Welcome to the new readers from The Happy Family Movement! I’m thrilled to have you here. We made a bucket list last summer and it rocked our summer. My kids have been waiting all winter to start working on this year’s list. I (Jennifer) have two boys; Corbin is 5 and Hudson is 3 ½. I am very lucky to do what I love which is teaching kiddos that don’t have all the odds in their favor. I help them get ready for a successful kindergarten year. It’s an amazing and rewarding job and, of course, it’s an added bonus that I get my summers off with my boys. I used to do photography “on the side.” Now, I just do it because I love it. My husband, Brandon, and I are high school sweethearts and share a strong commitment in raising happy kids who feel love unconditionally. He is a software architect and although he works all summer, we do our best to make sure our bucket list items (or adventures as we call them in this house) are completed as a family.
We are participating in the Summer Bucket List Challenge again this year because it was such an awesome experience in 2012. Having all summer off is a definite blessing but at the end of the summers I was finding myself thinking of those activities we had talked about doing but never got around to. It wasn’t for lack of time, but for lack of planning and the mentality that we could do it tomorrow….or the next day, or the next day. The SBLC gave us some focus in our summer activities. In those moments of; “What should we do tonight?” or “What should we do this weekend?” we turned to the bucket list and started having a/planning for an adventure. We had 60 adventures on our bucket list last year. It was a little ambitious. While we didn’t do everything on our list, we still had an epic summer and I learned an important lesson (thankfully early in the summer): Having adventures isn’t about crossing them off the list, it’s about living the adventures together.
Like a lot of families, we can get caught up in the day-to-day activities. My body can be at the beach with my kids, but my mind is thinking about what tomorrow brings and what my to-do list looks like. I felt like I was doing a pretty good job of remaining “in the moment” in life but the bucket list changed my outlook on that. I can’t explain it fully, but for me having an adventure from the bucket list was a very different experience than just going and doing something with the kiddos. During an adventure, it felt almost sinful to be contemplating dinner choices. It made family time intentional and I was mindful of my children and husband in [nearly] every moment, even the quiet ones where the to-do list usually starts knocking. I started living like that in our daily lives more often after I recognized what peace it brings and how precious these moments are. Maybe that mindfulness is why nearly all my favorite memories from last summer are during one of our adventures.
Our list is now complete and we cannot WAIT to start our adventures. The boys are 100% invested in completing the list and keep saying, “When momma’s done with her boys and girls we can start it.” Having it up so early only adds to their excitement. I’m quite certain they’ll have the list memorized before summer even reaches us. It’s hanging on a wall at the center of our kitchen/dining room/living room. It’s the perfect place to see it every day. I made a little SBLC 2013 seal for our family that I’ll use when making our yearly family scrapbook. I added it to the bottom of each adventure to fill the space where a picture will go once the adventure is complete.
Last year, I was excited. This year I’m down-right antsy. I can’t wait for our adventures – not just to cross them off the list but to experience them with this incredible little family we’ve created. Also, knowing warmer weather is coming doesn’t hurt. For us, being part of the Summer Bucket List Challenge is all about being a family, creating memories, and carrying on what is now a tradition. I’m stoked for another epic summer!
I hope you’ll join me in the Summer Bucket List Challenge this summer!
Love those! I document a day in our life every month. It’s so fun to look back on. Good luck completely everything.
You’ve got some pretty awesome adventures there – no wonder the boys are so excited!
Wow that’s an extensive list, can’t wait to read all about these activities!
I can’t wait to see your music video 😉 What fun!! You’ve got a great list!
I love your family crest design. So creative!
Love, love, love the logo! The ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ is such a great idea. I wish I’d thought of it – maybe I’ll put that on our unofficial SBL. 😉
Love the seal and love the cards. Go you! And Happy Mother’s Day! 🙂
These look like so much fun. I was thinking just last night that we needed a bike wash soon!
Gotta ask..where do you go to the drive in, ride on a glass bottom boat, and swim in a lagoon in Minneapolis? And what is visit Flat Pennies and Garvin Heights? These sound so fun but I didn’t realize there was the possibility to do these things here. I have always wanted to go to the drive in but there aren’t any here in Northern Minnesota so would definatly come down to Minneapolis.
Hi Jodi! We will be doing the glass bottom boat and the lagoon on Madeline Island this summer on our vacation. Flat Pennies is near Red Wing and is an ice cream/train place that I’ve heard good things about. Garvin Heights is in Winona (where my grandparents lived when I was younger and where I went to college) so we’ll be heading there on our camping trip 🙂 The drive-in we went to last year closed 🙁 We are going to Vali Hi this year (http://www.valihi.com/). Thanks for following our adventures!
Love all these adventures.