Our Summer Wish List

With the school year officially over around these parts (Yay! Abby's second semester report is finally done and sent!), the kids and I started a list today inspired by this idea from Fishful Thinking.  

101 Things To Do Before the End of Summer:

We tend to have a lot of free time in the summer, and it can be all too easy to let the summer drift away without using the time wisely. So this summer, try something new by creating a list of 101 Things to Do Before the End of Summer.This should be a list of goals that your family wants to do, as opposed to things they should do. Think about things your family would like to learn, foods they’d like to eat, games they’d like to play, etc. Make sure everyone in the family contributes. Goals can be for the entire family or for individuals. If you already have travel plans for summer, include places to see, foods to sample, and experiences specific to where you are going.

I feel like the summer months FLY by, and being that the kids will be starting school at the beginning of August (still can't believe Noah will be going to K), I want to make sure we get in a boatload of summer fun. A few things that have made the list so far include "catch fireflies, swimming lessons, fishing with Dad, go camping, Chuck E. Cheese, botanical gardens, go bowling, make a lemonade stand, take a trip to the beach..."  (Oh, the beach! That would be SO nice.)

We've actually gotten a head start on our list. It kicked off a few weeks ago when my mom came to visit for Abby's birthday. Just us girls went to "Breakfast with the Butterflies" at the botanical gardens. Abby even got to release her very own butterfly - very cool!

We headed back to the gardens this past Tuesday with friends to check out the newly renovated treehouses and let the kids get wet!

There's also a jar outside with a firefly/lightning bug in it, hanging on for dear life, that the kids captured the other night. Poor thing, but Abby insists that it is "doing fine".


Travel plans are on the agenda as well. We are heading out west to see family and celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary (wow!!!) with a photo shoot at the St. George, UT temple where we got married. I've always wanted to take the kids there and have some professional pictures taken outside. Yes, it will probably be 115 degrees like it was when we got married, but we are doing it, by golly!


Another item on my wish list for this summer? I am really hoping to spend a chunk of time visiting family back in Virginia. My brother is graduating. My stepmom's dance studio is closing. My sister is turning 20. A good friend is having a new baby. Another one had a baby whom I've yet to meet. A lot of good reasons to go despite the crazy gas prices...and have I mentioned the homesick thing? I'm not sure what my deal is - the tornadoes? we've been here two years? visits aren't quite long enough? - but I just want to be closer to family. 


There's also a little something in the works that I hope to share very soon. It's a learning process and a bit of a transition, but I think it has potential IF I can devote more time to it...inbetween catching fireflies and trips to Chuck E. Cheese, of course. 


*What is on your family's summer wish list?