I can’t believe it, school has started back. Where did the summer go? It’s bitter sweet around here because my youngest is starting kindergarten this year. She decided that there would be no half-days for her. She wants to be at school all day long with her big sister.
My mommy heart is a little broken but I am proud of her and I would never dream of standing in the way of her independence.
So, I only have two weeks to make this summer the best summer ever. I won’t lie, this summer has been hectic. There was lots of traveling; including a first trip to Disney World and a week in Chicago with my parents but the summer has slipped away from us. Between buying a house and selling our home, we’ve spent a lot of time in obligation and packing mode.
I feel like I’ve cheated my girls out of our time together. I’ve been here but I’ve been working a lot. Summer needs to be filled with fun; bon fires, swimming, blowing bubbles, riding bikes, play dates at the splash pad and visiting the zoos and soaking up all that good together time so I have devised a plan of 14 things to do in the next two weeks to make this the best summer ever.
Go to the zoo as a family. We are dragging daddy to the zoo with us this summer. It’s been so hot that we have not had the chance to go as a family. The girls love telling my husband about all the different animals so we are going next weekend. Surprise, honey.
Splash pad/swimming play date. We are meeting friends at the local splash pad and playing until we all look like raisins and our voices are hoarse from giggling.
Picnic at the park. Who doesn’t love eating their food alfresco? No matter if we’ve packed a five-course meal or just peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, the girls love picnics in the park followed by playing on the jungle gym.
Family bike ride. So much fun and the girls love riding their bikes with mommy and daddy.
Camp out and bonfire in the back yard. We’ve promised them a camping trip all summer. Looks like Grandma’s 5 acres will have to do. I’m excited because there will be working toilets near by.
Pre-back-to-school ice cream social with last year’s friends from school. The girls are excited to see all their old friends before school starts back. It will help take away some of the nerves of the first day of school.
Bubbles and kites barbecue with cousins. We’ve been meaning to get together with the cousins and this will be boy and girl friendly.
Family craft day: Mosaics for our garden in our new house will be the perfect way to end the summer.
Girl spa and shopping day. This is just for my girls and me. We’ll probably do this the day before school starts back just for one last great memory with mommy.
Pajama and Movie Day. This works out great for lazy Sundays. We stay in our pj’s, cuddle and watch a marathon of funny or animated family movies. At some point, a spontaneous dance party usually breaks out.
Rock Band and Pizza Night. Come on, even my husband and I are excited for this one. The girls are pretty good little singers and we love to hear them sing.
Make s’mores and catch fireflies at dusk. Who doesn’t love s’mores and catching fireflies? My girls adore it and you can hear there chocolate giggles echo throughout the yard as they collect fireflies and put them into glass jars with holes in the lid. We let them go every night but they love seeing the fireflies light up.
Dance in the rain and giggle a lot. This is probably one of my favorite things to do with my girls because they are always surprised when I tell them to, “Go for it! We won’t melt!â€
Finally, we are going to do the butterfly gardens. My girls have been begging me all summer to do this and, I’m embarrassed to say, I have not gotten to it yet.
While I am filling up the last days of summer with the wonderful memories, I will be taking photos of it all. I am looking forward to 2 weeks of uninterrupted time with my girls and I can’t wait.
This summer has been exhausting, it’s time to stop and smell the tops of babies heads because these girls of mine are growing up way too quickly and I don’t want to miss another moment of it.
What have you been filling your summer days with?
Photo Source: Mark Omni
