Summer Days - Bucket List

This was our first summer to have a bucket list.  We liked it enough that we will try it again.  Here's this year's list:

Krispy Kreme with report cards

 (check!  we headed over right after the Fourth of July festivities.  we get 2 dozen free with all of our scholars)

bike to XXX park and have a picnic 

(nope!  still waiting for the bridge by our house to be completed so that we can cross it and cut off a mile of biking to get there)

go to the zoo (check!)

the pictures don't prove it, but Grandpa was with us and sponsored the trip - thank you!

 loved the giraffes

 loved the lion water fountain

 brought some of the monkeys with me

 but then they were so cute that I couldn't bear to leave them at the zoo 

Camden looked happy despite being chased by a dinosaur because, as he told Callie, he had a plan to trick the dino - insert sneaky giggle

eat Pollyanna-style watermelon wedges

we are serious about watermelon eating at this house

play Love At Home with Jacob during Sacramant Meeting 

(working on it...scheduled for September and we're still practicing)

3 hikes (did one)

canoeing (not yet)

Manti Pageant 

(didn't work out for me and the little ones, the girls went as part of Girls' Camp)

camp as a family (check!)

 a little cloud cover gave way to a beautiful starry night - the star gazers saw about 2 dozen shooting stars

 

during the brief rainstorm we played cards in the tent

 

Callie's friend Sabrina came with us

 The card game moved to the picnic table and after awhile we started singing songs that came to mind as people said things...that gave way to simply belting songs out (we had the place to ourselves), and we ended up playing a funny singing game - tons of fun.  The night ended with s'mores, a devotional, and star gazing.

A funny note on camping - the restroom facilities were vault toilets.  The nicest ones I have ever seen, mind you, but Emmie didn't like them so much.  She refused to use the toilet as it got dark at night and kept herself dry until she was persuaded to go again the next morning 15 hours later.  After she used the potty she hopped off and said, "Now it's your turn to not fall in".  

wolleyball as a family (nope)

make homemade caramel (nope)

make homemade lemonade (nope)

Movie-thon - Pride and Predjudice (nope - but we did watch some fun movies)

Read-a-thon (check!)

It would have been nice to get to more of it, but I am glad that we did what we could.  And I'm glad that we got to enjoy lots of family, fun and friends that kept us from doing the rest - a GREAT way to spend the summer when you don't have any vacations planned yourself, and fantastic reasons for not finishing off the bucket list!