Last year at the beginning of the summer I made a list of five things that I wanted to do with my kids during their vacation months. We did pretty well. This year we are going to go bigger. Everything will be doable, but I’m not going to include something like keep the car clean all summer. Because, A: That turned out to be unattainable, and B: What a boring item. So, in keeping with the motto of the boys in our family, “Go Big, Because You’re Going To Get In Trouble Either Way”, I present the 2nd Edition of the,,,,,,
ATTAINABLE SUMMER BUCKET LIST
- Visit Fort McHenry- My eleven year old read a book about the Star Spangled Banner this year. I find that history is best learned when you can combine what you’ve read about it with a physical experience. So we’re going to make a trip down to For McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. I will combine this with other historical lessons throughout the summer. Examples include learning how to churn butter, breaking out the Atari so they see what it was like to be a kid in 1983, and perhaps learning to milk a cow.
- Hunt For Fossilized Shark Teeth- Once in a while I see guys walking around with shark tooth necklaces that they bought at the boardwalk. Immediately I think, “What a schmuck.” Then I think, “Sharks teeth are kind of cool.” Then I think, “I wonder where I could find some.” Then I think, “I could really go for some boardwalk fries.” I did a little research and found a place in New Jersey where we could go hunting for sharks teeth and other fossils. Then we will make or own shark tooth necklaces which we will pair with backwards baseball caps, tank tops, and sunglasses for a strikingly awful fashion look.
- Spend Several Days In the Big Apple- My wife and I spend the night in New York from time to time. Nothing really adventurous about that. But this summer we’re taking the kids. That adds a level of adventure. How? We’ll visit Times Square to see the sights while avoiding the creepy people who dress as movie characters. We’ll go to Central Park where the kids can play in the playground and climb the rocks. While in the park, we will avoid climbing on rocks that smell too much like urine. We’ll got to the Museum of Natural History and try avoiding the museum gift shop and certain bankruptcy. Now that’s adventure.
- Hit The Natural Waterslides In Ohiopyle State Park- This water feature claimed my wedding ring years ago, and it is time that I make a triumphant return. Okay, I really just want to take the kids some place where we can camp out and enjoy getting in the water. They’re both old enough to try out the natural slides in Meadow Run now. For old times sake, I might give them each a ring that they can lose in the stream.
- Go Standup Paddleboarding As a Family- My wife and I both did this at different times last summer. It was really fun. This year I want to get the kids into it. I can promise you this. It’s going to be super frustrating, and my six year old will throw at least one epic fit. In the end, I hope they’ll get the hang of it. Then we can paddle around on the lake looking like a trendy fitness family, as long as my threats to the children that they “have fun or else” don’t carry across the water.
Those are the big items for this summer. We’ll combine them with catching frogs, practicing piano, camping out in the treehouse, spending a week with grandma and grandpa, some movies, and miniature golf outings. Hopefully when we put all of that together, we’ll have a summer that compares to last year. Can’t Wait.
BONUS ITEM JUST FOR ME. Skydiving- During the deepest darkest days of winter I thought about jumping out of a plane a lot. Now that the weather has warmed up, I have decided that it would still be a cool thing to do,,,,,,, except now I’m thinking about doing it WITH a parachute. Any one of my friends who reads this and is interested in doing the same thing, shoot me a message. It’s always better to hurl yourself toward the earth at terminal velocity with someone you know.
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