We started checking off our bucket list even before the school year ended!
I made a deal with my kids that once the temperature reached at least 80 degrees that they could run in the sprinkler and use the water squirters we recently unearthed in our garage.
School wasn't even out yet, but we were just itching to get summer started! True for anyone else?? 🙋🏻♀️ 🙋🏾♀️ 🙋🏼♀️
I think often about my goal to raise a connected family - one in which we all love each other, treat one another kindly, and genuinely enjoy spending time together - and most of the time I think about it in terms of creating full-family moments of connection. Daily family dinners, Friday family fun nights, family hikes and bike rides, and family scripture study all fall in that category.
But lately I've been thinking about the importance of the relationships we have with one another as individuals in our family. I could've joined in on the water fun, but it's fine that I didn't. It's great for my kids to play together - to figure out how to get along, how to help one another, and how to have fun together without me or my husband in the mix as referees.
So... we actually have two Summer Bucket Lists this year. One that is full of activities the children can do pretty much anytime without much help or supervision (like water play), and another that is full of activities that take more planning and involve everybody (like going to the beach).
And I'm focusing on spending one-on-one time with each of my kids every day. Today, that looked like a 20 minute bike ride with each kid after dinner (well, not the baby). It was a great time to connect while doing something simple and fun together. I loved that each of my kids chose a different destination for our ride - one wanted to go see the prairie dogs in the field near our house, another wanted to go inside the Westin hotel off in the other direction, and one wanted to go to a playground. It was wonderful to be with each of them as they expressed their individual preferences and spend time enjoying their chosen destinations with me.
Anyway... back to the family summer bucket list idea, because time spent together is also so, so very important... What about you? Have you made a family Summer Bucket List yet?
Check out the free printable in our shop for a template for your own list, as well as 60 ideas to get you started! While you're there, you might want to pick up a journal to record your summer memories or even an actual bucket-list-in-a-bucket kit to add some novelty, mystery, and excitement to the way you decide which activity to do next!
