Summer Goals

I love the summer. I have visions of my childhood, where I honestly didn't do much more than hang out at the town pool or at the lake - and spend a few weeks at camp. It isn't exactly the same as a grown up, but I do love spending as much time as possible outside, and we are doing just that! I have a few goals for the summer, and wanted to share them here and see if you guys also had fun goals to share with me.

Stay local: A few months ago, one of my brothers tried to convince me to meet him in Orlando and do Disney with him and his 4 boys for a June vacation. I was excited about the idea for a while, I love spending time with him and his family, and they even were willing to share their condo with us. But then I realized the cost. The plane tickets alone were at least $1000 (plus food, plus park tickets, plus plus plus). And the trip would be pretty stressful - traveling with little ones is never easy. Aaron and I decided to wait until the kids were older and could actually remember the trip, and I spent the money on memberships to local museums. We belong to the New England Aquarium, the Boston Museum of Science and the Acton Discovery Museum. To join all three was less than one plane ticket, and we are certainly getting our money's worth. We had taken full advantage of the members only nights that are offered, special events like a boat tour when the tall ships are in town, and fun little trips to the different museums that they reciprocate with.

I've also mentioned the tickets to our local AAA baseball game - for $15 a child, we got tickets to every Sunday afternoon game. We went to our first game this weekend, and both kids loved it. Maybe not watching the actual game, but exploring the ballpark, watching the action and meeting the mascot!

Maggie watching the game (we got a LOT of comments on her dress, people loved it):

Cam giving Twister 'knucks':

We also will get a pass to the town beach (it's a lake), and I'm also planning a trip to the circus in a couple weeks - I'm interested to see what they think about it.

Travel: We are lucky enough to have friends and family who live or have summer houses near the water. We are going up to the coast of Maine for the 4th of July week, will definitely be spending time with my mother at the cabin, and at some point, a trip to Nantucket to see Aaron's family.

I also get a lot more vacation than Aaron, so I'm planning a few trips on my own and with girlfriends to kick back and relax.

Move: Both Aaron and I are having a lot of fun now that we have our bikes on the road. As I said before, I'm taking it up another level and getting back in the pool (that starts up on June 25th - I promise to report back). I've said it before, but it's always hard for me to realize that yes, doing a little something is better than doing nothing. So I'm taking baby steps and enjoying it. The kids absolutely LOVE getting picked up at school on the bikes, so that is a good incentive also.

CSA: As I've mentioned, we joined my uncle's CSA, and I know as the summer goes on, it'll be a bit of a pain in the ass to get over there and pick our veggies. I not only want to keep up with this, but hopefully will can and freeze some produce too.

My Garden: I'm pretty excited to report that I've been able to keep up with the weeds and the bugs in my gardens, and they are still looking great. The Asiatic lilies are just blooming, and someone who came over to drop something off commented on how pretty my gardens are. That made me smile.

What about you guys? Big plans for the summer? Ours aren't 'big' but they are perfect for us.