Summer List

It's getting closer, you can't deny it. The kids are getting antsy, and so am I. Everyone I know is in full-on end of school year chaos mode, resulting from trying to fit 17 activities into their family's schedule each day; school barbeques or field days, baseball games, musical programs... May is a busy month, right?

Just a couple more weeks though, and then we can exhale. Last year I came across a fun kid summer bucket list idea at the blog A Soft Place to Land. Kimba is a woman after my own heart, since I have a teensy little obsession with lists. My family sat right down and made our own summer list with rainbow colored crayons, and it proudly hung on our refrigerator door all summer long. My kids adored checking activities off the list, and even though though they were a bit young to understand the idea completely ("We already checked 'swing on swings' off, mom -- we can't do it again!") we managed just fine.

We're in the planning stages of our 2011 Summer List, which requires doing very important things like discussing ideas for our list while we eat brownies. I'm secretly sad that my youngest is old enough to contribute ideas like "go to the pool" instead of last year's awesome idea of "make oatmeal."

When our family list is complete, I will make sure to share it here. In the meantime I wanted to share my personal version of this year's summer list...

Relax and enjoy each day

Yep, kids can get bored in the summer. My response: "There's no such thing as bored!" This year I'm going to try out this bored jar idea I found at Tidbits from the Tremaynes. Summertime goes by all too quickly, and I'm already noticing that my boys are much older and grown up than I prefer them to be... I'm going to make the most of these sweet summer days.

Read books in the grass

I used to do this when I was younger, and even when I was in college I would go study in the sun... it's so easy to get caught up in all the things you need to get done, especially when you always have a list of those things staring at you (guilty as charged). 2011 is my book reading summer, y'all.

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Have a clambake

Just because I want to, and so I can pretend I don't live in Idaho for a day. Bathing suits will be required, and I might even buy a bag of sand to throw on people when they get wet, just so they can experience the joy of picking sand out of odd places. I'm all about genuine experiences.

Go on picnics

Lots of 'em.

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Make homemade ice cream

This one will probably be on my kids' list too, and that's okay. We can make it twice... a week.

Eat lots of fresh tomatoes.

Preferrably when they're still warm from the sun. I'm going to try to grow tomatoes in a container garden in my teensy backyard again -- at least I'm the only person with an undying love of tomatoes in my house... more for me.

I fully intend on soaking up the sun, going to farmer's markets, running through sprinklers, eating popsicles, wearing skirts and flagging down the ice cream man.

What's on your summer list?

{All images found on pinterest unless otherwise noted}