Summer Bucket List

 I'm kind of a list person.  I feel an inordinate sense of satisfaction by checking things off lists, and, so, I usually make daily lists.  The problem is, those lists spawn other lists.  Soon, I'm biting off more than I can chew and paralyzed by the very activity that was supposed to make me more productive. 

With summer just around the corner, all sorts of list-making opportunities loom ahead.  Travel, school for me, camp, and a rising kindergartner in our midst are all events that necessitate detailed, multi-page lists.  So, like everybody else, we have a lot to pack into a very short amount of time.

In an effort to keep our very busy summer FUN too, I made a list of course.  

But, this list has been neutered.  This is a list that will NOT beget more lists, nor will it spawn the evil twins guilt and regret for not completing every single activity.  It's simple, straightforward, and just detailed enough to give us purpose and direction. 

So, here goes:

Summer Bucket List
 
1.Go berry picking
2. See a baseball game
3. Check out the farmer's market
4. Set up a lemonade stand
5. Have an outdoor movie night
6. Make a water blob or splash pad in the backyard.
7. Make Ice Cream in a bag
8. Go on a fossil hunt and make dinosaur eggs
9. Watch Fireworks
10. Make flag T-shirts
11. Make Snoopy Sno-cones
12. Attend a Zoovie night.
13. Picnic at a concert in the park.
14. Play at the Parthenon and feed the ducks.
15. Host a backyard camp-out.
16. One word says it all: DISNEY! (Probably will regret doing this one in mid-June with a few hundred-thousand of our closest friends.)
17. Make lanyards
18. Go fishing 
19. Take a family photo on the beach.
20. Go ice skating or roller skating (Might regret this one, too.)
21. Go to the planetarium 
22. Take baths outside (Kids, not parents).
23. Ride a ferris wheel.
24. Host a firefly hunting party!

Fiesta: Spanish for "Smack Your Neighbors With a Pool Noodle"

What do you do when your 4 y/o says to you, all Scarface-style, "I want to have a fiesta,"?

Well, when people around here start speaking espanol, we sit up and take notice.  I really think one of Sarah's superpowers is knowing what you need, when you need it, because getting together with the neighbors was just the thing. 

In case you didn't know, Sarah is really the idea person around here, and I'm her assistant/minion.  She had the idea of a fiesta, so therefore it was my job to come up with the rest of the "details" and make this sucker happen.  You know, like the food prep, decorating, and hiding the clutter picking up the house.

We had tacos, and it worked out so much better logistically than I thought it would.  The cuisine was great for the adults, not so much for the kids.  

Of course, I wanted to have a little something for the kiddos to do, since there would be 5 of them in attendance.  And since my neighbor Katie staged a completely awesome "egg volcano" and hunt on the Saturday before Easter. 

Seriously, my kids are STILL talking about the volcanoes.  

Anyway, maracas and pinatas came to mind as proper entertainment for a fiesta, so I got to work.  

The day of.  

And only had time for the maracas.  

They're just made out of leftover plastic eggs, rice for the inside, plastic spoons, and clear packing tape.  I got the how-to here.  

Here are the neighbor-ladies doing a little hat dance.

Working the mustaches.

Senoritas y mustaches

Mustaches and maracas are all well and good, but the real entertainment for the night came in the form the pool noodles/light sabers.

Here's our caballero riding in on his trusty steed, Noodle.

I hadn't invited our middle-school neighbors over with the intention of having them take the brunt of a pool noodle attack.  But, since they did and it worked out smashingly for all of us watching from the sidelines, I think I might ambush invite them over for Round 2.

Both factions in the Noodle Wars made peace over mustachioed cupcakes, and everybody went home sleepy and happy.  But not before Cruise Director Sarah turned off the lights on everybody and told them they had to leave when it got dark.

Baked, not burned.  Yay me.

It's a good thing, after a stressful and frustrating week, to be able to end on a high note.  

On the Wings of Love

I am on the fence about Valentine's Day. On the one hand, I think it's out of control all of this crafting and planning and mooshiness that goes on for one marketing-driven day. On the other: I love Turtles and chocolate-covered strawberries, and anything that breaks up the monotony of winter.

Anyway, back in December, I started to make Sarah a V-day outfit (see below). I was planning all of the fun stuff I could do with the kids, especially Sis, because a holiday involving pink and red and candy just sounded right down her alley. I did finish the outfit, but I didn't do much else. No elaborate breakfast, no love notes or special mailboxes or anything.

The one thing I did do was make these dragon wings I found on the Feeling Crafty blog, and give them to the kids on V-day. Sarah requested yellow, to match her tail, and Will wanted brown because, and I quote, "I like brown."