Last week for family home evening we compiled a family bucket list for the summer. It was fun thinking of all the things we want to make sure we do this summer. It’s also nice because now when we have a free Saturday we can look at our list and see what we want to cross off.

Most of the things are pretty “normal” summer activities, like seeing a movie in the park or going to the fair. Some of the things we already have plans for, like going to a national park and going camping. Some of the things were contributions from our son, and we’ll probably do them more than once, like swimming or going to the beach. Some of them are less fun, but we’re hoping that we’ll make them a lasting habit, like having weekly budget evaluations.  A house project we want to get done this summer is organizing the garage, not very exciting, “but it’s still very important” (one million points if you can name that song!!).
If you want to make your own summer bucket list there are some great places where you can look for ideas. Start with checking your local newspaper and Parks and Recreation Activity Guide; I would have never known our town does free movies in the park if I hadn’t been flipping through our Parks and Rec  publication. You might also find a fun class you want to take or a day trip you want to do with your family. Another great resource that I love to use is yelp.com, if you haven’t ever used it you should give it a try! Just type in something like “fun things to so with kids” or “free family activities”, or once you know something that you want to do you can type it in and see what other people are saying about it. A simple Google search can also yield some great results, once I googled something like, “fairs near me” and it took me to the Placer County website where it listed all the fairs and festivals in the area. If all else fails, you can always ask other people what some of their favorite things to do in the summer are and see what new things they can tell you about!
This past Saturday we actually were able to cross two things off our list when we went to the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park  and went swimming in the American River afterwards.

I can’t wait to cross more things off our list!

Linked to: Skip to My Lou, 52 Mantels,