Summer Bucket List

I cannot believe the summer is almost over. Our kiddos go back to school on Monday and man it feels like we just celebrated the end of the year. We have had an amazing fun-filled summer.

We knew our Keys trip would take up the bulk of our summer but that didn’t mean we weren’t going to get in as much summer fun as possible.

Here is our Summer Bucket List chalkboard.

And here it is now that we have reached the end of a really memorable summer.

We did almost everything on the list!

Library 1x a week – Before we left for our vacation we made sure to go to the library at least once a week. I really wanted to keep their reading going so they keep sharp for the new school year.

Movies – We saw 2 movies. One before we left “Finding Dory” and one when we got back “The Secret Life of Pets”. The kids love movies and when it is brutally hot outside, it is definitely nice to have a cool place to escape for a couple of hours.

Bowl – This was a fun one! The bowling alley here had a program where the kids could bowl for free during the summer! You pay for the shoe rental ($4) and you get two free games. Parents pay $2 for games and $3 shoe rental. It was such a great deal! It was also great to change it up and do something different and be indoors (see brutally hot above).

Splash Pad – One of the YMCA’s in our area has a Fun Pool that includes a waterfall, water canons and all kinds of fun splashing. The kids took a quick swim test then they were able to swim around. This was perfect. I went to my kickboxing class then after we changed into our suits and played in the water for a bit.

Eat popsicles – No brainer. This happened quite a bit. I even think they were breakfast a couple of times #norulessummer.

Golf – This is one we didn’t get to. Boo. This is one of my New Year’s Resolutions too!! I have got to get to the course soon.

Paddle Board – I got to do this in the Keys. I LOVE paddle boarding. Not only is the scenery beautiful but it is a great workout too!

Fish – We did this in the Keys too!

Go Tubing – Sadly we didn’t get to this one either. We will have to save it for next summer.

Beach – Yes! We only had a couple of actual days at the beach. But the time we spent there was fun.

Zoo – We didn’t make it to the zoo this year. We just ran out of time! I tell you this summer seemed super short!!

Picnic – We actually did this unintentionally. The park we planned on going to was closed so we just threw down a towel and had an impromptu picnic outside the gates.

Keys – Yes! I will have a few posts on this.

Ride Bikes – Absolutely! Think we are close to having two kids without training wheels over here. Lookout neighborhood, these kiddos are coming!

Make lemonade – We did this too. Although the kids think I don’t make it sweet enough. #sugaraddicts

Make s’mores – We made these and took them on a sunset cruise in the Keys. So fun.

Get ice cream – We did this plenty of times too!

I would say we have had a very successful and exciting summer. We have made so many amazing memories and I can only hope my kids look back on these times and remember how much fun we had being together.

I’m sad to see summer go but I will be honest, I am really looking forward to getting back into routines, schedules and activities that come with the school year.

Hoping you had a fun and memorable summer too!

So it has been a while no? Needless to say our summer was very full and fun and sadly, has come to a screeching halt. School is back in session and work is busy so the carefree feel of summer is behind us. Fortunately, we were able to leave summer on an amazing note with a wonderful trip to the Keys. I will re-cap that in another (terribly long) post. I thought I would touch base and see how we did with our Summer Bucket List. I think we covered quite a few things, although not all-boo.

Here are some thing we were able to check off.

Grill out once a week- We grilled out while maybe not quite once a week, definitely a lot more than usual. While in the Keys we grilled out quite a bit. It is just an easier way to feed a crowd and enjoy the scenery at the same time. My favorite meal highlighted lobsters that we caught that day! So good.

Steak in the Keys is better than steak anywhere else.

Eat Outside- We did a lot of this! One weekend in June we joined my Mom and Dad and had lunch at The Taproom at Dubsdread. It is actually where my husband and I were married!

Hummus Plate, burgers and beer al fresco. It was a perfect Saturday afternoon.

While in the Keys we ate outside quite a bit.

This salad was made with leftover steak, tomatoes, olives and grilled veggies. So yum!

Hot dogs, watermelon and a pickle. His favorites!

Lunchtime in Key Largo wouldn’t be complete without popsicles!

“Tater” Chip Fondue at the Island Grill in Key Largo (we went to the Mandalay location this time). If you go, you MUST try the Tuna Nachos.

Make homemade Ice Cream-I did this and the kids hated it. Whomp whomp. They said it tasted like frozen milk. I will need to see about a better recipe next year.

Go to the Pool- We definitely hit the pool pretty regularly. Whether it was our community pool, while visiting family or the Keys house we stayed in, the kids definitely were little fish this summer.

The Princess doesn’t swim yet and normally will just sit and play on the pool steps. We found a couple small swim rings for her and all of a sudden she had all sorts of confidence. Similar one here. She even swam while the others were looking for lobsters-in the ocean! With that ring she feels like she can conquer the world!

This Little Man also made strides with his swimming this summer. He became GREAT with the mask and snorkel and was able to dive down almost 9 feet in the pool. Little fish I tell you.

Some of the things we didn’t check off our list.

Food Trucks-We didn’t get to any food trucks but I think we may do that when it is cooler out. It is just miserably hot now so we may need to wait for some relief.

Family Game Night-This didn’t happen but we did have a few Family Movie Nights. They were just as fun. One of our favorites was Walking With Dinosaurs.

All in all we had a really great summer. I know I keep saying it but the Keys trip was the highlight and we managed to knock off a bunch of our list items while there.

Now I am looking forward to cooler weather and a very busy fall/winter. I am going to have a new niece in October! My wonderful friends are getting married in November and Thanksgiving is shaping up to be a great family event. Christmas will be here before we know it. I cannot even believe it.

How did you guys do with your Summer Bucket Lists? Can you believe the summer is over??

Steph in Symmetry

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