Summer 2014 Bucket List!

June is here and it means so many things to us! Warmer weather, shorter school schedule, more time with friends, pools and waterparks but mainly it means:

Summer is here and so is our Bucket List!! We are so ready to get started that we almost could not narrow the list down to something manageable! You can get your own printable copy HERE! 

2014 Summer Bucket List

3 Kids, 2 Parents, 1 Awesome Summer (Again!)

• Drive-In Movie
• Make Crayon Candles in the Sun
• Make Garden Mint Iced Tea brewed in the Sun
• Visit New-To-Us-Park
• Take long bike ride
• Picnic in the Park
• Go to community Movie in the Park
• Have a mud and water outdoor party
• Bike Wash
• Lemonade Stand
• Neighborhood watergun fight
• Volunteer for a charity in need as a family
• Kids plan and make 1 week of dinners
• Go to a concert in the park
• Zoo trip with friends
• Camping
• Amusement park with friends
• Build a large fort to play games in
• Rainy Day Movie Day!
• Attempt to fry an egg outdoors
• Make a smore in the sun
• Race homemade boats
• Backyard Scavenger Hunt
• Visit 1 new park
• Splashpark Play
• Waterpark Day
• Tie-dye t-shirts
• Make glow-in-the-dark garden rocks
• Make finger puppets
• Ice Cube Treasure
• Painting with Plants
• Hole Punching Leaves to make Summer Garland
• Beach Day!
• Sand Play!
• Neighborhood Smore’s Party!
• Turn Slide into waterslide and fall in a pool of water!
• Keep a summer journal
• Road Trip!
• Wear costumes in public!
• Do School Outdoors!
• Practice 5 random acts of kindness in one day
• Visit 1 new park
• Make a fairy garden
• Build an outdoor car track
• Bike obstacle course
• Have a tea party
• Make a movie
• Make Ice-Cream in a bag
• Pool Play & Learn
• Firepit Party
• Create a special drink
• Outdoor Science Lab
• Chalk-Art an entire block
• Make a wishing tree in a park
• Set up our Park Play Kits in random parks
• Visit 1 new park
• Practice 5 Random Acts of Kindness
• Take a tour of some place new
• Visit a grandparent at work
• Buy dinner for someone in a restaurant
• Install and Fill our Free Little Library
• Have a neighborhood field day
• Make a salad from all garden veggies
• Farmers market visit and dinner from the buys
• Buy unusual fruits and veggies for a sampling day
• Have a giant sleepover
• Make cards and deliver to a local nursing home
• Have a table that the kids run at a garage sale
• waterpark fun #2
• splashpark fun #2
• Try 1 new restaurant
• Buy Ice cream for the person in line behind us at the sweet shoppe!
• Make a new friend
• Have a book swap
• Create a city-wide day of play in a local park
  Make it one to remember and don't forget to enjoy every minute!

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Show Me The Money...Show ME The Work!

Do your children do chores around the house? My answer is a quick yes! They are also not known as chores over here, but simply as must-do's (of course the kids still refer to them as chores!!). It is something that is ingrained daily in their activity and something that is expected of them. The tasks of course are age appropriate and instill in them a work ethic. As a stay at home mom, they see the most of me and I want to show them that there is work to be done at home as well, not just outside of the home like Daddy. Knowing all this work will hopefully teach my little men that their wives are not just sitting around all day, should they choose the stay at home route in their life as well. I also hope it teaches my daughter the value of a life at home, even though at the moment she is insistent in no marriage and a future working for our government. 

The big question is, do I pay them for their chores? The simple answer is NO. My kids are learning that the things that need to get done around the house are things that there is no payment for, we do them for the ability to live in a clean home and have a roof over our head. My children do get money for doing chores at my the home of my parents, because those are optional chores. Once family members started seeing them work there, they were offered small jobs at other places as well. My children also have a yearly Lemonade Stand in which they earn money as well. When there are big projects going on (we are in the midst of a remodel) and the kids help out with that stuff, we always reward them with some money. When they are given money for ANYTHING, they are asked to split it in 3 ways. This is for:
1. Savings Account (Their college is paid for, we are asking them to begin saving for a downpayment on a home)
2. The Church or charity of their choice (they have their own church envelopes in which they put in their personal information.
3. Themselves, this is their fun money that at the moment they are all saving for tickets to Universal Studios! (We are doing 10 days in Disney and the kids asked to do US as well, we told them with all the money being spent on Disney, it was up to them! 1 son has his money already and the other 2 are halfway there!)

What type of work do my kids do?
Autumn -Age 9 - Fix Bed and Clean room daily, do her laundry once a week, sweep dining room and living every other day, put away clean dishes every other day, clean kids bathroom weekly, clear dinner table every other day.
Gabriel - Age 8- Fix Bed and Clean room daily, do own laundry once a week, sweep dining room and living room every other day, empty all house garbage cans and take out trash, clear dinner table every other day.

Roman - Age 6 - Fix Bed and Clean Room daily, take laundry downstairs daily, sweep kitchen every other day, spray and wipe down tables daily, set dinner table, keep library shelves dusted weekly.
ALL must keep playroom tidy daily and then a deep clean once a week.

Remember to enjoy every moment my friends and please share what you do in your home!

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