End of Summer.

Summer has come to a close (preschool started 2 weeks ago already!) At the end of June I posted my summer Bucket List, a long list of things I wanted to do with my family before fall crept in. So far, we've checked more than half of the adventures off the list, something I'm quite impressed by. This ended up being a great exercise for the husband and I; it pushed us to get creative and step out of our normal routine to do something special with the kiddos.

Here's a little peek into some of our summer fun :)

Introducing Joe to mini golf was an interesting experience. He was THRILLED to try it, but didn't really have to patience for any part of it. He just wanted the ball in the cup, no matter how he made that happen. What absolutely killed me was that he kept shouting "Get in the hole!" just like they do on TV. Brooke has played a few times and really enjoys it, though she also has a patience problem. They really need to make 9-hole courses of mini golf for toddlers.

 

On one of the usually-rare-for-July-but-not-this-year 75 degree days, I got ambitious and decided to try a picnic at a new park. We picked up some Panera bagels (you guys, the Honey Walnut cream cheese is life changing, just so you know...) and headed to a park I remember going to as a kid. I couldn't really remember what the playground was like, but I knew they had lots of soccer fields. The playground turned out to be very toddler-friendly and the kids had a blast exploring it. After a windy lunch on our blanket, we played soccer on a field, the first time for both of them. They both did exceptionally well at kicking; I'm optimistic for Brooke's soccer career starting this Spring (not scholarship optimistic, just understands-the-fundamentals optimistic.) Turned out to be a fun afternoon!

 

 S'mores on the grill was an easy task to check off the Bucket List. Brooke knew exactly what we meant when we suggested it (thank you, Bubble Guppies) and was very excited to eat hers. Joe wasn't really sure what was happening but had no problem deconstructing his and eating it layer by layer. It made for a very messy but very yummy snack on a warm summer night!

Washing the car in the driveway was the very first Bucket List activity we did. The kids had been playing in the pool & were already wet, so it seemed like the perfect time to give my car a good scrub (we were getting ready to sell it.) For the record, cars don't really get clean when you have 2 toddlers doing the majority of the washing. However, the toddlers get pretty clean :)

An absolute must for the summer was taking the kids to The Root Beer Stand. Daddy volunteered to play an extra softball game, so we recruited some good friends to go with us (because there was no way I was keeping 2 kids upright on stools all by myself if I had any hope of actually eating my footlong!) The kids had teeny tiny mugs of orange drink, my personal favorite, which they thought were too cool. (I was pretty confident neither of them would like the carbonation in the root beer.) The games before the food came combined with the fact that they got to have BBQ chips instead of veggies with their meal made this a pretty fun meal!

 

 I took the kids to Sharon Woods one day after lunch to feed the ducks. Which turned out to be a not-so-good activity for my animal-fearing children. The pond was covered in this smelly algae, making it hard for the ducks to find the bread. So they kept getting closer and closer to us to find it. Once they got really close to the edge, the kids started getting nervous. And then when one duck flew up onto the ledge to get the bread Joe didn't throw far enough, well, that was the end of the duck feeding. Major freak outs by both. Maybe we'll try again next year...

 The husband and kids happen to be in love with soft serve ice cream, so trying the infamous The Cone was a no-brainer. You put sprinkles on just about anything & these two will eat it. Brooke loved the orange & vanilla swirl, while Joe had his classic "banilla". I, a lover of much-denser dipped ice cream, was thrilled to learn they had peanut butter soft serve. Heaven! We visited more than once :)

 

 Something I've always wanted to do was go downtown to Findlay Market on a Saturday morning. I love the idea of farmers' markets; we eat a lot of fresh produce in our house, so I love the concept of buying it from local farmers. We spent an hour exploring the market, looking for great deals and, let's be honest, snacks. Quite frankly, I was pretty disappointed with the lack of snack options. But the kids liked pointing out the different fruits and veggies they saw. And we did finally find some snacks: Joe got a lollipop from the guitar player that played Take Me Out to the Ballgame for him & Brooke and I found cookies :)

 

One of my favorite nights of the summer was our Mommy/Daughter date night. I felt like some special one-on-one time with my favorite girl was overdue, so off we headed to Mio's for make-your-own pizza night. After eating dinner outside (something she LOVES to do), we did what girls do best - shop! Her favorite part? Going down the escalators. We capped off our ladies' night with some frozen yogurt; the goofball picked orange yogurt with white chocolate chips & "Daddy's cereal" (Cinnamon Toast Crunch) as her toppings. Her behavior was excellent and we were able to have some very hilarious conversations.

While she and I were having our date, our boys were having a special Daddy/Son Night. Before I left with Brooke, I told the husband to try to come up with something fun to do with him, like going to the park or playing baseball outside. About 30 mins later, while Brooke & I are sitting at dinner, I get a text saying they are at Kings Island! With just a diaper in his pocket, the boys had a blast doing some of the things we don't normally do: ride the big train, go up the Eiffel Tower, & play games. Joe talked about his trip to KI with Daddy for weeks!

 

This hasn't exactly been the easiest of summers. But we've done our best to shield the kids from the hard stuff and focus on some fun! It was a summer filled with new experiences that will turn into traditions & memories made that we won't soon forget.