summer plans
It’s crazy to think that Memorial Day weekend is only a month away (especially since it was freaking snowing yesterday morning) and my first year of teaching is almost done (thank goodness). As we’re getting closer to summer, I’m starting to plan out everything we have going on and everything we need to get done during our time off.
We are of course travelling like we have done the past few summers. As someone who never really had the opportunity to live somewhere out of Missouri (born + raised in St. Louis and went to college just 3 hours north of my hometown), I’m so very thankful that I have the summer off to do a little travelling. We never really go anywhere new, but it’s nice to have that time to take some adventures. We will be going to Branson several times (per usual) and also spending a week in Gulf Shores, Alabama – MacKenna’s first trip to the beach! And with the chillier than normal April we’ve been having, I’m looking forward to warmer weather!
We also have several DIY projects to get done around the house while we are in town. We started painting the trim on our house the summer before I was pregnant (3 years ago) and never finished. I’m determined to finish it this summer! I’m also planning on painting the front door and shutters, our master bedroom and bathroom, and possibly the baseboards and doors in our house. In addition, we are thinking about putting a new deck on the back of our house. In the 6 1/2 years we’ve owned the house, we never really did anything to take care of the deck. It’s probably at least 15 years old now and has definitely seen better days. We really want to spruce our yard and this would be a huge improvement. Along with some new landscaping in the front and back of course. I know nothing about how to do any of these things (besides painting) so it could get pretty interesting up in here…
Playing in our backyard. That’s our neighbor’s fence – we would like to have something similar in the other parts of our yard. And maybe a swing set for this little one…
And the thing that I am looking forward to the most this summer: spending some quality time with MacKenna. Summer with a baby means stroller runs, swinging at the park, and going to the zoo. Last summer, we took swimming lessons…
She’s changed just a little bit, huh?!
She absolutely LOVED them! Unfortunately though, if we signed her up for them again this summer, she would be in the same age group class and we feel like we’d just be throwing our money away for stuff that we already know how to do with her. Since we have a neighborhood pool, we are planning on taking her 2 times a week to play in the water.
But, I really want her to have some other sort of socialization since she won’t be going to the babysitter everyday. My best friend is moving back to St. Louis this weekend and we are planning on having some play dates with her little girl, but I really want her to learn and be active in something. I’m thinking gymnastics but as a late walker and petite little girl, Kenna’s not exactly the most coordinated child. Something where Matt and I can get involved with her too. I need some help with this because all I can think of is swimming and gymnastics.
What sorts of hands-on learning classes have you taken with your child? What are some other fun things we can do with MacKenna this summer?