It’s become a tradition around here. Every summer, I post a list of things I’d like to do before September comes. I hunted back through the archives, and I found a 2015 list. By 2016 I was saying that I did this “every year” so perhaps there was an earlier list that I haven’t found. I posted these in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
(Side note: My pre-2016 blog photos look quite grainy…But there are definitely things that seem to be on the list each year!)
This will be our first summer in the new house. It’s also shaping up to be quite a full season, which is the reality of having 5 active kids who all have their own interests. Nonetheless, I’m sure there will still be downtime, as there always is. Several nights this week some of us spent time playing outside on the new play set, lounging on the hammock, watering plants, and so forth. We have a lot of camps, but much of August is camp-free so that might be the part of the summer where the children go feral.
Here’s what I’m planning this summer to make summer feel like summer to me:
Go fruit picking. I am just combining this as one entry. Strawberry picking always kicks off the season. Then it’s peach and blueberry picking in late July. Honeycrisp apples ripen in late August. For any other Philadelphia-area folks, we like Maple Acres Farm for strawberries and Weaver’s Orchard for the rest (other varieties of apples trend into fall, so that’s a different fun list!).
Visit a farmers’ market. We visit the farm stands at the orchards/farms we visit, but I’d like to check out a multi-vendor type place. Suggestions welcome! There’s a local one that happens on Saturdays that would be easy to try but I could go solo on a weekday somewhere more far flung.
Go tubing on a river. We did this for the first time last summer and it was a lot of fun!
Relax and enjoy our June family vacation. The hotel and flights are booked, but traveling with all of us can be an ordeal. My goal is to have at least a few truly enjoyable moments. How’s that for a low bar? I want my remembering self to be glad we did it AND to enjoy parts during the vacation itself.
Visit Ocean Grove, NJ. We’ll take our annual trip in August. I’ll run along the boardwalk, visit the beer garden, eat breakfast on the rental house’s big porch (same house as always), take the kids to the pinball arcade, and make nightly pilgrimages to Day’s Ice Cream. Sadly, I will probably be eating the non-dairy ice cream instead of the chocolate peanut butter ice cream I love but I am slowly making my peace with that.
Do Mommy Days with the kids. These one-on-one days doing something each child chooses have been requested and so I will do my best. The 12-year-old mentioned camping, so maybe he and I will be pitching a tent somewhere! (I’m wondering if the backyard counts…)
See Mary Chapin Carpenter at Longwood Gardens. Outdoor music in summer is always great. I have tickets for this. I’m also taking some of the kids to see a live taping of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me in Philly.
Do morning runs. The camp schedule starts later than the school schedule, so this could definitely happen. Maybe once a week or so? And maybe I could do some evening runs along the river too.
Enjoy my hammock. And balcony. The new house has a lot of ways to experience the outside. The pool is under renovation so that may or may not be part of the summer.
Unpack. So this isn’t necessarily fun, but I’m putting it on the list to hold myself accountable. I am going to take a few days this summer to make solid progress on getting rid of the remaining boxes. Most of the kids’ rooms are box free but the teenager’s room is not. I also need to get the guest room cleared out and set up (buy a mattress, etc.) so that can be used for overnight guests. I’ve been putting them in the 12-year-old’s room and kicking him out.
Plan something fun for Labor Day. Last year we went to Maine, which I loved, but I’ll be going to Maine the week after Labor Day for work, so I’ll get my fix then. Most likely we’ll do something else. But it’s nice to end the summer with one last hurrah.
What’s on your summer fun list? If you post on your own website, feel free to link!
We have a few trips – an ecoBothy for the jubilee weekend, a mom/kid trip to Portugal to see the grandparents, and then the beach with the cousins but some other family fun, taking advantage of the festivals going on in our city:
Visit the science centre
Explore 3 new beaches
Go to a play or performance at the festival
Go to the museum of flight
Go to the book festival cafe and bookshop
And fun for me:
I have a list of people to catch up with for coffees and walks
My housemate has a play on at the festival
A grown up book festival event
@Cb – festivals sound lovely! I love summer events.
Yeah, it’s chaotic, the city gains like 100k residents, but is quite fun. We’ve established my son does not like puppets, so I think we’ll go to a Julia Donaldson play.
After listening to the summer plans podcast I was making a list for summer, and realized that I had nothing on the list just for me. I thought back to yours and Sarah’s just for you list and started adding things like reading for fun (I’m in grad school so I do plenty of interesting reading but it’s not always fun) and monthly drinks with my sister in law. I am still working on the rest.
@Jami- you definitely need some things that are fun just for you! Honestly my kids aren’t as into the fruit picking as I am!
Reading this, prompted me to review my own plans and I was very excited when I actually wrote it all down! The first one is a particular highlight as we usually do this every year and have missed it so much for the last couple.
Go on a 4-night trip to the beach with my best friend and leave all our kids behind.
Go on a 10-day family vacation to the beach.
Go to a big 50th birthday party with my husband and stay overnight without our son (and enjoy a leisurely breakfast/coffee/paper to recuperate).
Listen to Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles play when we attend the Capital FM Summertime Ball at Wembley.
Get my hair cut from a great curly hair hairdresser – the waitlist is 9 months, this has been a long time coming!
Watch the musical ‘Anything Goes’ with my family at The Barbican.
Eat out in great London restaurants with my family – we have 3 booked.
Visit friends outside London for the weekend – 2 planned (Oxford and Cornwall).
Have a solo weekend with my husband while our son goes away with some friends.
@Louise – this sounds like it’s going to be a great summer!
Hate to tell you this, but camping in the backyard does NOT copying for a 12-year-old! You’ll just have to stick it up and make your peace with it – LOL!
@Ruth – yep, I’m sure we’ll wind up somewhere real, I just have to figure out where…He’s already camping with Dad for a Boy Scout trip so I have to figure out if this counts extra!
I enjoy reading everyone’s lists and getting ideas. Summer doesn’t really start for us until my kids get out of school in 4 (!) weeks.
My thoughts so far:
Enjoy my mother daughter trip to Mass. (Me and my mom)
Go to Storm King Art Center
Hike the Dover Church trail
Read in my backyard chaise lounge
Walk into town for ice cream
Swim in the ocean
Sit on the front porch and watch fireflies
Get the 6 yo really riding a bicycle
Use my hydrangeas from the yard to brighten the house
Eat ALL the tomatoes
@Gillian – fireflies! Yes, those are always summer for me. Also the honeysuckle is out and I keep breathing it in (though not in our yard since my husband is on a kick against vines so they are mostly gone…). Tomatoes aren’t really my favorite food BUT I do like them in summer fresh off the vine. Maybe I’ll get them from the farmers market…
@Laura Now that our kids are older, my husband and I have started going to our local farmers market together on Saturday mornings. He used to go with a kid or two and I would stay home. Now we leave all the kids home and stroll the market together at an adult pace. We often run into friends and chat. Some of the vendors who know our kids will ask how they are and marvel over how big they must be getting. It’s really a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning.
I always love your seasonal fun lists! Here is ours for the summer 🙂
https://murdocksmama.blogspot.com/
@MurdocksMama – breakfast on the boat sounds fantastic!
As our summer is coming to an end (school starts on 10 days), I’ve been reflecting on how full our summer has been. Lots of fun, family, and new experiences. We also had a family health scare that ended with the best possible outcome. All that being said, what are some of your tips for preserving the memories we made. Even as I am writing this, I am realizing I should probably journal some where about our summer…