I don’t know what it is about summertime that demands that we MUST MAKE ALL THE MEMORIES!
It’s true though. Think about your own childhood. I’m sure you have memories from all of the seasons, but those summer memories just seem a bit more special, right?
It’s hard to get too nostalgic about freezing your butt off in January when you can remember frolicking on the beach with friends and family in the warm summer sun instead. Catching lightning bugs while you play outside well after dark (and technically well after bedtime! It’s summer though, nobody cares about bedtime!). Of course, who could forget those wonderful summer vacations that made each and every summer unique and special and dateable in the history of your life thus far? (“Remember that vacation in 1995? The one where we blew a tire and so and so got carsick and the hotel lost our reservation and mom was so mad? Wasn’t that the best vacation ever?”)
Somehow, my children (ages 8 and 6) have picked up on this great big idea that summer must be full of everything the rest of the year is not. I blame Phineas and Ferb.
There’s a hundred and four days of summer vacation
Then school comes along just to end it
So the annual problem for our generation
Is finding a good way to spend it….
Regardless of who is to blame, it’s not something that I take lightly. I want my children to look back on their summers with fond memories. I want them to have amazing summer memories and I want to have amazing memories of summers with them.
As a work from home mom, they spend a lot of time just sitting around the house while I work during the summer. When they think back on their childhood summers, I don’t want them to remember my butt on a chair in front of this computer day in and day out (although…that butt in this chair helps support their Popsicle habit, so they better be thankful for it).
That said, what makes summer so special? Is it ice cream dates at the park? Long road trips across the country (or in the case of Texas, across the state…because let’s face it, we’re basically a small country of our own here)?
I think it differs for everyone and I have to admit I was kind of surprised what my kids considered an EPIC summer when I asked them.
“Take the dog to the dog park”
“Go to the school and play on the playground”
“Watch the Minions movie”
Their requests were hardly difficult and for the most part all super feasible.
Don’t let the summer pass you by without making some memories this year. Make this summer a summer to remember!
I definitely encourage you to sit down with your children and let them come up with a Summer Bucket List.
Each child has a “Note” in my phone with their bucket list. Every time we complete an item, I just simply write DONE next to it!
Here are some potential ideas if you need some inspiration:
Go on a vacation or enjoy a staycation!
Hang out at your neighborhood public pool. Even if you have a pool in your own backyard, some memories can only be made amidst the chaos and crazy that is the public neighborhood pool.
Find a fun theater in your area and watch a movie. We have a movie theater here where you can actually eat a full meal and our kids think it is such a treat!
Drive to the nearest beach and make a day of it. Pack a picnic lunch and expect to be exhausted by the end of the day. Even if every second of your beach trip isn’t fun (because let’s face it, we’re parents…going to the beach is an Event with a capital E), you will walk away with amazing memories.
Color with your kids. I don’t care how old they are. All kids love to color with their parents.
Float around the pool in a giant Flofa (pool sofa)
Blow bubbles. Go to the dollar store and buy a huge bottle of bubble solution and have a blast.
Family walks after dinner. You know, if you live in an area where it’s not still 95 degrees at 9pm.
Water balloon, sponge or NERF water gun fight as a family.
Take them ziplining!
Have a one on one “date” with each child. Take them out to dinner, to a movie, to their favorite store, etc.
What suggestions do you have for a Summer Bucket List? Do your kids have a summer bucket list? What is on their summer bucket list? Comment below!
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