2015 Summer Bucket List

Two years ago, I made a summer bucket list with a ton of fun activities to do with the kids.  I felt bad because the summer before that (2012), I was very pregnant and miserable and didn't do ANYTHING fun with the kids.  Little did I know that less than a month after putting together our 2013 summer bucket list, I would be in my first trimester with Little Dude which meant that I spent the whole summer nauseous and sleeping.  The next summer (2014), Little Dude was...um, difficult to care for, to say the least, and survival, not fun, was on the top of my list.

This summer, I'm not pregnant, not going to get pregnant (No, really, I mean it this time!), and Little Dude is SOOO much easier to care for than last year. 

I decided to take the plunge and put together a 2015 Summer Bucket List for our family.  Without further ado, here it is....

1. Have fun.

2. Have fun.

3. Have fun.


And that's it.  No big aspirations.  No big plans.  No guilt when things don't go as planned.  No expectations other than to have fun.  I just want to enjoy time with my kids.  With all of Little Dude's needs and medical appointments, the three older kids have been somewhat on the back burner for the last year, and I want to make up for that simply by spending time with them as much as I can. 


This summer we will go on walks, play at the park, get out the bubble machine, splash around in our plastic wading pool, and have fun.  If we are able to, we might go to the zoo or a museum or we might not.  This year, the emphasis is on the quality, not quantity of experiences.


What plans do you have this summer?   



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Random Monday-June 10, 2013

First, a weight loss update...I didn't drink any pop (or soda, depending on what part of the country you're from, lol) this week and I ran out of the chai latte mix on Tuesday so that's been pretty easy to stay away from, haha.  I exercised on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  On Thursday, we spent the day walking all over the zoo and Ikea so I'm counting that as exercise.  Friday and Saturday were kind of slough days because the kids and I were off of our schedules from being at the zoo all day on Thursday.  I'll only be weighing myself and measuring my waist for the first Random Monday post of each month so no numbers this week!

Okay, on to more fun stuff!  Did I mention that we spent Thursday at the zoo?  It was an awesome day, and the first thing I can cross off of our Summer Bucket List!  Hubby had to work so I went with my older sister and her four kids, my parents, and my little sister.  It rained almost all the way to the zoo and we were pretty worried that we were going to get rained out again like last year when we attempted a trip to the zoo.  Right before we got there, the rain stopped and, although it was cloudy all day, it didn't rain again the whole time we were there!

We started out the day with a picnic in the park and then walked over to the zoo.  The kids LOVED seeing the different animals.  The giraffes were definitely the favorite animal of the day though.           

Little Man watching one of the giraffes eat grass

Of course, it's obligatory to take your kids' pictures sitting on Toby the Tortoise when you go visit the zoo, so we piled on as many kids as could fit and snapped some pictures.  The three youngest kids (Star and my sister's 20 and 2 month olds) didn't quite fit on the tortoise with the older four.

From left to right: Little Man, my 3 year old nephew, Princess, my 5 year old nephew

I tried to get a picture of just my three kiddos, but Star needed a little help staying on the tortoise as evidenced by my dad's phantom arm and my little sister "hiding" beside Toby.

The other kids hopped off as soon as the pictures were done to go look at the flamingos, but Star was a captive audience for my camera.  

Star was fascinated by the tortoise's head

 

"This is fun!"

Princess---awesome Veggie Tales skirt by BumbleMonkey

Little Man holding his light-up giraffe he picked out at the gift shop

Star was a happy and perfect baby all day long!

 

On the walk back to the vans, Star passed out in the stroller.  Going to the zoo is hard work!

After the zoo, we headed to Ikea to meet my grandparents, my brother, and my cousin for supper.  I bought 10 Ikea chocolate bars while I was there and they may or may not be almost gone already.  I'm not telling.

As we pulled into the parking lot, Little Man piped up from the back of the van:
"It's a boo (blue) store! I wike a boo (blue) store.  Mommy, we can go dere?"
He was so thrilled when I said yes.  The kid loves music, chocolate, and Ikea.  Yup, he's definitely mine!

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2013 Summer Bucket List

Last summer was probably the most boring summer ever for the kids.  I was very pregnant, and it was the hottest summer on record in about 50 years.  I made a point not to leave the house or even get off the couch somedays.  There were no fun trips, no getting the blow-up pool out, no going for walks.  The most exciting thing I did was give them an ice cream pail full of water to play with on the porch.  This summer, I'm not pregnant and the baby is old enough to get in on some of the fun so I'm determined to make this summer a fun experience for me and the kidlets.

So, without further ado, I give you...our summer bucket list!  *applause, applause*

• Visit the zoo-Done!

• Set up the inflatable swimming pool-this is a feat in itself because the electric pump I bought brand-new last year works about as well as blowing the thing up by hand, er, mouth.

• Take the kids to each of the four playgrounds in town.

• Visit the local Farmer's Market.

• Catch fireflies-Done!

• Take a walk on the bike trail while Princess rides her bike.

• Visit the park in the next town over-it is seriously the coolest park ever.

• Bake cookies to give to a friend.

• Put shaving cream on the plastic slide and let the kids go crazy in their swim suits.

• Make root beer floats.

• Get a big cardboard box to play in.

• Make "hugs" to send to relatives who don't live nearby.

Source: tonsoffunpreschoolactivities.blogspot.com via Hannah on Pinterest

• Make crayon art

Source: Uploaded by user via Hannah on Pinterest

• Work through this Noah's Ark preschool pack with Little Man and Princess.

Source: 123homeschool4me.com via Hannah on Pinterest

I also have a list of goals for myself this summer.
My summer goals:

• Purge!

• Write at least 10 new patterns.

• Teach Princess my phone number and our address.

• Exercise regularly.  I've been too scared to do much exercise because I'd heard that it would make a diastasis worse and I was pretty sure I had one.  I checked and...no diastasis!  Which means no excuses! 

• Make myself at least 3 shirts and 2 skirts.  I have the Seafarer Top pattern from Sew Much Ado and the Amy Chevron Maxi Skirt pattern from Greenstyle Creations.

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