50 Awesome Ways To Have Fun This Summer

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.

50 awesome ways to have #fun this #summer! #SummerBucketList from a mother of 4 boys. Click To Tweet

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:

1. Pool
2. Beach
3. Science Museum
4. Play with neighbors
5. Learn how to swim
6. Water balloon fight
7. Make a Wish trip
8. S’mores with grandma and grandpa
9. Busch Wild Life Center
10. Loggerhead Marinelife Center
11. Boca Museum of Art
12. Library
13. Meet a LEGO Master Builder
14. Ride bikes and scooters
15. Nerf wars
16. Make our own pizza
17. Video game day
18. Pajama day
19. Breakfast for dinner
20. Minecraft game night
21. Clean and organize rooms
22. Play board games
23. Playdates with friends
24. San Diego Zoo
25. LEGOLAND
26. LEGOLAND Waterpark
27. Ice cream party
28. LEGO building contest
29. Go to the movies
30. Lunch with dada
31. Be bored
32. Explore an unfamiliar place
33. Build blanket forts
34. Play Doh
35. Write
36. Read
37. Ride the carousel
38. Go on a plane ride
39. Road trip
40. Be lazy
41. Exercise
42. Sleep in
43. Go to camp
44. Learn about coding
45. Do science projects
46. Collect sea glass
47. Play soccer
48. Blow bubbles
49. Color with chalk
50. 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?