Summer Fun

As the school days drifted by at what felt like a snail's pace, I would often envision my summer and the things we would be able to do: the pool, the beach, some errands, housekeeping, and weekly Colton field trips.  A few weeks into the summer, I am proud to say that I have pretty much maintained those dreams.  The only thing I have neglected, though, is Colton's weekly field trips, but I am determined to change that this week.
Let me explain a little first.  I feel like my poor child is dragged to my stuff constantly.  Whether it be our weekly trip to the grocery store, daily (well close to) outing to Target, or his patience while I put away the dishes/toys/breakfast/etc, I sometimes feel bad that my little boy isn't getting enough time to do him stuff.  Sure, he goes to the beach and pool frequently enough, but there is evidence everywhere that my little man is learning and absorbing, and I know he deserves to have some experiences that let him grow.
Sooooo....I have an idea.  I have done the math and figured that there are about 8 weeks left in summer (thank goodness I am not going back to school in the fall or that number would be awfully depressing!).  From here on out, Thursdays are going to be set aside as field trip days in our house.  I have come up with a list of 8 Colton-centered activities (most of them out of the house, although I use the term field trip loosely and could be something inside our house that is geared towards Colton).  My list includes:

1.  Virginia Aquarium and Science Center
2.  Children's Museum of Virginia/ferry ride
3.  Grommet Island/Boardwalk/snowcones
4.  zoo
5. KoolAid playdough/pudding painting/whip cream table/sidewalk chalk: Art Day!
6.  play in sprinklers/backyard water day
7. library visit: Rhyme Time class
8.  First Landing bike ride/walk with Chipper


Once I had my list, I wrote each one down, folded it up, and put it in a bowl near our to-do list.  See?  Fancy, huh?

Each Thursday (or probably the Monday before cause I'm a little OCD and need to know what I'm doing for the week), I will pull one of the slips from the bowl and it will determine Colton and my (and anyone that wants to join us...hint, hint Aunt Genna) outing for the day!  Sounds like fun, right?  Of course, this is my little game, so if weather or some other factor hinders the activity for the day, I can always put the slip back in and pull out another one (I purposely included some indoor and some outdoor fun for that reason)!

Oh and for a bit more explanation (cause I am nothing if not wordy)...I purposely picked activities that were age-appropriate (as much as I would love to take my boy to the water park, putt-putting, bumper boating, etc. this summer, I don't think he will get much out of it yet!).  Plus, I envision keeping this game up for many years, so there will be time to include those things as he gets older. I also picked activities that would be done for about 2-3 hours of the day because I wanted it to be done while his daddy is at work...I have a whole other agenda (baseball game, camping, s'mores) of things I think we should do with Josh!  I also tried to pick things that were "summery" because I intend to keep our little game up throughout the year, and while certain activities will most certainly be repeated, I also wanted each list to have a seasonal theme.

I'm so excited to get started and see where our first outing takes us.  What about you guys?  Do you make fun to-do lists or just wing your summer plans?  Anything else you can think to add to our summer list?  Or have any ideas for our next fall one?