At the start of each summer, I love to sit down and create a Summer Bucket List. This helps me to be intentional with our precious summers together. Now that my oldest son is 12, I am realizing just how few summers we will have left together as a family of five!
This list includes family activities, couple activities, and a few solo experiences. I hope that it inspires you to create your own summer bucket list!
Our Summer Bucket List 2021
Visit the Dr. Pepper Museum
We moved to Waco, Texas last summer, but because of the pandemic, we haven’t yet visited many of its museums. Now that we are vaccinated, we’re excited to explore more of what our city has to offer! The Dr. Pepper Museum has several fun programs that the kids will enjoy–including the chance to create their own soda!
Hike in at least 3 State Parks
We love going to state parks. In fact, we asked for a State Park Pass as one of our Christmas gifts. I want to take the kids exploring in all of the state parks within a 2-3 hour radius of our home this summer. This is a huge goal, though, as there are 10 parks within those paraments. Here’s hoping!
Host My Family’s Summer Get-Together
My family (parents, siblings and their families) gets together every other summer. This year they are all coming to our house, and I couldn’t be more excited! We will spend a week together grilling, visiting local attractions, and staying up late playing board games. You can’t beat that!
Finish all Texas Certifications
On a personal note, I will be finishing up all of my Texas teaching certification. (Whenever you move to a new state, there are always various hoops to jump through before you can get that state’s teaching license.) I will also be adding a Gifted and Talented certification and an ELL (English Language Learners) certification. This involves taking a class and several tests.
Grow Tomatoes and Cucumbers
We started a small backyard garden! The kids and I planted a variety of herbs and flowers, as well as strawberries, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I am looking forward to summer produce!
Take a Planning Retreat Alone
My husband, the priest at our parish, is asking me to develop our church’s Sunday School curriculum. I love curriculum-planning, so I am excited about doing this. I am going to make it even more fun by going off on my own for a day or two while I work on it. Any mother can tell you how wonderful that is!
Swim Together
We enjoy swimming but haven’t had many opportunities in years past. This year, however, my husband has joined a gym at a local church with a serious discount for clergy families. The two youngest children will be taking swimming lessons there, and we are hoping to all cool off in the pool several evenings during the summer.
Visit Our Families
One of the biggest blessings about living in Waco is that we are close to our parents. My husband’s parents live in north Texas, just 3 1/2 hours away, and mine live in southern Oklahoma just 4 hours away. This counts as very close since we’ve lived a 2-3 DAY drive away from them for the past 11 years! So, we want to take advantage of this by spending several days with each set of grandparents.
Go to a Winery
Now that our budget is allow it, my husband and I are excited to plan a date night out of the house each month. This summer we’d like to check out a local winery for one of our dates.
Try Out Different Ice Cream Shops in Town
Finally, the quintessential summer activity is obviously eating ice cream! There are several cute ice cream shops in Waco, and we would love to try out each of them. Maybe we’ll even take notes and come up with the Wright family winner!
Summer Bucket Lists are a great way to plan activities that the whole family can look forward to. What are you planning for this summer?
I heartily suggest Valley Mills Vineyard for your winery date night! They don’t serve dinner, but they do have noshes. There is a new restaurant up the road in Clifton that is supposed to be quite nice, Olaf’s Restaurant, if you need to have a meal before or after the vineyard.