Our 2014 Summer Wish List

Our family makes one of these every year and we actually do most of the items on there except for summer 2013. We pretty much were in a health-safety bubble to keep baby M from getting ill before his first (and hopefully only) open heart surgery. He got the "OKAY" clearance from his cardiologist to start living life a bit more. We are grateful and very appreciative of this opportunity and chance at a somewhat normal life.






















We aren't going to get to do ALL of these this summer, but we are going to attempt as many as possible. If it doesn't feel like a good idea, we'll scrap it. If it is a great idea, we'll go for it. I'm not a glutton for punishment, nor a complete crazy mom. I love the idea of a slow summer, but the reality is that I have 4 boys that can't be cooped up all day. Well, I could, but that means they would be behind a screen for a huge portion of the day and I don't really like that idea. Some are trips, some are at home activities, some are wishes, but they are all fun. The three older boys came up with many of them and I added a few in.  I bet you will be able to tell which ones are from me:) All the activities are designed for the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

1. Devour an ice cream cone from Beth Marie's
2. Go to the Dallas Zoo with our zoo pass and take the DART train in
3. Build a sandcastle on the Isle du Bois at Lake Ray Roberts
4. Have a round of golf AND rent a golf cart at Texas Woman's University's golf course
5. Paint rocks for the courtyard
6. Make homemade bubble solution and see who can make the biggest bubbles
7. Make confetti eggs and smash them on each other at the park
8. Make homemade lemonade
9. Join the summer reading program at North Branch
10. Join the Recycled summer reading program
11. Finish the library program and go to the waterpark if they have that reward option
12. Plant sunflower seeds
13. Go on a scavenger hunt
14. Take a night walk
15. Make a hide-a-way in the bushes
16. Pick a topic or activity from SCISTARTER and make it happen
17. Visit Goat Man's Bridge but don't tell the kids the legend behind it.
18. Walk over a $2.5 million  bridge
19. Watch the airplanes take off and land at Founders' Plaza at DFW International Airport
20. Make homemade ice cream
21. Go peach picking
22. Create an original oil panting
23. Catch a fish
24. Try ten different parks
25. Go to the Dallas Arboretum in August (when there is a huge discount)
26. Fireworks-go see and buy sparklers
27. Enjoy a treat from Atomic Candy
28. Listen to Twilight Tunes with a picnic dinner
29. Color the boys' hair with temporary color or Kool-Aid
30. Hit up happy hour at Sonic for a half price slushie
31. Make s'mores over the fire pit
32. Have a pajama day
33. Be in the Yankee Doodle 4th of July parade (promote CHD awareness)
34. Donate Day! (the big toy sort and donate them to an organization)
35. Put together a puzzle
36. Sew a tooth fairy tooth holder bag or a pillowcase for each boy
37. ONE Screen Day (unlimited computer, t.v., Wii, or DSi) and Mom can't say turn it off until dinnertime
38. ONE Screen FREE Day (no screens at all--even for Mom)
39. Feed the stingray sharks
40. Make treats for our local firefighter station
41. Make treats for Daddy to take to work for the police station
42. Have a movie day or night
43. Go bowling
44. Feed the ducks cracked corn (but not bread)
45. Fly a kite
46. Watch a sunset at the lake
47. Watch a sunrise ** not to follow watch a sunset**
48. Bring back the roller skating memories
49. Go backyard camping (or if we are brave, lakeside camping)
50. Write a letter to a friend **an actual handwritten letter with a stamp**
51. Walk the dogs
52. Have a "be afraid" dinner night where mom picks weird and crazy foods to eat.
53. Make a pool noodle marble run
54. Dye eggs since we never do it at Easter
55. Tie Dye a t-shirt
56. Eat a watermelon and have a seed spitting contest
57. Make homemade milk shakes
58. Make popsicles to eat
59. Make ice chalk
60. Skip rocks
61. Take family pictures
62. Make a dough-handprint design and bake it
63. Have a recycled art project
64. Play Bocce ball
65. Destroy and remove the old playground set in the backyard *I think it can be scrap recycled*
66. Go on a day trip without saying where we are going
67. Have a water balloon fight
68. Make something out of paper maiche
69. Attempt to geo cache a hidden treasure
70. Go to the Geometric Art Museum in Dallas
71. Try to go to Fantasy Landing
72. Attempt to go to Fountain Palace
73. Use our free ticket to the Perot Museum and take the DART train in
74. Check out Klyde Warren Park
75. Buy a I "heart" Denton bumper sticker
76. Go to the Denton Community Market
77. Make a watermelon cake
78. Visit the botanical garden in Grapevine
79. Champion's Days try to attend at least one
80. Sew 3 Christmas stockings **already have the stockings, but need to actually sew them**
81. Celebrate Miles' 1st Heart-iversary 8/22
82. Celebrate 20 years of marriage to my love
83. Make a school scrapbook album for boys 2, 3, and 4 (similar to boy 1's)
84. Finalize school registration for boys 1 and 2
85. Buy school supplies for preschool, 2nd grade, and 8th grade!

And, sorry that there isn't a super cute photo to go along with the post. Blogger wouldn't let me upload anything tonight.