Summer Bucket List

Now that Summer is well underway, I wanted to share our bucket list of activities we are hoping to accomplish before Natalie starts preschool.  I did some research for fun local activities, asked my mom friends what they liked to do over the summer and of course, checked out Pinterest for ideas too.

 

Some of these we have already done and some will be works in progress all summer long.  A couple are a little more of a stretch but hopefully we can still get them done.  If not?  No biggie.  We are having a summer full of fun, friends, family and ADVENTURE!!!

 

The bucket list so far...

Busch Stadium Tour

Zoo day with Daddy

 

Natalie was so excited she found Pascal from Tangled.  :)

 

Strawberry Picking

 We made the most delicious strawberry scones with our picks.  Check out the recipe here.

Splash pad in our clothes!  A 'yes, mom' moment for sure :)

 

Our 1st attempt at an outdoor movie in the park.

 Anna & Elsa even showed up to watch Frozen with us!

Our movie plans were foiled by a pop up thunderstorm.  We were absolutely drenched by the time we got to the car!!!  Definitely a fun memory ;)

 Cloud Dough 

 Grant's Farm with Grandpa Rob

Feeding the goats at Grant's Farm

 

 Sparklers before the fireworks started.

 

Some of our swimming fun

She loved the water slide!

 

We have also started our summer reading program at the library, visited lots of parks, played with sidewalk paint, had popsicles and ice cream on many occasions and done a few fun crafts!

 

Love summertime fun!

 

 

What's on...My Menu

I don't know about you but I kind of love meal planning.  My OCD tendencies loves organizing the details.  Searching Pinterest for recipes, coordinating ingredients among the recipes, and making the grocery list.  I even have my own format to make it super easy when it comes time to make dinner.  Seriously the whole process can be super easy and enjoyable.

The one thing I still struggle with is over planning.  I tend to overestimate my desire to cook all week.  I am working on being more realistic with the amount of days in a week that I will truly cook from scratch.  Normally it is about 4 or 5 times.  I just need to accept that there are days when leftovers or frozen pizza or something else that I already have on hand is considerably easier than a full blown meal that requires ingredient purchasing at the grocery store.

Here is a snapshot of my old planning method.  It worked for awhile but after a few weeks I realized that we don't stick to a daily plan all that well.  Inevitably, we didn't want enchiladas on Tuesday or the hubby didn't feel like BBQ-ing, or whatever.

So I started changing it up by just coming up with various options to choose from during the week.  This format also allowed me to better plan the protein variety in our meals.  I try my best to make sure we are not eating all chicken or beef or pasta or whatever it happens to be during any given week.

I almost always meal plan on Tuesday or Wednesday since I grocery shop mid week.  I check over the calendar to see what day works best into our schedule to go to the grocery store, what we have planned for the week so I know how many evenings we will be home and decide how many nights I need to preplan for dinners. 

The ingredients in blue are items I need to purchase to make the meal.  I try to be conservative and ensure I am using a good mix of food I already have on hand or can be used in multiple meals.

The best part about my sheet?  I just print it out and keep it on the fridge.  When it is time to start dinner, I just scan it over, grab my ingredients and check the recipe right on the paper.  No need to grab a cookbook or run over to the computer to check the directions.

Easy Peasy!  :)

As for breakfast during the week, I just make sure I have cereal, frozen pancakes and yogurt on hand.  Most of our dinner leftovers get sent with the hubby for lunch the day after.  Occasionally, we don't end up with leftovers or the meal just doesn't heat up all that well after the fact so I make sure I keep at least a small amount of lunch meat in the house.

Here are the links to the recipes I am making this week....
Chicken & Avocado Enchiladas
Slow Cooker Beef
Lemon - Dill Chicken

Linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals for her What's On Series!

Summer Fun

Last week for my MIL's birthday, we decided to have a fun girl's night out at a local painting and wine business. 

Taking a break for more wine and a quick picture.  You can see what the final product was supposed to look like on the left.

 

Our final products!!!  Not bad for a bunch of amateurs!  ;)  And yes, my MIL completely missed how we were supposed to make 4 trees!  Lol!  She said she just wanted a forest next to the lily pond!  :)

 

We got to talk, paint, and drink wine....something different and so much fun!  The instructors made the whole process so easy with detailed, step-by-step directions.  They also had extra people walking around helping if you had a specific issue.  We went to Pinot's Palette which is actually a franchise but if they are not in your area, I would bet you have something similar.

 

 

We have also gone on ice cream dates with Grandma Dee Dee.

We saw a musical put on by some very talented kiddos.  

Natalie rode a pony!

We bar-be-qued and played with friends.

 

 

We gave some fabulous Grandpa's their Father's Day gifts!

We played in the sprinkler

 We made a HUGE mess on our deck and had a TON of fun playing with cloud dough.

Side note:  If you have never made cloud dough you most definitely should.  The kiddos loved it and it was easily moldable, not to mention super easy to make.  8 cups of flour & 1 cup of baby oil.

We played in the splash pad even though mom forgot to bring swimsuits.  :)  I did have a change of clothes for the car ride home though!



Natalie played dress up in my wedding dress.  So sweet!!!

 We cuddled in the big chair and watched cartoons.

We had some yummy ice cream with Daddy after running a bunch of errands.

 

We played with bubbles too!!!

 

We are just loving summer around here!!!  Hope you all are enjoying the warmer weather as much as we are!  :)

 

 

Follow on Bloglovin