Hi friends! Do you hear that? It’s the sound of school bells ringing for the last time, signaling the beginning of that pink-cheeked, flip-flop wearing, lemonade drinking, watermelon seed spitting, grass-between-the-toes time of year…SUMMER!!! We thought we’d help you kick off the beginning of your summer with some fun ideas for your Summer 2015 Bucket List.
#1 Every great summer starts with one very important thing…a playlist. You know you don’t want to be embarrassed when you’re jamming in the car with your friends, windows down, hair whipping about your face and that Josh Groban song you listen to when you need a good cry comes on your shuffle. Plan ahead. The best summer playlists are upbeat, dance-worthy, and most importantly, easy to sing along with.
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#2 Okay DIYers here’s one for you. Homemade slip-and-slide. All you need is a bunch of plastic trash bags, a hose, a hill, and a need for speed.
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#3 Guerilla Gardening. What on earth is guerilla gardening??? Allow me to explain. Guerilla gardening is a covert operation that requires a flowerless yard, a good set of garden tools, and a bit of pre-planning. First step is identifying a friend or family member’s yard that needs a little love. While they’re at work or away on vacation, you and some friends get to work planting flowers, shrubs, or whatever you deem necessary. You can then hide and wait for them to arrive home and watch their reactions! A few cautions: don’t go too crazy with planting, people can be very protective of their yards! You’ll also want to make absolutely sure that the family isn’t home! My one attempt at this failed miserably when the family came home and caught us, weeds in hand…
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#4 Make a sidewalk chalk mural. Don’t just stop at the hop-scotch squares and daisies you used to make as a kid. Make something that will stop traffic! This can be done alone or with a group of friends. At the end of the day, you’re fingers will be temporarily-permanently discolored, but you’ll have a masterpiece to share with the world!
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#5 Make “Hobo-meals”. One of my favorite summer activities is making fires in the evening and roasting all kinds of goodies. Of course, s’mores are the ultimate campfire food, but if you’re looking for a fun dinner idea, try making a hobo-meal. Basically, you load a piece of tinfoil up with your choice of meat and veggies, fold it into a pouch and stick by the fire to cook. Delish! The beauty of the hobo-meal is that it can consist of almost anything. Check this out for ideas of killer combinations.
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#6 Buy ice cream for yourself and for the next person in line. Personally, I believe ice cream is one of the greatest joys in life. An even greater joy of mine, however, is doing random acts of kindness. Put the two together and you’ve got so much stinkin’ joy, you’ll be skipping through fields and singing in no time.
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#7 Story time on rainy summer days. At 22 years of age, I still think summer means playing outside with my friends…all day, every day. I have to admit that like a child, my pouty lip still comes out when I see rain in the forecast. Instead of moping around the house on those rainy days, invite some friends over and read one of your favorite stories together, or if you’re feeling really creative, make up your own story!
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#8 Okay I have to do it….this is a college search related activity, but I promise it’s fun! We’ll talk about this more seriously in a later post, but one of the best things you can do to prepare for college in the summers is shadow or interview family members or friends about their jobs. Use your parents’ network of friends and ask if you can shadow them for a day or sit down over coffee to talk about the work they do. Ask them what they love/don’t love about their job, why they got into the field, how they see their job as impactful, and what advice they have for you. One of our deepest human desires is to know and be known by others. When you intentionally give someone the opportunity to share about their life, you are blessing them immensely, and I promise you’ll be blessed in return by the stories they share. I’ve never met someone who is complete “dry-toast”!
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#9 Alright, this is an oldie but a goodie. Create your own drive-in movie. I don’t know why it feels magical to bring outdoors what is normally an indoor activity, but there’s no denying that there is something special about the change of location. You may have to do some hunting to find a projector, but once you’ve found one, the rest of the set up is super easy. Put a white sheet up on the side of your house, buy your favorite candies, pop some popcorn, dust off your lawn chairs and you’re ready to go!
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#10 Take a day road trip. You’ll be amazed at the gems that exist within a day’s drive from your house. Do some research ahead of time and pick someplace you’ve never been. Load the car with snacks, friends and your playlist from #1, and hit the road!!!
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Have a rockin summer, and hopefully we’ll see you in our office at some point!
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