We made no plans for the summer. No camps were scheduled and no vacations either; we simply craved a break from the monotony of everyday life. My children, who might have been fish in a past life, were very excited to sleep in everyday and spend most of their days at the pool with friends. But, outside of many hours spent playing at the pool, we did end up making some really great memories doing other things somewhat on a whim.
So what did we do?!
A few projects!
We started a few projects like Ella’s wall and some wallpapering. Ella’s room was something we talked about doing and jumped in without being fully prepared. Because of that, it did take longer than we expected and mostly because we didn’t expect to need so many records. So many afternoons we headed to Goodwill and many evenings we were sticking up records.
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We also had someone save my sanity and come in and wallpaper our bathroom and pantry area. More details on that to be blogged soon, but I think they turned out great!
Ella Joined A Swim Team
Ella participated in a Summer Swim League that we committed to, but didn’t know what we were fully in for. She practiced everyday of the week for the month of June (leaving by 8am) and then had two swim meets a week. It was a lot and kept our June pretty busy, but man it was fun and may have sparked a new love for swimming.
We Started A Neighborhood Kickball League
Another fun thing we did this summer was start a neighborhood kickball league! It was actually one of the highlights of the weeks to get together Wednesday nights, put all the kids in a neighbors backyard and kick some balls while enjoying some beverages. My neighbors are the best.
We Challenged Our Golf Skills
For a June Birthday & Father’s Day, we headed to Top Golf. This is such a perfect place to go as a family and have a little fun, get a little competitive and enjoy some great food!
We Went to the Movies And Had some Backyard Movie Nights!
We went to the movies!!! Yes, I’m so glad the movies are back and I’m so glad that there have been great ones to see! Can you imagine a life without memories at the movie theaters?! We saw Elemental with friends and watched Barbie with just us girls!
Fireworks & Fourth of July Fun!
Our neighborhood is the best for 4th of July fun! We have a bike parade, a pool party, and a killer neighborhood fireworks show. This years’ was 30 minutes of sheer entertainment and beautiful fireworks!
We Enjoyed Pure Michigan
This summer wasn’t filled with many trips like we usually do, but the ones we did were pretty freakin’ great! On a whim, we booked a trip to Michigan, specifically Mackinac Island, but did a few stops along the way — like Fishtown. A super cool old fishing wharf in Leland Michigan and then made our way the rest of the way up north!
We FINALLY Visited Mackinac Island!
Have you been?! I truly recommend it. We really enjoyed it as a family. It was so fun biking around the island to and fro, riding horse drawn carriages, swimming at the retro pool, and visiting some really cool locations around the island. I’ll have to do a whole recap, but we love staying at the Grand Hotel and riding the ferry too! So many great memories were made and we really can’t wait to go again!
We Created Neighborhood Fun with a Fairy Door Hunt
On a few of the super hot days, I pulled out some blank fairy doors and had the girls decorate them. They did 10 in all and we then rode our bikes around the neighborhood to “hide” them. Once they were hidden, we posted on our neighborhood facebook page that there were 10 to find and that when the kids were done finding them they could come grab a little candy treat from our porch. It was a success and fun for all the neighborhood littles.
We Visited the Children’s Museum & Art Museum
Also during the hottest days of the summer, we headed over to the Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience! We absolutely love the Children’s Museum and my kids ask to go there over and over again… I think we did every single sport and area out there and were sweating our butts off, but it was actually filled with laughs! Sometimes pushing through the heat sucks, but it makes memories, and there was dip n’ dots ice cream in baseball caps at the end so it wasn’t bad at all!
And we love Newfields (the art museum) but again, visited on a hot day so we didn’t stay long, but we went!
We Threw a TS Inspired Bridal Shower
I’m getting a new sister-in-law in about a month and so we threw her a fun shindig! Because her current last name is Swift, we figure Taylor Swift Inpsired would be fun. You can check all that out here and maybe you’ll be inspired too!
Ella Got Her Ears Pierced!
Yep, she’s been waiting and it finally happened again! And she’s done really well with them this time around!
Mike Hosted An Adult Hockey Camp
And it was a great success! If you know any adult hockey lovers this is for them! It’s specifically for adult skaters who just want to learn to love the game more and improve their skillset. It runs over 2 days and I’m sure they’ll be more! Check out BigRookieHockey.com when you have a chance!
And Olive Swam the Summer Away!
She sure did. I don’t think we missed many pool days this summer and she was 100% in charge of that. We’d go to the pool at lunch, after lunch, after dinner, have dinner at the pool, sneak away to the pool with friends (and parents of course) while I was still working, close the pool down… you name the time and Olive was most likely there. It helps that many of her little friends are fish too!
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So, if you find your self mid-March when all the summer camps are already sold out, or maybe they aren’t fitting your budget because they are so darned expensive, remember that it’s ok to say no and not sign up for everything. Sometimes the freedom of being able to play things by ear and do things on a whim can make for the most magical summer memories of all!
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