summer fun cards of 2013

Every year for the last few years, we’ve rocked out our Summer Fun Cards in the first few weeks of the summer.

We choose an afternoon, we gather markers and index cards, and we brainstorm and write down everything fun we want to do during the long summer months. It’s all about summer and fun and we throw our ideas onto little index cards.

Summer. Fun. Cards.

Our refreshments of choice usually involve freeze-pops or ice-cream, and our attire is usually swimsuits or tank tops.

We talk about summers past, we talk about what we loved and what we wished; we talk about what we want to do and what we absolutely don’t want to do.

It’s fun.

This year, in order to ensure that we don’t miss a beat, we changed things up just slightly.

Here’s the skinny. . .

Summer Fun Cards, 2013: In years past, we’ve created the cards, punched a hole in the corner, and hung them on our railing right smack dab in the middle of our house. Like this:

Or like this:

This year, we’ve mixed things up a bit thanks to inspiration from my smart friend Heather and her boys. We added something and moved locations.

We added a small box on each card, reserved for a checkmark once the fun event is completed.

Maddy’s thinking Great Wolf Lodge. . .

. . . and Cora’s got Disney World on her mind. Way to dream big, ladies!

visit Dutch Wonderland, eat crabs, eat ice-cream, and pick strawberries

And we moved the cards to our door leading into the garage—a door we open and close any time we leave the house. That way, there’s no missing our cards and no escape from our summertime fun.

This year we also tried to add a box to each card, but some missed the box.

Owen’s pretty straightforward and illustrates sparingly. . .

. . . but he does have high hopes for our birds.

Up on the door they went.

Ready to check off as we go!

What did we add this year?

pick strawberries

pick blueberries

go to Cold Stone

go to Jimmy Cone (we love sweets)

go mini golfing

camp out back

teach the birds to talk

go to Disney World

go to Great Wolf Lodge

go to Dutch Wonderland

go to a baseball game

We also added:

swim in at least two different pools

eat crabs

catch lightening bugs

eat s’mores

go to the pool

go to Nanny & Pap’s

go fishing

Wii party

have a yes day

try kayaking or boating

have a magic show

And that’s it! Just a little variation from Summer Fun Cards 2012, Summer Fun Cards 2011, and Summer Fun Cards 2010.

Summer Fun Cards have become a tradition–a simple one!–that we all really enjoy and appreciate. And it’s never too late! All you need are a few ideas, a few cards, and a few weeks of summer. Let the fun begin!

For me, it’s not a contest to fill our summer with nonstop activities. Summer Fun Cards help me to move through the days more intentionally–that’s all. And I know that we only have so many summers with our kids under our roofs as kids, that I really want to make the most of it while I can.

Is it easy? No. Do I want to punk out and do nothing some days? Absolutely. And we do. Believe me.

These are just ideas–and it’s fun to dream, right?