Summer Bucket List

I admit, in the past summer has struck fear in my heart. "When will I get a break?" I would wonder while compulsively wringing my hands. I love my children, truly I do. But to have them with me for every errand (and by "with me" I mean complaining and fighting and wrestling in the produce section) and to have to find a babysitter to get my hair cut and to have to say, "Can we schedule that for September?" when I need to make an appointment for something (even something important....)? Oh mercy.

But parenting is a process and a learning curve. And I have finally come to realize two very important things: they grow up and so do I. This summer I don't feel fear. I feel genuine excitement. I truly can hardly wait for the last bell to ring and for summer to begin. The kids are a little bigger now. And while I will still need to find a babysitter to get my hair cut, and while they will still wrestle in the produce section, there are so many other things that won't happen this summer. We won't have to stop every hour for a potty break on our road trips. We won't have to choose the 1/2 mile loop when we go hiking. We won't have to be home for naps or in bed by 7:00 p.m.

I'm bigger too. I don't need them in bed by 7:00 p.m. I have also figured out that if you want them to stop wrestling, give them assignments: "You are in charge of broccoli, you are in charge of bananas, and you are in charge of apples." I have also figured out these moments are fleeting. What I would give to snuggle my tiny babies or cheer on a first step or laugh when they say the words all wrong but so darn cute. I can't make it slow down, but I have learned not to wish it away.

So this summer, I'm excited. I can't wait for a summer of outings and no outings and cleaning out toy closets and reading, reading, reading. So my husband and I sat down with the kids recently and made a summer bucket list. Our point was not to make summer feel as scheduled as the school year feels (and truly is). You'll notice that some things on the list involve exactly no schedule at all. Our point is to have a go-to list of options as we plan our days, weeks, and summer months. There is no particular order -- just as things came to mind. Lots of what we included is local to us, but I hope this list will inspire a summer bucket list of your own. It's the last summer my kids will be this little and it's the first summer they are this big. I don't want to miss a thing.

Summer Bucket List 2016

• Horseback riding at This Is the Place Heritage Park
• See Finding Dory
• Have family pictures taken
• Go glamping at Bear Lake at Conestoga Ranch
• Go camping (like, with a tent....)
• Rent a paddle board and spend the day at a lake
• Play tennis
• Go swimming -- like all day, take a lunch and lots of sunscreen and do a day (or 10) at the pool.
• Go to the driving range
• Organize pick up games of baseball, kickball, basketball (is that an oxymoron?)
• Do 10 hikes, including hiking to at least one waterfall
• Go to Delta, UT, to find geodes and trilobites
• Go the the Kimball Arts Festival in Park City, UT
• Go to a rodeo
• Do a lemonade and cookie stand
• Do major cleaning/organizing projects: toys, books, clothes
• Attend an outdoor concert (Deer Valley concert series, Red Butte Amphitheater, or Gallivan Center)
• Sleep in
• Stay up late
• Have a backyard movie night
• Leave the city to see the Milky Way
• Go hiking in the High Unitas
• Go hiking in Southern Utah
• Go to baseball games
• Make new recipes -- with the kids
• Late entry (by suggestion): Go to a drive-in movie! (Yes, apparently they still have those!)

I'd be interested in some things you'd put on your summer bucket list!