Summer, Summer, Summertime!

Summer, Cristy, Jamie & Katie Chevalier. June 1983.

Summer.

When you have a name like mine you get a lot of questions - or assumptions - wondering if summer is my favorite season. But since it isn't, I quickly explain how I love all seasons, but summer usually ranks 4th behind the other three. Incredulous looks follow.

But over the course of the past few months something finally hit me (I really wonder why it takes so long for some things to click with me). It hit me that while I may not love the weather of the season, I do love the spirit of Summertime. The world is so alive, and has enlivened even more with each kid and each year they get bigger. I'm sure once they are in real school and actually have summers off from class, this summer's excitement - given they are 4 yrs, 2 yrs and 9 months - will seem like peanuts compared to what's to come.

At the beginning of summer I started a Summertime Bucket List because we kept tossing out ideas of what we wanted to do during June/July/August and I knew I'd never remember everything. Plus I wanted ideas at my fingertips for whenever we were looking for something to do. Any time I would wonder aloud about an upcoming event Max would say "Put it on our Bucket List."

And so here's our bucket list (with lots of fun things experienced by us this summer...note the ----- in front of things we've already done). Over the coming weeks I'll post a few entries sharing more details on the different Summertime things we've done.

Summertime Bucket List

------Pirate Party

Pizza & Sundae Bar Party

LH Cornfeed Aug 9, 6-8

Como Town

Children's Museum (Aug 12)

------- Science Museum

------- Valley fair

MN State Fair (Aug 23)

-------Farmers Market

SLP Rec Center

Bandshell Music/Movie

SLP amphitheater

WAC packs

------- Sculpture garden

------- Arboretum

--------Twins game

Bike Max & Otto to school

Trolley

Rollerskating

Bowling

Bike

-------- Beach (Harriet, Calhoun)

-------- drive thru ice cream pj's

Hike - three rivers, w backpacks

------- Camping/Fishing

------- Taylor's Falls

------- Whitewater

Itasca

blue mounds, glacial lakes

Tamarack nature (off 35E)

------- Minnehaha Falls/Bike/Pool

------- Hyland Park Play Area

------- Elm Creek Park Beach

Fort Snelling Park

------- Splash pad