Summer is still on my brain. Even though it's rainy & 56 degrees outside.
Yesterday we received this summer sundae surprise package in the mail from Scott's employer
6 pints of Ben & Jerry's, caramel, hot fudge & raspberry sauces, nuts, sprinkles, & an ice cream scoop. Now this gets me in the mood for warmer days. Yum!
For me, the arrival of summer brings with it feelings of change & renewal & re-energizing. Kinda like the resolutions we set at the beginning of the year, I see the coming of summer as a chance for a fresh start. So my mind has been stirring these last few weeks, trying to think of what I want to accomplish this summer, what fun things I want to do with the kids, how we can occupy our time, and just all around have a great time. A couple friends have recently reminded me of some of the summer organization tips I shared last year (apparently I have a short-term memory). There were the popsicle jobs (which we did), and the summer fun poster which was a big hit. We will definitely be doing that again.
So in preparation for summer's arrival (which I hope really does come soon) I wanted to make a list of the things we already have planned to do this summer, the things I want to do, and the silly little things we'll do to fill in the empty spaces of our day.
on the calendar
- trip to CA -- my brother Denver is returning home from his mission to Brazil! It will be fun to see him, other family members, and we know that CA will not deny us in the sunshine department.
- trip to ID -- Scott's parents have a new house and the new temple will be holding it's open house while we are there. Anna will get her wish to go inside the temple! That's even better than visiting Cinderella's castle.
- Phantom of the Opera -- woo-hoo! This will be my 4th time (San Fran, San Fran, SLC) and Scott's 3rd (San Fran, SLC). It's just so wonderful, it never gets old.
things I want to do
- swimming lessons -- the kids are taking lessons right now, but I'm sure we will enroll them for 1 or 2 more sessions over the summer
- swim -- I'm thinking that I'll also get a family pass to the pool so we can visit whenever we want all summer long
- beach -- I need to go to the beach! And our trip to CA/Disneyland was proof enough that our kids love the beach too.
- strawberry picking -- I really want to take the kids to a u-pick strawberry patch. I've never done it before though, so I welcome any tips you might have. I'd also like to make freezer jam -- also a newbie to that one, and welcoming your tips!
- hike/walk -- I think it would be so fun to honor & remember the pioneers and take the kids for a good long walk/hike on Pioneer Day. I can just picture us singing "pioneer children sang as they walked & walked & walked & walked . . "
to accomplish
- chores -- this is going to happen this summer. The kids are going to learn how to do chores, it will become a part of their everyday routine, and it will continue into next school year. (Do you think if I just repeat these statements over & over again it will happen?)
- piano -- Conner will start piano lessons very soon! And practicing will become a part of his (and mine) daily routine.
- training wheels -- Conner's training wheels are coming off this summer. Actually, they are already off and Scott is in charge of the torturous process of teaching him to ride his bike.
- potty training -- I'm in charge of the torturous process of potty-training Anna this summer.
for fun
- zoo -- our membership runs out soon, so I'm sure we'll get a few more trips in.
- park -- probably a weekly activity (if not more).
- ice cream -- we love going to the little ice cream shop to enjoy a soft serve cone on a hot day.
- crafts -- Paige helped me stock up on some craft projects from Oriental Trading Company. They will make for great activities on the inevitable rainy days that surprise us during the summer.
- scrapbooks -- I purchased a 6x6 scrapbook album for each of the kids. My "plan" is to take one day a week and have them scrapbook their favorite acitivity from the previous week. I take tons of pictures during the summer so I figure that we can sit down at the computer, have them each pick out one picture, print it out, and with my over-flowing stash of un-loved scrapbook supplies they can just go to town and do whatever they want. I'm actually really excited about this one. My kids love crafting so I think it should be a big hit. We shall see.
- run through the sprinkler -- we have purchased the same sprinkler from Wal-mart 3 years in a row. It gets enough wear & tear that by the end of the summer we just have to throw it away.
- try different popsicle concoctions in my new popsicle molds
- eat popsicles until they come out our ears
At the end of the summer I'll have to look back at this list and see how much we really did accomplish!
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and for those still wondering about the egg carton . . . . . I only discovered the purpose of the egg carton myself on thursday morning. I signed up for another class at BPS called A Baker's Dozen. And in the pre-class assignment we were told to decorate an egg carton. Okay . . . So I did. The class started on Thursday and basically for the first couple days I get an e-mail telling me to gather a few specific supplies (all pretty basic) and put them into one of the egg holes. For example: 26 buttons, or 4 strands of ribbon, or 6 flowers & 6 brads.
Then she also tells us to put specific photos into numbered envelopes (like today: 4 personality photos of someone you love & a piece of coordinating patterned paper). All of this is done blindly -- we don't know where the products are going to end up or how it's all going to come together. But we have been told that by the end of the month we will have 13 completed layouts. And hey, considering that the total number of layouts I have made in the last year comes to less than 13, I'm all for this. Get 'er done.
And if anybody else needs some motivation to just scrapbook for pete's sake, registration is open until June 11th. So far, it's been a low-stress experience, which I like.
