2021 Summer Bucket List – Recap!

I realize the timing of this post could be better (like, a month ago, ha), but I know you’ve just been on the edge of your seat waiting to know what we did this summer ;) This summer ended up being another strange one for us. We are in a time of what feels like a major transition in our family (more on that another time) so we didn’t do quite as many things as I had planned for this summer…and that’s ok.

So while we only got to maybe half our list, we still made the most of it! Here’s everything we checked off…

Food & Drink

  • Make cherry pie bars

Yes! I finally made these! These were on my Pinterest board for far too long without trying it. I personally still prefer classic cherry pie, but it’s fun to switch it up.

  • Make peach cobbler

No picture, sadly. I made these last month and unfortunately used a different recipe. The peach filling tasted good, but it didn’t turn out like what I’m used to. I’ll just have to make it again using the right recipe. :)

  • Have a BBQ

Yes! We bought a grill! No pictures to show on this one either, but we made burgers, salmon, ribs, and so much more. We were very happy.

  • Make a cheesecake

Yes! My husband’s birthday lands during the summer and he loves cheesecake. I used a classic cheesecake recipe and topped it with chopped Ferrero Rocher chocolates and drizzled it with chocolate sauce. It was delicious! Again, no picture. I am really not very good at food photography and the picture didn’t look appetizing, so I’m sparing you. I promise it tasted good!

Out & About

  • Go to a farmers market

Yes! I honestly didn’t think we were going to make it to one again this year, but we did! It was a small market, but it was fun to get out and buy local, fresh fruit and goodies. This is where I bought the peaches to make the cobbler. It was pretty fun!

  • Visit a new park

Yes! There is small park a short drive from where we live that we had never been before. We went back a couple times since it was so close. :)

  • Try a new restaurant

Yes! I mentioned in my last post that we were introduced to a modern French bakery close by. We love it!

  • Go to a splash pad

Yes! We actually went to a couple different splash pads. I was so relieved they were open this year! It was fun to run around, dry off, and then head out for ice cream after. Pretty much the perfect way to spend any summer afternoon.

Fun in the Sun

  • Have a water balloon fight

Yes! No picture to show for it, but we had a big family get together and all the cousins got to have a big water balloon fight. Super fun!

  • Plant flowers

Yes! Thank you to my sweet neighbor friend, she had given me her extra flowers that she didn’t have room enough to plant. I ended up filling a few planters I had laying around and put them on my deck to enjoy. They lasted through most of the summer. Sadly, it got so hot outside that they scorched toward the end of summer. Poor flowers. I definitely plan to plant more next year.

While it’s too late to take a picture of them now, you can see a tiny glimpse of one little flower pot in the background (plus who doesn’t want to see a picture our sweet Kahlua : ).

Rain or Shine

  • Pajama movie night

Yes! This is an easy given, because every Friday is technically pajama movie night for us :)

  • Play a new board game

Yes! Ok, well, it’s a card game, but we got Gryffin the “Eye Found it” Disney game.

He’s really good at it and beats us half the time!

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That wraps up what we did this summer! Some of the things on the list that didn’t get done were out of sheer laziness, while others didn’t because, quite honestly, I became really sick at the end of summer and just couldn’t get to everything I had hoped for. There’s always next year, right?!

I do plan to do a Fall Bucket List, so stay tuned for that!

I hope you all are having a wonderful Fall so far!

Much Love,

Cami

2021 Summer Bucket List

It’s amazing how much different this year feels from last year. I think the weather changed so dramatically this year that we basically jumped into summer with both feet! Winter practically started in October of last year and seemed to last a million years, so I am perfectly ok with the dramatic change.

To keep up with tradition I am sharing our summer bucket list. Some of these things might look familiar as they were on the last year’s list as well, but I look forward to it each year. :)

Also, I still want to point out that some of these things are geared toward kids as well. I put this little “FYI” out there in case you’re wondering why a grown adult would want to do some of these things, haha.

So let’s jump in here!

Food & Drink

  • Make homemade lemonade
  • Make cherry pie bars (this has been on my Pinterest page for far too long without having tried it!)
  • Make peach cobbler
  • Make sun tea
  • Buy a treat from the ice cream truck
  • Have a BBQ (we’re hopefully buying a grill this year!)
  • Make a cheesecake

Out & About

  • Feed the ducks
  • Check out books at the library
  • Go to a farmers market
  • Visit a new park
  • Try a new restaurant
  • Go on a nature walk
  • Go to a splash pad (they were all closed last year, so hopefully we are good to go this year!)

Fun in the Sun

  • Have a water balloon fight
  • Go on a picnic
  • Play outdoor field hockey
  • Make a rock garden
  • Decorate the back deck
  • Plant flowers
  • Go on a treasure hunt

Rain or Shine

  • Go puddle jumping
  • Pajama movie night
  • Hand-write a letter and mail it
  • Play a new board game
  • Make a summer scrapbook
  • 30 day photo challenge (this is a stretch, but we’ll see!)
  • Make a sensory bin (Gryffin is getting a little old for this, but I think he’ll still have fun with it!)

For those who want to make your own, you can also download a blank copy!

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I hope you all are having a wonderful start to your summer! What’s on your summer bucket list?!

Much Love,

Cami

2020 Summer Bucket List

I’m not going to lie, I’ve been feeling a bit like a party pooper when it comes to summer this year – I haven’t been in the mood to do a thing. I’m not sure if it has to do with Covid restrictions or just what, but I need to get over it otherwise we will completely miss out on a fun summer.

