I want summer to FEEL like summer for my kids, even though my husband and I work full time. Because of that, June & July isn’t really THAT different for them. My daughter still goes to daycare and my son will go to camp… which is basically like going to after-care, but all day long. So I have decided to be proactive and focus a bit more on making those summer memories each weekend. Crafts, fun recipes, day trips… anything and everything to make this summer ROCK! I have been talking to my stay-at-home mommy friends, and most of them have a detailed plan of summer activities they will be doing with their kids… which inspired me to try and do the same! I am calling it Operation Summer Fun and this blog is going to help keep me accountable.
I told my husband about my plan and he was all for it. He agreed we have been a bit lax in the weekend planning department. So we kicked it off this weekend! On Saturday, instead of hanging out at our pool, we stepped it up a notch and went to a local splash pad with the kids. It was so much fun since the place was basically empty. The splash pad and pool wasn’t too cold and the kids LOVED it. Mila & Hudson spent the entire time running up the stairs and sliding down the water slide. I didn’t take any pictures, except one… since I wanted to document my moment to myself, which was very nice! Mila passed out on the floor at 5:30pm while I was making dinner, which is proof of a fun day.
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| Splash pad fun with a little ME time! |
It’s been awhile since we took the kids to the beach, so when Donnie’s brother brought up the idea we were all for it. Sunday morning, we packed the car with what looked like a week’s worth of items. Food, towels, clothes, hats, umbrellas, coolers, and an entire watermelon. We quickly remembered why our beach trips are few and far between! While it is a lot of work, there is something really special about spending the day at the beach, especially with family and friends. Nothing beats watching my kids and nephews digging in the sand, jumping over waves and boogie boarding in the surf. Mila screamed and laughed with excitement as I carried her out into the water where her brother was swimming. It was perfect.
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| All of my loves! |
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| Beach babes! |
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| Jumping the waves |
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| Loving the sun & sand! |
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| Major PHOTOBUM! |
Don’t get me wrong, I think it if FINE for kids to hang out at home, and I don’t feel like they should be entertained every moment. This isn’t about that. I just want to challenge myself to step it up this summer when it comes to planning out fun things with the kids… and I figured maybe some of you are feeling the same.
Now that Operation Summer Fun is off and running, I want to hear about all the summer fun YOU are having with your families as well! I am going to be using the hashtag #OperationSummerFun on social media and I would love for you to join in! Use the same hashtag so I can find what you are doing, & I will be featuring my favorites on the blog. (& linking back if you have a blog/business!) So let’s have some fun!
How fun, and what a great idea! We both work full time also so it is hard to remember that for the little ones this is their "summer vacation." My husband and I were talking this weekend and both agreed that we will try to get to the beach as much as possible this year so it really feels like summer for all of us. Can't wait to see what you and your family get into!
<3 Haley @ http://www.beautyinthischaos.com
Yeah I just needed some extra motivation since the summer is really the same for us… but it doesn't feel that way for this kids. I figured if I put it out there I would be more likely to stick to it! haha! 😉
I love this idea! As a two working parent household we're pretty similar – but we have two holiday weeks planned which I hope will help. And my kids are in daycare together for the summer with their friends which I hope helps too! – Look forward to seeing how your "project" goes! – Louise
I am excited to try and step it up! Since having my second child I have been so lazy when it comes to coming up with fun things to do! 🙂
I love this idea! Looking forward to hearing all about the activities you decide to do:)
Thanks! I am excited about it!
I love this!! Looks like you guys had such a great time!!
We really did, going to the beach is hard work, but really worth it. We will def be going back!
We have a summer bucket list so we're not at home all day, every day as well. There's nothing wrong with being home, but we just want to get out some. I need to see if there are any splash pads in the area. Love those!
http://bobaandpearls.com
I need to make one of those.. such a good idea!!
Looks like you are off to a great start!! As parents we do have to make the conscious decision to plan and make it happen..sometimes being spontaneous and go with the flow works too…but I agree, it is SO worth it to get out and let them experience things and just have fun!
I just want to at least put more thought into things.. we will see how it goes!! 🙂
you're cute. super great idea!
Thanks.. I am excited about it!!
Great post!!!!!Now i follow you on instagram,google+,bloglovin and pinteres i hope you follow me too!!kiss
Thanks! I will go follow back.. have a wonderful week!
Bwahaha, the crack bomber! Why does that always happen? I love your operation summer plan, building great memories for your kids!
