Family Summer Bucket List 2018

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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

And finally, a dance party to our favorite Disney songs… this would be a great one for a rainy day as well!  Such a great way to burn energy!

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?

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