I love it when I stumble upon an idea that just clicks as something that would be great for our family. In the past, it felt like all I ever had were a bunch of great ideas. However, things have really taken a turn for the better around here, and ideas are actually turning into physical realities.

I saw this post about making a Summer Fun Chart to list all the activities you’d like to participate in as a family over the next few months. I loved that idea. We’ll be starting our new school year in the beginning of June, but that shouldn’t stop us from enjoying the summer. I used the list from that site to jump-start our own list, adding and removing what fit for us. We came up with 50 things to do, plus left 4 blank lines for any additional activities we participate in. I didn’t want to pay to get a large poster printed, so I just typed our list and then printed it on 4 sheets of paper that I taped together to make a 17 x 22 page. We made a frame out of some old Amazon boxes that we glued and then painted, and our masterpiece now graces our living room. As we complete an activity, we’ll place a sticker next to that item on our list. I’m hoping to snap pics of everything and maybe compile some sort of photo journal that the babies can flip through while they reminisce about the summer of ’11.

This is actually a project I see us doing for each and every season of the year, not just the summer. Will we get to do everything on the list? Maybe. Some of the things on it we actually do on a weekly basis as it is. But even if we aren’t able to do it all, I already promised myself I won’t feel like I’m a failure and allow unnecessary guilt to settle in. I’ll do the best I can for my babies, and pray that the Lord will bless my efforts and supply countless, beautiful, fun-filled memories for them.

Here’s our list if you want some ideas to start your own:

swim at nana’s
backyard campout
family movie night (this is one we usually do every Saturday night w/the babies anyways, but I figured it would help them to see the accumulation of stickers for times when they start complaining that we “never watch anything!”)
go to the library
go to the movies (Cinemark Theater brings back 10 kid movies during the summer for $1, or only $0.50 if you buy a pass in advance. Last year we loved seeing some of our favorites we missed the first time they were in the theaters.)
backyard swim party
run through sprinklers
take a nature walk
see a parade
watch fireworks
water balloon fun
family picnic
go miniature golfing
eat snow cones
make ice cream
go on a road trip
night stargazing
family game night (another one we do weekly. We either play a board game, or this is when we break out the Wii. I had the pleasure of dancing to “There’s a Party in my Tummy” from Yo Gabba Gabba, last week. Highest score, right here.)
make homemade playdoh
build a sand castle
pizza party
make root beer floats
play at the beach
go to a festival
jump in a bouncy
go bowling
make smore’s
go to a pool
go “losting” (a term my sweet friend coined that I love…the term & my friend.)
go to sprinkler park
visit aquarium
go to the art museum
visit san antonio kiddie park (so excited to take the babies here. This is a place I remember enjoying when I was a kid, and I know they’ll love it as much as I did.)
go to the zoo
watch a meteor shower
go camping
go to the circus
visit downtown water fountain
see an outdoor concert
see an indoor concert
watch an outdoor movie
catch fireflies
go fishing
play in the mud (I plan to participate in this one, not just watch, after seeing an episode of Peppa Pig in which the entire family happily played in mud. Yes, they’re pigs, as my husband pointed out to me, but I still loved the idea and can’t wait.)
dance in a rain shower
complete a reading program (Barnes & Noble, Half Price Books, and our library all have summer reading programs w/cool gifts for completion. The kids usually get their free circus tickets through the library program.)
go to craft time @ library (our local library has weekly arts & crafts time throughout the entire summer and it’s free!)
make & fly kites
go to a baseball game
explore our city as tourists (you know, pretend we’ve never been here and visit what we think first-timers usually visit.)

The babies love walking in and seeing that list, anticipating our fun-filled summer.

Those big circles were supposed to be bubbles, but the paint didn't want to cooperate.

On a side note, my babies have become avid climbers, even Nathan. Still scares me a little bit, but I have to let them do it. The more they climb, the better they become. Noah goes the highest.