We kept waiting for him to move.. but the kids were not going to stand like that much longer so we just said screw it! We couldnt really see what he was doing back there since the sun was so bright but when we zoomed in we could NOT STOP LAUGHING!!
Wonderful post, so sweet and great to build fond memories. You have a very beautiful family. I wish you lots more summer adventures and fun.
Peace and love,
Rianna, Bohemian Wanderlust
xo
Thank you! I am looking forward to it!
Nice post. I'm in a similar boat with the hubby and I working full-time. We need to make more of a concerted effort to make the weekends more fun and different as well. That was a nice looking splash pad, BTW…
Yes it is easy to get into a rut.. we were so I am trying to shake us out of it! 🙂
We have a few camps lined up for the kids and just tons of pool time at the country club. A week in Lake Tahoe and we still have baseball going on until the end of June.
Can I be your kid for the summer?! 😉 It sounds like a wonderful time… all of it! Enjoy!
What a fun plan for summer fun. We hope to spend more time at the beach this summer.
Yes it is touch, but worth it.. SOOO many beach toys.. ha!
This sounds like a great plan! Your beach day looks like it was so much fun! And I can't get over that photo bomber-hilarious!! I will definitely join in with the hashtag, we don't have specific plans yet, but I know it's going to be a fun summer!
We kept waiting for him to move.. but he didnt! It wasnt until we got out of the sun and actually saw the um.. details.. of the picture and we were dying laughing.
Sounds fun! Your splash pad looks awesome! I found a splash pad about 10 minutes from our home that is hardly crowded at all and its free. My kids love it. We try to go to the beach a lot because I can't handle the 100 degree weather.
Yes this one is free and its only about 5 minutes away, we need to start going there more often.. 🙂
That splash pad looks awesome! And how funny was that photobum 🙂 Enjoy the summer, looks like you're off to a great start! I posted about our Summer Bucket List today and I think I"m more excited than the kids for summer to start!
Awesome! I am going to go over and check it out.. I need to get a bucket list together!
Oh this sounds like so much fun! As a teacher I always looked forward to summer. There are so many fun things to do. Relaxing is also nice though 🙂
Yes I am sure we will do plenty of relaxing as well… I mean when else will I drink my wine? 😉
Every year we make a summer bucket list of the things we would like to do. We don't do everything on the list but it's nice to have a variety of ideas to choose from.
Summer is so short in Alberta – I want to make sure we get the most out of it!
Thanks for sharing – I'll have to remember that hashtag!
xoxo
Thanks!! I would love to see what your family is up to this summer, I am sure you have plenty of fun ideas already on your bucket list.
We don't have much planned other than tons of tons of going to the beach! The military will have us out of this amazing FL life before we know it!
Growing up here I know I totally take the beach for granted… we NEVER go and everytime we do we always say how lucky we are to have it so close and that we should go more often… then another year flies by! ha! Enjoy your Florida summer!
Even as a stay-at-home mom I try to have a weekend game plan for when the whole family can do some fun activity. I love your plan good for you!
Yeah I am trying not to let errands and laundry get in the way of my summer fun this year! I just needed to change my focus a bit and let go of some of the other things… if only for the summer! 🙂
So impressive! Operation Summer Fun sounds amazing. I'm inspire!!
Thanks! I was trying to hype myself up!! I figured putting it out there would help keep me accountable! 😉
amazing summer plan for fun..we just can't do them here because summer over here in the Philippines is way too hot…
I am so jealous. We live in the midwest, so our "beaches" look way different. Oh well. I loved the post, and I too want to find more fun things to do with kids this summer. I will be checking out blogs for inspiration.
This is a great idea!! Love the "photobum."..LOL
I adore this post and your mindset. I have big plans for us this summer too because this is Connor's last summer before starting school for the next 16+ years so I am going to make the very most of every minute we have together.
I'm working on our summer bucket list now. I definitely want to make sure we enjoy the time – it's hard since we both work, but we gotta make the plans or it won't happen!
So fun! I love that you live driving distance to the BEACH! Major jealous!!! I also need to be pro-active with our summer…otherwise it's too easy to just sit around! Thanks for sharing! xox
Hello Gorgeous! So fun! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see you tonight at 7 pm, so we can party with you! Lou Lou Girls
I often have a lot of mommy guilt about this from my son's younger years. Now that he's a middle schooler, he doesn't want to hang out with me at all. SAD FACE. So I'm trying to plan more things just for him and his friends in hopes he'll have a great summer!