I. can. not. wait. for. school. to. be. out.
I think I'm ready for summer.
If you're a momma, you know the difference.
This summer will be a little different than the past few. Bubba will be gone the entire month of July. We aren't taking any sort of a family vacation. Honey and I are opting out of the trip to Hawaii with his work. And it's looking like August will be spent recovering from a twin tonsillectomy.
There will be a few constants...basketball camp, swimming lessons, and a week in the mountains teaching at church camp. When I look at it all on the calendar, it looks packed full. So my goal for the un-scheduled days is chill.
Well...chill with a side of softball/baseball. Those are always constants. At least until the end of June.
I'm still making my list of options, but to be honest, it's pretty similar to the ones I've made the past couple of years.
I'm ready for summer, but I'm not overly excited. I'm the tired kind of ready. I'm kinda' mellow about it...so are the kids. It's been a long semester. This has probably been the most challenging year we've had as far as school goes.
So...I stole an idea from Valerie, who copied it from Jen, who got it from My Mix of Six. We need a little pick me up to kick off summer.
I made the kids a summer fun bucket.
I wanted to give them new, fun stuff to do, but I didn't want more stuff to junk up my house. It's the same dilemma I always face with Easter baskets and Christmas stockings. I really thought about our summer plans, the stages and phases my kids are living, and the things they need to accomplish what we already have planned.I picked up some buckets from the Target $1 spot and packed them with...
-a new book they each have been wanting to read
-an unused folder sent back home from school with a few pages torn out of the workbooks they brought home
-the girls got a blank scrapbook-type-journal (Bubba is starting middle school in the fall and I don't want to make him journal anymore. Even though he could totally be the author of the next Diary of a Wimpy Kid.)
-a new, BP-free plastic water bottle to take to basketball camp, swimming lessons, and camp
-Bubba got a note card reminding him to put the C25K app on his iTouch and an arm band to hold his touch while he runs...because...he and I are doing the program together...more about that later...
-gift cards to one of their favorite places so they can treat the family (Bubba:5 Guys Burgers, Mary Tutu: McDonalds, Brooke: Bahama Bucks Sno Cones)
-a schedule for the Cinemark 10 movies for $5 movie club in case we want to catch any of the summer flicks
-a list of summer movies we've been wanting to see and their release dates
-movie passes for each kid to treat the family to a matinee
-a mini calendar with all of their activities for the summer listed
-a mini pot and flower seeds from the Target $1 Spot
-glow sticks
We still have a couple of tricks up our sleeves, but for the most part, that's our summer. I guess we're spending our summer fun money up front considering all the gift card purchasing I've done the last two days.
How are you spending the summer? Do you have any fun ideas to get the summer started off with a bang?
6 comments:
I get it. I get YOU. Yep, you and I are of a similar mind. (sorry if that offends you ;))
I love the idea of teh gift baskets of USEFUL things. So clever and . . . well . . . useful!
A couple of summers ago we were down to one car and that left me at home with 3 kiddos. We biked everywhere; the library, the pool, the grocery store, friend's houses, parks, etc. It really slowed us down and allowed us to spend good, quality time together. We needed to make a plan before we headed out and it took more time so we weren't wasting it in front of the TV/computer. Also, great exercise and by 9pm we all were ready for bed. I miss those simple days.
The point is, I need to remember how it felt to go about our days with purpose. Even though we will have access to a car, maybe we shouldn't use it everytime.
Enjoy your summer!!!!!
thats a fantastic idea. i really love the idea of giving them the basket to kick off the holidays. one year i got my son an art and craft kit (hes my only school child so far, and the eldest)... our holidays here arent really long enough to get too entrenched in any projects. blink of an eye and youre back into school.
Love it. Stealing it. You are the best! Thanks for sharing! :)
You are so good! I love the idea to give them gift cards to "treat the family." My kids get a big kick out of paying for it themselves. They would love that!
I feel like summer totally snuck (sneaked?) up on me this year, what with planning my trip to Africa and all (hence the reason I'm just now reading this post!). I threw together some summer totes at the the last minute (like...I think I did it on the way to pick the kids up from school on the last day), and I was sad that I hadn't put more thought into it. :( I usually have all the summer library activities planned out, all the Cinemark Summer Fun Club movies scheduled, all the city park things nailed down...I feel like I totally fell off the band wagon this year! Hoping I can make up for lost time before summer's gone. :)
I stole it, just so you know. And then posted to my blog and said what an incredibly smart mom you are!! :)
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