Family Summer Bucket List 2019

This will be my second summer at home with the kids and I think I’m just as excited as they are to be out of school!  Last summer was so relaxing and fun and I couldn’t have asked for anything better.  I’m hoping that this summer is even better. 

Here are a few things on our summer bucket list…

O N E – Extended Beach Trip & Explore New Things There

Since we’re not planning on taking any other big trips this year (since we’re saving for Disney for Spring Break next year) we decided to book our stay at the beach for eight days and seven whole nights!!  It will be the longest we’ve ever stayed and I’m ecstatic!  Last year none of us wanted to come home.  We’ll be staying in 30A again and we have so much more exploring to do!  There are a couple of things I had on my list for last year that we never got to do – check out the airstream food trucks in Seaside (namely The Meltdown) and eat at Bud & Alleys in Seaside – and I also just want to explore lots more of the area!

T W O – Explore Our Downtown Area

There are several new restaurants that have opened downtown as well as a new candy store, and we will also have a new specialty donut shop opening down there as well.  In addition to that, there have been three new murals painted on walls downtown, two of which are by Kelsey Montague, the famous angel wings painter!!  I want to explore and try all of these new things!  I love being a tourist in my own hometown!

T H R E E – Providence Canyon

There is a place in Georgia called Providence Canyon and it’s called “The Little Grand Canyon” of Georgia.  I’m not sure if I’ve ever been in my whole life, and if I have, I don’t remember it.  I’d like to do this with the kids and take them exploring.

F O U R – Spend Lots of Time at the Library and Keep Little Minds Sharp All Summer

We did this last summer and the kids were reading machines.  In addition to reading a lot this summer, I also want to keep Jacob’s math brain sharp.  He will be starting third grade in the fall and I’ve heard that’s when the academics get crazy hard, so we’re hoping to get a jump start on multiplication tables this summer.  I bought some flashcards and I’d like for him to have them all memorized by the end of summer.  There are 13 different sets (0-12), but 0s and 1s are easy, so one per week (2-12) should get the job done since we’re out for eleven weeks!

F I V E – Take the Kids Bike Riding on the Bike Trail

We had an eleven mile bike trail open here a few years ago and we’ve never once set foot on it.  I’d love to take the kids there to practice their bike riding sometime before it gets too hot.

S I X – Find a Cold Coffee Drink at Starbucks That I Like

Last year I had my first ever cold drink at Starbucks, but it was not a coffee drink.  This year I’d like to find a cold coffee drink there that I like, so send all of your suggestions my way!

S E V E N – Play in the Pool in Our Back Yard

We bought a huge blow-up pool last year and it was the best $25 I spent all summer.  The kids lived in that thing last year and I loved having it to cool off after laying out.

E I G H T – Go see an Atlanta United Game

Atlanta got a professional soccer team a couple of years ago and B has been dying to go to a game.  Since Jacob loves soccer so much, I think he’d enjoy it, too!  I’m pretty sure we’ll all enjoy it!

N I N E – Swimming Lessons for Both of the Kids

This will be Jacob’s fourth year and Olivia’s third year in swimming lessons and we’re going to continue taking them every summer until they are 100% comfortable in the water.

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

We do this so rarely, but the kids always love them, so it’s on the list again this summer!

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 again this summer.  We have one that’s newish that we’ve never been to, and apparently it’s the granddaddy of all playgrounds, so that one is a MUST!

T H I R T E E N – Cookout and Outdoor Movie with Friends

We had this on our list for last summer and I don’t think we ever got around to it, so hopefully we can make some time for it this year.

 F O U R T E E N – Local Brewery

We had a brewery open in recent years and B and I have yet to go.  From what I hear they are pet and kid-friendly, so I’d love to make it over there one evening.

F I F T E E N – Open Savings Accounts for the Kids

Take two!  This one was on the list last year and we never got around to it!

S I X T E E N – Establish Chores and Allowance

This one was on our list last summer, and while I did start giving the kids responsibilities, we never actually made it a habit.  We also never figured out what to do about allowance.  So this one is back on the list for 2019!

