Our Summer Bucket List

Great parenting minds must be thinking alike -- note, that I will not be claiming to be one of them.  On the same day that my bloggy friend Darcie posted her own family's list of fun to-do's for the summer, R started building one for our own.  R's the stay-at-home half of our parenting team, and the girls and I are all the better for it.  As you will see below, he keeps them busy enough to be nice and tired at bedtime active, engaged and just plain having fun.

With full props to R, and without further adieu...the Just After Bedtime summer bucket list, 2010 edition.

Traditional Favorites

• Como Zoo
• Minnesota Zoo
• Children's Museum
• Intensive swim lessons at the Y
• Camp Snoopy (because we are bad at accepting change...)
• Saints baseball
• State Fair

Local Finds

• Watch the remote control airplanes at Lake Elmo Airport
• Kelley Farm in Elk River
• U of M Raptor Center
• Transportation Museum
• Excelsior streetcar ride
• Watch the airplanes at MSP
• Coffee shop and bookstore visits
• St. Paul and Woodbury farmer's markets
• Washington County Fair
• Back to the 50s car show
• Regular visits to the local library - for books and - with a little luck - Museum Adventure Passes!
• Bandana Square model railroad store/museum
• Local water parks
• Sunday night concerts in the park
• Light rail trip to DT Minneapolis
• Bus ride with Mom to work
• Heart of the Beast puppet theatre

Friends and Family / Out of Town

• Visit our friend Laura's horses
• Burley and bike rides to a picnic lunch
• Hopscotch on the patio
• Plant a vegetable garden
• Visit Grandma in St. Louis, visit the St. Louis Zoo (I may be biased, but STL's zoo blows our local ones out. of. the. water. 
• Wisconsin Dells
• Sleepover with neighbor friends
• Backyard campout
• Cooking practice/assistance

Just for the Parents

• A Father's Day surprise (sorry, no link, R reads the blog!)
• Date nights, date nights, date nights
• And, if the stars align, maybe an overnight without the little ones to celebrate our fifth anniversary?

Yes, it will be a busy summer around here but it's great to have a list in place to help us avoid the "What should we do's" that inevitably come up on the occasional unbusy weekend.  It's been great to read everyone else's lists too! 

Hoping you all enjoy the long weekend, the glorious weather, and whatever fun you can find!