I love the change of seasons and always start celebrating each new season a little before its time. I've got winter hats and coats on my girls in early November, spring dresses on them in March and pulled out the baby pool and bathing suits in mid-May. I can't help myself.
So some of this stuff....we've already done. But the only thing I love more than check lists is checking items of the list. SO here it goes....
Raise and chase butterflies. We got caterpillars a few weeks before Kate's birthday and released them as they hatched...a few days before...on...and after her birthday. I love that she names EVERY one of them Miracle, enthusiastically waves goodbye to each one of them as they fly away, and squeals with delight every time she sees a butterfly flitting through the air, because she believes it's one of hers.
Pool, pool, pool and more pool. Maybe it's because, with a working, single mom, I didn't get to go to the pool much as a little girl. Maybe it's because I love the feeling of sun on my shoulders, or that I love the idea of getting to enjoy 'outside' with my girlies, without watching them wilt in the sun. But I am geekily excited about the pool this summer. Almost as excited as I used to get as a preteen/teenager when my two best friends and I, who lived on the non-fancy side of the train tracks, would ride our bikes to Applewood Acres and beg one of our friends to 'get us in' to their membership-only pool.
Our annual summer visit with Cousins Olivia + Molly, from New York. Olivia was born when I was 16, Molly when I was 21. They live in New York, but spent summers with my mom in Ohio. I looked forward to their visits all year long, and could barely contain my excitement each June, knowing they'd be with us for more than 2 months. Now we repeat that tradition...Olivia comes to stay with us for a week every summer. Molly still stays in Youngstown for the summer and we get to see her lots, too. My girls love their big cousins; and it makes my heart smile to see Olivia and Molly, who were my first 'little girls' show so much love and kindness to my daughters.
Lemonade stand. I mentioned the idea of a lemonade stand to Ella a while back, and about donating the money to a charity. The other night, as we were making our summer to do list, she said she wanted to have a lemonade stand; asked if it could be yellow; and then said she wanted to give the money to little girls who live in an 'orphanage' and don't have houses. One facebook post later and my brother had built my girls their very own lemonade stand! They raised $22.50 on their very first day. Ella took it SO seriously and LOVED it SO much. She just kept saying "I am so happy! I just love this lemonade stand!" She greeted each guest with a "Hello, welcome to my lemonade stand! May I get you a lemonade?" Kate loved it too. But she mostly just liked pouring glass after glass after glass...even though she really didn't want to drink any of it.
Watch a fantastic girl graduate college. We started a scholarship at the OSU College of Social Work...wanting to encourage students who want to dedicate their lives to making the world a better world for kids. This year's winner, Amanda Poole, is an amazing and inspiring woman who has overcome incredible obstacles to not just attend college, but graduate with honors. We are so, so psyched to see her get her diploma!
Sidewalk chalk party in our driveway. Every year in Italian Village (downtown Columbus), they have Via Colore, a neighborhood-wide sidewalk chalk party. I want to invite all the little neighbors and have our own litle Via Colore in our driveway!
Baby pool swimming in the backyard. Surprisingly, Hallie, our 10 year old neighbor, loves it when we get the baby pool out. She'll play in it with the girls for hours. Perfect for after-work days when I can't take the girls to the pool. We broke it in on the last day of preschool. But it'll get its fair share of sunshine all summer long.
Ella's recital! We'll say goodbye to the 'school year' and hello to summer by celebrating the end of Ella's second year of dance at her recital. 4-year-old girls in tutus and tap shoes? I'm dying just thinking about it. Can't. Hardly. Wait.
Fourth of July weekend with our cousins Audria, Tyler and Kenzie. This is what I hope to be an annual event, which has a little mini-list of to-do's in and of itself. Like lying on our backs watching fireworks with cousins, and having a sleepover with our cousins, the Worthington Hills Parade...you get the picture.
A late summer visit to see our cousins Greyson and Lachlan in Memphis. Our girls have only seen their cousin Greyson 3 or 4 times, and we've never actually seen Lachlan, almost 1 year old, in person! We absolutely need to make a road trip to Memphis to see these squeezables, sometime this summer!
Strawberry picking with Grandma. The warm weather came so early this year, I hope we didn't miss the season! I have to chop chop and find a place to go, lickety split. My mom used to take me strawberry picking when I was little, and I love that my girls get the chance to do the same.
Golf lessons for Ella. This is really kind of Chris's thang. But I do love thinking of Ella in a cute little golf outfit and her cute little (real) clubs her daddy bought her.
Swim lessons for the girls.
Annual pool party at my friend Heidi's mom's house in London, Ohio. I'll post lots of pictures after the big day. It's always so much fun to spend the day at the pool with my BFFs from college and their little people. And Heidi's mama's farmhouse is nothing short of amazing.
The fountain at Easton. I love a good excuse to go shopping without momguilt. Enter Easton's splash pad. A little fun for the girls. Shopping in at least 2 stores, guiltfree, for me.
Zoofari. It's a cool fundraiser for our local zoo, and it's an excuse for my BFFs from college and I to get dressed up and drink too much and sleep in the next day.
Organize Ella's 'First Year of Pre-K' photos and artwork into a memorable keepsake. (One that will hopefully not take over an entire shelf in her closet, as it does now.)
On cloudy, but not rainy days: The Zoo!
Shopping for Ella and Kate's first-day-of-school outfits.
Annual summer visit to Gramps + Grammy's house. Chris's parents live in Hilton Head and the girls love going to visit them and their fancy pool.
Lots of fun summer days with Tara, Elle, Mia and Charlotte. Our sweet nanny Sarah is on maternity leave most of the summer...but the good news is that my girls get to spend 3 days a week with our friend Tara and her three gorgeous, sweet, darling daughters. Yeah, it makes me feel a little sad when I pick my girls up at Tara's house, only to see them cry because they don't want to come home. But it totally removes the mommy guilt of work, to know they love Tara and her girls THAT much!
Impromptu summer sports in our backyard. Tee-ball. Golf with plastic golf clubs and balls. Freeze tag. I am awful at all of these sports. But I love watching my girls play them, with passion. I love seeing how athletic Kate is. She wacks the ball almost every time. I love seeing both the girls swing their hearts out with bows and flowy dresses. When Ella gets discouraged and pouts because she does hit the ball, Chris calmly explains that it doesn't matter if we win or 'do it perfectly,' it just matters that we have fun. And I love watching her quietly think about it...for a few seconds. Then say "OK Daddy." And smile.
I'm thinking of more summer bucket list items as I type...but I'll have to save those for another post. After a day at the pool + the launch of our lemonade stand, I now have about an hour to get this crazy house in order for our big visit from Cousin Olivia tomorrow!
Summer, here we come!
