Summer Bucket List: Staying on track and soaking up summer

It’s nearly July.

That means my kids have been out of school for several weeks now and we are dashing our way toward the first day of school. And I hate it.

I love summer and the freedom to do things with my kids whenever we can. We don’t have to worry about homework or be strict about bedtimes. The sun stays out later and so do we. Adventures call and we answer.

Last summer, I instituted Free Field Trip Tuesday. I was off of work on Tuesdays so we would find something free to do. We did lots of neat stuff, but there were so many little things that we wanted to do, but didn’t. This year, I caved the the Pinterest Pressure and made a formal Summer Bucket List.

We’ve already done so many things on this list, and the kids have already added to it.

I printed it out on 11×17 inch paper and hung it on the fridge. On days when we are together, we can pick an item and do it. Most of them are free. Some require a bit of preparation on my part, but they each give us something to do and prevent us from the same-old, same-old. Some of these really get us to try something new. I’ve never made a pinata or I’m excited for that one!

The girls and I can easily fall into a rut. The days I’m home with them, I want to clean up the house, finish the laundry and tackle the bigger projects so that when my husband is home, we can enjoy family time. However, that means they just bounce on the trampoline, swing on the swing set, ride their bikes and play their Kindles. That can get old. I knew we needed direction, for all of our sakes. Enter the bucket list.

I found some ideas on Pinterest and combined them into a list that was not only interesting to us, but do-able. There is nothing like creating a bucket list with items that we’ll never do because they are so outlandish or because they are too expensive.

There were a few that didn’t make the cut. Two of us wanted to make a lip sync video like we see on YouTube, two of us didn’t. If not everyone was on board, it was going to make it tough so we took it off the list.

They are so excited and itching to scratch items off the list. The rules are simple.

1. We have to do them together.
2. We can’t rush them. They have to be meaningful experiences.

I had a summer bucket list for myself, but I can easily see that’s not going to happen. It was two items: Clean the garage and do yoga in the morning.

1. Most of the stuff in the garage belongs to my husband and I just really don’t want to clean it up.
2. I am not a morning person.

In short, I gave up before I started. But trust me, my summer is going to be full.  So tune in, put on your sunscreen and let’s see what this summer brings!