S E V E N T E E N – Vacation Bible School

Our kids attend our church’s VBS every year, and I like that it’ll give me a week of half-days to get things done since I’ll be with the kids 24/7 for eleven weeks!

E I G H T E E N – Summer Camp

Last year we tried to get the kids into the summer camp at their school for one week, but it filled up before I had the chance to enroll them.  They have both requested to do the water themed camp this summer and we have them all signed up already!  That means Momma will get a break for a week!  Woo hoo!

N I N E T E E N – Get a Tan (While Using Sunscreen, of Course)

I had the best tan last summer that I’ve had in probably a decade and I loved every second of it!  I always feel so much healthier with one so I can’t wait to have it back… while also being responsible and healthy about it.  :o)

T W E N T Y – Read Five Books

I accomplished this goal last year so I’m coming back for more!  The kids are out for eleven weeks and I’m hoping to complete five books in that time period again.

T W E N T Y – O N E – Perfect Our Grilling Game

We failed at this one last year, so I’m leaving it on the list with the hope to work on it a little harder this summer.

T W E N T Y – T W O – Campout

Last summer we let the kids sleep in sleeping bags on each other’s floors plenty of times and this summer I’m hoping to do it again.  Only this time I’d love to go all out and build them some kind of fort and do a whole camp experience right in our house.

T W E N T Y – T H R E E – Random Acts of Kindness

We had a great time doing things for others all last summer so I’d love to do it again this summer.  Teaching kids kindness is so important in today’s world, and I’m bound and determined to create kind human beings.

T W E N T Y – F O U R – Celebrate Jacob’s Birthday

Jacob will be eight this summer, so we’ll be celebrating him well!  He actually chose to go to camp the week of his birthday since that’s the water themed week, but I’m sure we’ll do plenty of celebrating on the weekend to make up for it.

T W E N T Y – F I V E – Weekend Trip to Huntsville

As I mentioned yesterday, my brother and sister-in-law both just got jobs with NASA in Huntsville, AL, so I’m hoping to get our family of four up there to see them this summer.  There is a lot to do in Huntsville from what I hear, and we’ve never been, so we’d like to explore a new place and maybe even get a little inside tour of NASA?  Make it happen, Zach and Cheryl!  ;o)

T W E N T Y – S I X – Get Brian’s Office Cleaned Out and Organized

I saved the best (and worst) for last… this one is huge, y’all!  We’ve lived in our house for ten years in October, and in the ten years we’ve lived here, Brian’s office has always been a mess.  We never gave it any attention and it eventually turned into a dumping ground for everything that we didn’t know what to do with, and it’s driving me bonkers!  It never used to bother me because I never had a reason to even go in there, but we added a closet onto it a few years ago and it houses all of my seasonal decorations as well as our wrapping paper, so I’m in and out of there frequently now. 

This summer I want to get his whole office (including closets) cleaned out and set up so it will be functional and organized and easy to get in and out of.  You’ll be able to follow along with the progress on Instagram stories… and you’re going to be SHOCKED when you see how bad the before pictures are.  EEK!  This is one very lofty goal.

Well, that’s it, y’all.  The kids have an extra week of summer this year.  Last year they had ten, and this summer they’ll have eleven.  I’m hoping to create a whole summer full of wonderful memories like we did last year!   

Similar to last year, most weeks I’ll probably only blog 3-4 days per week, but I’ll be back to a regular 4-5 day week in August when they go back to school.

In addition to all of the items above, I've also decided that I'm not going to completely skip out on the gym like I did last summer.  By the end of last summer I felt yucky from sleeping in too much and not working out enough, so this year I'm hoping to at least make it to the gym once per week.  I'll probably just go in the evening when B gets home from work.  

And before I go, a few other simple ideas of things to do in case we run out of ideas…

Paint and hide rocks

Water beads

Dance parties

Play-Doh

Kinetic sand

Movies