the summer board

it's officially summer!

now, to answer that burning question on everyone's mind:

yes, what do you do in the summer time?

there've been a lot of ideas around the blogosphere about how to keep the excitement going during the summer months, and so i thought i'd throw mine in to the pot.

we call it "the summer board" (catchy title, i know).

even though my kids aren't in school or anything, summer is still a sacred time around here. we must get out! and enjoy ourselves! before the rains come down (and the floods come up) and winter hibernation begins.

that being said, even in the summer time, "regular" life must go on (read: cooking and cleaning and laundry and diaper changing and napping and breastfeeding, et al.), so in order to avoid being overwhelmed by all that there is to do (and all that my kids beg and beg and plead to do), i thought, "let's just add one thing, one little but fun thing to do a day. maybe even things we'd do anyway, but we'll find a way to make them special."

so as a family, we came up with an open-ended list of varied activities to do this summer, and every morning, when the kidsies wake up, and after we get ready and do our morning chores, we come downstairs to see what utterly fantastic activity awaits us that day (and to a child, every activity is utterly fantastic when written in chalk).

but in reality, most of the activities are just small ways to celebrate summer and being together, and a lot of them are reusable, like finger painting or playing in the sprinklers or going on a hike -- stuff i'm sure we'll do multiple times over the next few months. a few ideas include gifts: new books! the world's biggest bubble wand! craft supplies! a board game!

and besides keeping summer and afton engaged, the summer board holds me accountable. if i just "say" we're going to paint our toenails or go get slurpees or visit the pet store, but then one thing leads to another and i get too busy, then those little summer activities could get shuffled aside.

but if it's written on the board, well then, it must be done: the board has spoken!

and for those of you who might be looking for some fun ideas to add to your list this summer, here are a few more of ours: getting our faces painted, making popsicles, having a water balloon fight, going berry picking, having a backyard campout, having a pajama party, doing a science experiment, making our own water color paints, playing croquet, stargazing, watching fireworks, having ice cream for breakfast, making lemonade (from lemons), going to a baseball game, going to the splash park, feeding the ducks, going on a family walk, making s'mores, finding bugs in the backyard, going to the zoo, playing with sidewalk chalk, making frozen banana pops, going to the butterfly garden, having a family car wash, staying up late, going to the lake, sharing a ginormous doughnut from the farmer's market...and really, whatever else we might think up along the way!

whew. that should keep we wheelers pretty busy (and full of delicious treats), right?