Aaahhh Summer!!!

So here's my problem with summer........my memory of the summers of my youth!  Do you remember when summer was a full 3 months??  When days belonged to you, your group of friends, and your imagination.  Now it seems we get maybe 2 months.  I've been feeling for a few years that I don't even have a summer.  I think part of that is because summer days are like the rest of my days, in that since I homeschool, I am with my kids 365 days of the year.....there's no change and I love that, don't get me wrong.  But it does something to your summer. 

The other problem, or issue is that right at the end of June we have that big group camping trip to CreationFest, we've been doing that since 2005!!  That requires at least a week to regroup and reorient, then we hit Vacation Bible School!!!  That's a huge, amazing, exhausting week!  Then, after that, I do crafts for a week at a summer camp, Delanco Camp, to be exact!  So there are three huge events; one for each month of "summer"!

In April, I think that I begin looking ahead to the summer and only see these three big events!  I end up feeling like there is no summer and frankly, that's sad.  I've been seeing tons of bucket list ideas on Pinterest and thought that maybe if I came up with one, I'd appreciate all of the inbetween days and would come to honor summer in a way that is fit and proper.  I haven't done it (which I'm not surprised) but what I have done is become more intentional with those inbetween days and at noticing what fun summer things we are doing!

So, here is my unconventional bucket list of sorts!!  Things that we've already accomplished this summer!

1.  The Gardens......exploding with gorgeous color, texture and fragrance!!

2.  Bonfire......our first of the summer!!!

3.  Service.....we brought these beautiful hydrangeas and a meal to a family in our church who needed some love <3 

4.  Summer Photo Shoot

I love taking pictures, I love taking pictures of my kids.  Sadly, I cannot usually get them to comply.

This day however......I had me a taker!!!!!!!

5.  Blanket/Pillow Forts in the living room!!!

6.  A welcome home party for Jessica when she returned from her trip to Michigan!! 

It was supposed to be a party in a box, which was a plan set in place to soothe the broken heart of Julia (but she bailed on me) So this is what she got instead!!!

7.  The largest camping trip everrrrrr.......with 60 - 80,000 of our closest friends!!! 

CreationFest North East

8.  Drive-In Movies!!!!! 

We saw Brave and The Amazing Spiderman with some of our great friends!!

9.  Crafts!!!!  I made these cute summer bracelets!!!

10.  Planning a summer birthday party!!!!

My baby turns 8 this friday!!!!!

11.  Vacation Bible School!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had upwards of 300 kids each night!!  It's an incredible week, full of chaos, excitiment and lots of activity!!!

12.  Jessica's monthly Disney Themed Movie Nights!!!

{In honor of her Senior Class Trip Junior Year} Complete with fish food, crab and fish cakes, sand dollars, The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo and night swimming

13.  Lazy Days by the pool!!!!!!

Our pool is officially open and we've been out there two days in a row - it feels like summer to me now!!

14.  Freeze Pops!!!!!!!

I haven't bought these in years, I kid you not, years!!!!!!

I am so thrilled that I compiled this list!!!  I just got tired of looking at my summer in a negative light!!  An actual bucket list scared me because I have committment issues.....not to people, but things, plans and events.  So I knew there would be a good chance that I'd make the list and not do any of them.....how embarrassing would THAT be!!!!  I like this much better!!!  We do so many great things that, unless we put a spot light on them, go completely unnoticed!!!

How is your summer shaping up friends??