After a very short, cold spring, I think summer has finally arrived. This is our last week of school for a while, the hay is almost ready for its first cutting, the temperature over the last week has been an idyllic 75-80 degrees, and I no longer feel like making homemade bread. That happens when it gets too warm outside. I also have a WHOLE list of projects I want to get started on. Projects that I can do all day without having to wait for school work to be done. Here’s a list of my lists for the coming summer months:
Sewing:
* Chef aprons
* Handbags
* Quilts
Home – work:
* Redecorate the living room
- new coat of paint
- hang new pictures
- Replace rug with Flor tiles
* Declutter the house – this time I mean it!
* Design expansion of kitchen
Paper Goods:
* Design bookplates for my etsy shop
* Create new greeting cards
Reading list:
* Still need to write this! Any suggestions for fun summer reads?
Homeschool:
* Scour homeschool catalogs
* Plan out next year’s curriculum for each child
* Gather all the supplies ahead of time (I try and fail to do this most years)
Merriment:
* “Cool Days of Summer” – I’m writing a post to explain this.
* You Are Special Days for each child
* Visiting family in Utah
* Have family come visit us (hint, hint!)
* Take loads of pictures
So what are your plans for the summer? Relaxing or stressful? Vacations or home? Indoors or outdoors?
Hello – I figured I should at least leave a comment since I visited your blog. Someone posted your blog on LDFR and I thought I would check it out. My girls and I enjoyed reading about your family. I was so impressed by your organization and creativity.
Anyway, thanks for sharing all of your ideas. We just got chickens a couple of months ago and are looking forward to fresh eggs by the end of the summer. My girls are excited to try and make the apron.
I’m sure we will continue to peak in on your blog.
What a FUN summer list! I’m so glad that it is finally warming up for you…
If you haven’t already, one of my very favorite books of all time is Peace Like A River by Leif Enger. FABULOUS book.
What a list! You need to share your secrets of having so much energy! As for books to read…I just finished The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig and thought it very well written and fun. I will second the motion of Peace Like a River and would toss in The Poisonwood Bible as well. Here’s to hoping you have time to read with a list like yours!
I plan on having a baby 🙂 !!
Your list sounds like an great balance of work and play.
We love summer too. I know what you mean about not wanting to bake bread any more. I don’t bake nearly as much as you do, but about this time of year, I don’t even want to cook dinner in the kitchen. 🙂
I’m looking forward to seeing your new cards and pictures! Please let us know if you find any fabulous new school stuff.
We are going to WI and I am training for a half marathon in August. Big step for me! 🙂 We’d love to meet you if you get a chance when you come to Utah.
You must add “Swimming at Mrs. Organic’s” to your list.
and yes, bring on the projects – I just love summer.
Our summer will include lots of trail walking and backyard water gunning/ sprinklering. Popcicles, too, of course. A little wall repainting and some sewing projects for my sister’s new home (table runners for different holidays).
I will also be doing a bit of home-schooling this summer. My kids attend school during the year, but I use the summer for skill building and preparation for the coming year. Any suggestions for great places to get math/ reading/ science/ handwriting workbooks would be appreciated.
Love your list…you’ve inspired me to hunker down and get organized this week. I’m looking forward to hearing about “You are Special Day” with your children…
I don’t know whether to call my plans relaxing or stressful – probably a little of both! 🙂 I’m moving this month while the kids are finishing school with various camps and exams and field trips. Next month I’m getting a new house organized and some projects complete and then I’m having a baby. In August, I’m hoping, I will have a couple of restful weeks to sit around, cuddle a newborn baby, read some no-brainer material, drink some lemonade, and watch my children play. 🙂 Won’t that be lovely! Have a fantastic summer!
Both of everything!
For reading, how about the My Friend Flicka/Thunderhead/Green Grass of Wyoming trilogy by Mary O’Hara? My all time favorites.
The “Twilight” series is a fun read, by Stephenie Meyers. Or if you like mysteries any Betsy Brannon Green books are great! She is one of my all time favorites. You can get them both at Seagull or Deseret Book. Enjoy!
I love FLOR tiles! I have planned designs for almost every room in our house using those. We have our family room carpeted with them, the rest are just dreams…
Your summer list looks wonderful! My plans are gardening in the mornings and swimming at the pool with the kids in the afternoons. Oh, and I want to read as many of my 10 year olds books for next year this summer… We’ll see how much I get done.
So if we were to visit, where would we go? And do you know a good place to stay. I need details…hint hint.
I am laughing about your bread baking comment…isn’t that the truth? The warm weather comes and all baking goes out the window 🙂
Hmmm…summer reading list. I just finished reading The Myth of You and Me…great book about female friendship.
Hmmm – that redesigning the living room one of yours sounds pretty good. Except in my case it would be just designing it to begin with since we moved in two years ago and things just kind of fell into that room. No designing was involved. It’s the lamest room in the house and the one we spend the most time in. So, yeah, I’ll add that to my list. And a trip to Texas to visit family.
Books: Have you read “These Is My Words” by Nancy Turner. I swear it’s the best book I’ve ever read. Totally riveting like a novel, teaching important “suck it up and deal with it” life lessons, making you want to be a better person, and did I mention a fab love story?
For our last Family Home evening we made our summer plans. I was worried that I would be so focused on the new baby that I might let summer slip by without the other kids having any fun. Now we have so many plans and I’m actually looking forward to all of them (even the finding and stacking firewood for next winter).
It never occurred to me to actually plan summer. LOL
We have school until the end of the month but we’ll be starting our summer stuff before then too. Usually, we attend a lot of free events put on by various places. The library has a summer reading program with kids’ events and earning a free trip to the zoo. The parks do kids’ programs, free concerts, and movies in the park. The movie theater does free kids’ movies and we’ll looking forward to some of those.
I’ve already started decluttering and will continue to do so in a big way. We’re putting in wood floor downstairs and painting inside. That’s just some of what we need to do to this house. We want to get it closer to ready to list so when the market improves we can.
And then school will start again before we know it.