounds
We have so many fun
playgrounds to choose from in our city, so we plan to make the rounds this
summer.
T H I R T E E N – Cookout and Outdoor Movie with
Friends
We did an outdoor movie
night with friends a few months ago when it was chilly, but it would be even
more fun to do one during the summer!
F O U R
T E E N – Plant My Herbs
Yes, I’ve been talking about
this for weeks and I still haven’t actually done it yet. I WILL get these things planted. And soon.
F I F T E E N – Open Savings Accounts for the Kids
This one is random for an
item on a summer bucket list, but it’s something we’ve been wanting to do for
years, and we’ve always wanted to include the kids so they could see just how
banking and saving money really works, so summertime is the perfect time to do
this since they’re out of school.
S I X T E E N – Establish Chores and Allowance
I have also been wanting to
make a chore chart for the kids to get them more involved in helping out around
the house. Since I just spent the first
five months of the year decluttering and organizing, I want to instill in them
a respect for keeping things neat and tidy.
Since I’ll have them home with me for ten weeks straight, this will be a
good opportunity to establish a good routine.
S E V E N T E E N – Vacation Bible
School
Our church hosts VBS each
year, and Jacob has always enjoyed it! That also gives me a few hours to myself each day. ;o)
E I G H T E E N – Summer Camp
Jacob has been attending
summer camp at his school for the last few years so he has already asked it he’ll be attending this
year. He is really excited about staying
home with me all summer, but we did decide to let both of the kids pick one
week to go so they can see their friends. Unfortunately they are booked solid as of now, but we're on a waiting list. Fingers crossed! I'm hoping we can get them in because that’ll be a whole week off for Momma, too. Guess I’ll be using that week to
#DoAllTheThings
N I N E T E E N – Get a Tan (While Using Sunscreen,
of Course)
Since I’ve worked since I
was sixteen, I haven’t had a summer off in twenty years. Yikes.
This will be the first summer that I won’t have any obligations, and I
plan on soaking up a lot of sun with the kids.
I think our lawn chairs and my books will be calling my name a lot and I
plan on getting a real, lasting tan which is something that I haven’t had in
years!
T W E N T Y – Read Five Books
And since I plan on spending
so much time reading in the sun, I want to try to get through five whole
books! I have always been an avid
reader, but after having kids, my spare time diminished. A lot.
I still read, but it usually takes me about three months to get through
one book. Well, this summer I want to
try to read FIVE. In just ten weeks.
T W E N T Y – O N E – Perfect Our Grilling Game
You may all remember that B
and I just finally started using a grill last year for the first time
ever. Well, we have perfected the
hamburger on the grill, so now it’s time to expand to other meats and veggies…
T W E N T Y – T W O – Paint and Hide Rocks
Our city is very big on
painting rocks and hiding them in random spots around town for others to
find. We even have a Facebook page
dedicated to it. The kids always love
hunting for painted rocks, but we have yet to paint our own. Time to change that!
T W E N T Y – T H R E E – Random Acts of Kindness
Summertime is the perfect
time to work on our kindness to others.
In addition to teaching our kids to be kind, I want them to really
understand what it means to be the hands and feet of God. We get so caught up in our daily routines and
so rarely do we think to drop what we’re doing to go do something for someone else. Since we will have ample time this summer, I
really want to use it wisely and cultivate in our kids a love of service to
others. I have a few ideas up my sleeve
for this one and I’m really excited!
T W E N T Y – F O U R – Rainy Day Double Feature
We don’t have many rainy
summer days here, but if we do, I’d like to let the kids watch two movies
back-to-back complete with popcorn. We’ve
had plenty of movie nights, but we’ve never done a movie day, and we’ve never
watched two movies back-to-back. I just
know they’ll love it!
T W E N T Y – F I V E – Campout
The other night Olivia
randomly asked if she could sleep in Jacob’s bed. It was a school night, so the answer was, of
course, no, but that gave me a great idea for the summer! I’m sure there will be plenty of nights that
we let them sleep in each other’s rooms, but I’d like to even take it a step
further and let them sleep in their tent in the play room and have a “campout.”
T W E N T Y – S I X – Dance Party
All I have with the kids is
TEN WEEKS, y’all. Ten weeks. That may seem like a lot, but I know that it
will fly by, so I’m going to try to be as present as possible and soak up every
single second with my little family. As
I’ve mentioned before, I’m blogging a little less… 3-4 times per
week instead of my usual five. I’ve been given this wonderful
opportunity to spend unlimited time with my babies for the first time in their
whole lives, and by golly, I’m going to use it wisely. The last thing I want to do is spend the
majority of the time on a computer.
No worries, though, I’m not
going anywhere permanently… I still love blogging and I will be back full-time
in the fall when they go back to school for sure! Until then, I’m going to just enjoy living in
the moment with my sweet family!
What are some things on your
summer bucket list?
Don't forget to link up with us below!
Your Hosts!
*Linking up with The Pleated Poppy for What I What I Wore, Pumps & Push Ups for Oh, Hey Girl! Link-Up, The Mummy Chronicles, Tucker Up, Shopping My Closet for Style Me Wednesday, Classy Yet Trendy for Trendy Wednesday Link-Up, The Blended Blog and Jessi's Design and Going the Distance for What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday.