We had so much fun last year (you can read about it here) and I’m determined that we can still make this one great too. I have added some new things this year, but I am also keeping some things on the list from last year as well.

Also, in case you’re new here, I have a 3 year old little boy. I wanted to point that out in case you’re wondering why a grown adult would want to do some of these things, haha.

Food & Drink

  • Make homemade salsa
  • Bake a pie
  • Make peach cobbler
  • Make homemade lemonade
  • Buy a treat from the ice cream truck

The last one here is a maybe. There’s usually a cute ice cream truck that goes by, but the ones driving by this year are a little sketch. Buying ice cream from someone’s mini van isn’t quite what I had in mind…

Out & About

  • Feed the ducks
  • Check out books at the library (via curbside pickup this year)
  • Go to a farmers market
  • Visit a new park
  • Try a new restaurant

Fun in the Sun

  • Run through the sprinklers
  • Have a picnic
  • Play T-ball
  • Decorate our deck
  • Paint rocks

Rain or Shine

  • Go puddle jumping
  • Pajama movie night
  • Hand-write a letter and mail it
  • Play a new board game
  • Make a summer scrapbook

For those who want to create your own, you can print a blank list here:

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I hope you all are having a wonderful summer! What’s on your summer bucket list?!

Much Love,

Cami

Cookie Monster to the Rescue!

I’m taking a break from my Summer themed posts to give a shout to…that’s right…Cookie Monster!

There is a lot of problem solving you have to do on a day-to-day basis with a toddler. A lot of times you have to get creative and think outside the box. On more than one occasion I have used Cookie Monster to help me out.

I would seriously love to know how you have gotten creative with your kids and helped make a frustrating situation better!

Here’s how Cookie Monster has come to the rescue!

Cookie Monster Saves Diaper Change Meltdown!

Like most toddlers, Gryffin does not enjoy diaper changes. Smelling Gryffin a mile away I knew he needed a diaper change and I really didn’t want to chase him all over our house and struggle to get him to cooperate.

I look over and there is Cookie Monster with his big excited face just sitting there on the couch.

“Look Gryffin!, Cookie Monster is going to get his diaper changed too!”. I took Cookie Monster by the hand, put him on the changing mat, and put a diaper on him. Gryffin stared at him with a smile on his face and laughed. Sure enough, seconds later and Gryffin comes running over to the mat to get his diaper on too.

Phew, it worked!

Cookie Monster Saves Bedtime!

Gryffin is still going through a hard phase where he is afraid to be by himself in his room and it makes bedtime really difficult. He usually has a hard time falling asleep, and tosses and turns. While I’m there he would rather sit up in bed and talk and play.

At some point in time we brought Cookie Monster down to Gryffin’s room where he stays most of the time. I was having a really hard time getting Gryffin to settle down one night. I saw Cookie Monster sitting at the end of the bed and I pick him up.

“Hey Gryffin! Cookie Monster is up past his bedtime. Can you put him to bed? He needs to be under the blanket.” Gryffin laughed (ok, so it was more like a snort) but he thought it was pretty silly putting him to bed under the blanket.

“See how Cookie Monster is in bed? You need to be in bed too”. Sure enough, he crawled under the blanket too. He still took some time to fall asleep, but it was enough to calm him down and get him to lay in his own bed. Ha!

Cookie Monster Saves Drive Time!

Ok, so this doesn’t exactly have to do with Cookie Monster himself, but, have you heard to the Waze app? (This is totally not sponsored by the way!) It’s a navigation application and it will tell you the quickest route to your destination based on current traffic and any incidents that may have occurred on your way.

The best part about this app, is that it just so happens to have Cookie Monster’s voice as an option. He even celebrates with a cookie once you reach your destination. Gryffin loves it!

So, Cookie Monster, this post was for you! Thanks for having my back dude.

Summer Bucket List

Now that it’s June I’m sharing our summer bucket list! I kept it all pretty toddler friendly. And, in case you’re interested, I even made a printable at the end. :)

There are some things I’m personally planning to do this summer that didn’t make it on the list. Such as, sitting in Gryffin’s kiddi pool while sipping on a Mike’s Hard Margarita. #noshame

I’m sure I will think of more things to add to the list as the summer goes on, but I figured this is a good start! I am excited to document and share it all.

I decided to split it up into different categories – so here we go!

Food & Drink

  • Make peach cobbler
  • Make sun tea
  • Bake a cherry pie from scratch
  • Make Root Beer floats
  • Buy from the ice cream truck
  • Roast marshmallows
  • Make homemade salsa and guacamole

Out & About

  • Go to a children’s museum
  • Go to a zoo
  • Visit an aquarium
  • Check out books at the library
  • Go to a farmers market
  • Go to a park with friends
  • Visit an animal shelter
  • Go to a splash pad
  • Go to a baseball game

Fun in the Sun

  • Color with sidewalk chalk
  • Feed the ducks
  • Run through the sprinklers
  • Play with bubbles
  • Have a picnic
  • Play Tee-ball
  • Plant flowers

Rain or Shine

  • Go puddle jumping
  • Play Simon Says
  • Play Red Light, Green Light
  • Build a blanket fort
  • Finger paint
  • Make a bird feeder
  • Make puppets
  • Have a puppet show
  • Make a summer scrapbook

So there you have it! I would love to know what’s on your summer bucket list!

I hope you all have a wonderful Summer!

Much Love,

Cami