The late afternoon sun is beating down on my face. I am soaking up the warmth, taking in the sounds all around me. The kids are playing nicely (not quietly) in the backyard, while I am relaxing after a full day of memory-making fun. This is my first summer as a stay-at-home mom. The magnitude of being with my kids for the entire summer vacation isn’t lost on me.
It is exciting and slightly frightening (truth be told). I don’t want the days, weeks and months to slip away from us. I want the kids to go to bed on August 14th with their backpacks ready to go, uniforms laid out, blonde streaks in their hair, freckles on their noses, a full heart and overflowing memory bank filled with adventures, experiences and good times to last them until next summer.
I lean back in my chair, lazily reach for my chilled glass of wine, while I smile at the constant bickering between the three oldest kids. They argue, disagree and annoy each other for hours on end. At times, I am convinced that I will lose my sanity – until all of a sudden the noise levels drop. It’s when I can’t hear them that I worry… I sit back and say to myself “wait for it… wait for it…” in anticipation of an expected wail followed by an appearance by a crocodile-tear-covered little boy. It’s normally Jansen who is on the receiving end of his older brothers’ “you are not worthy to play with us” mentality.
[bctt tweet=”50 awesome ways to have #fun this #summer! #SummerBucketList from a mother of 4 boys.” username=”MamaintheNow”]
But nothing… no wailing, no tears – no little boy appears. As it turns out, the kids… our boys are actually playing a board game – TOGETHER. No one is cheating, no one is disagreeing, everyone is following the same rules – playing the same game – together.
THIS is shaping up to be an awesome summer… It will be a summer of many “firsts”, some “once-in-a-life-times”, hopefully not too many “never-agains” and lots of “when-can-we-do-that-agains”!
The 50 Awesome Ways We Will Have Fun This Summer:
- Pool
- Beach
- Science Museum
- Play with neighbors
- Learn how to swim
- Water balloon fight
- Make a Wish trip
- S’mores with grandma and grandpa
- Busch Wild Life Center
- Loggerhead Marinelife Center
- Boca Museum of Art
- Library
- Meet a LEGO Master Builder
- Ride bikes and scooters
- Nerf wars
- Make our own pizza
- Video game day
- Pajama day
- Breakfast for dinner
- Minecraft game night
- Clean and organize rooms
- Play board games
- Playdates with friends
- San Diego Zoo
- LEGOLAND
- LEGOLAND Waterpark
- Ice cream party
- LEGO building contest
- Go to the movies
- Lunch with dada
- Be bored
- Explore an unfamiliar place
- Build blanket forts
- Play Doh
- Write
- Read
- Ride the carousel
- Go on a plane ride
- Road trip
- Be lazy
- Exercise
- Sleep in
- Go to camp
- Learn about coding
- Do science projects
- Collect sea glass
- Play soccer
- Blow bubbles
- Color with chalk
- Take pictures
I sit down with the kids after their game and we put together this fair and balanced bucket list for our summer. We will have lots of family time, unstructured time, but also a few structured activities. There is something for everyone on the list to look forward to. Together we will make this a summer to remember!
What would YOU like to accomplish with your family this summer?
mommyinsports says
great ideas! i love just being home and playing with the kids!!
Sandra Caballero says
We have done several stuff from the list above. Thanks for the list ! There is more for my daughters to do this summer!
Amber Ludwig says
Love this!! What a great list to go to when you are like “we are bored of the same stuff” randomly pick something fun off the list and voila!!!!