I learned about this bucket list concept A few years ago when my kids were still really young. One of my good friends showed off her family’s Summer of Fun list and I was immediately intrigued. She’s super creative, artistic and always doing fun things. If that wasn’t enough, her poster not only looked picture perfect, the activities on it looked super awesome too.

So, I quickly borrowed my friend’s genius and got my kids thinking about what they wanted to do for the summer. The ideas were varied; some small and some large. Some easy to accomplish and others much more elaborate.

One of the items was getting a Slurpee. There was a 7-Eleven just at the end of our block and we didn’t get them year round. Only in the summer. Another was to go to a lake.

All throughout that summer whenever we needed something to do, we looked at our list and tried to make something happen. It turned out to be such a fun summer. When they started school in the fall they could actually tell people what they did over summer vacation and had the pictures and memories to prove it.

Making your Summer Bucket List

Creating your list is pretty simple. All you need is a poster board, a piece of paper or notebook, a pencil and some markers. If you want to get creative and make it more elaborate, go for it!

First–Brainstorming. Just think of ideas to add to the list. All ideas are welcome at this stage. I like things to be nice and neat, so I write the things on a sheet of paper or in a notebook in our brainstorming session.

Second--Narrow down your list. This can be hard for some kids, because they love their ideas. But, depending on how outlandish their ideas, this is where we talk about practicality and limits. It might be kind of hard to take a rocket to the moon or impractical to take a trip to New York City (my daughter’s idea from last year.)

Third–The length of your list will depend heavily on the types of things your kids pick. If they have lots of smaller ideas like visit the zoo, go to the pool, have a water fight, play a specific board game or watch movies all day, then you’ll be able to accomplish more than if they have bigger ideas that take more time.

When you have a reasonable list or 25-40 items, you can start writing them on your big poster. I write them in pencil first, then go over them with marker. But, you can write it however you want.

What’s next?

That’s it! Hang your list somewhere everyone can see it often. If your kids say they’re bored or don’t know what to do, (or you feel like everyone needs to just get out and do something) have them go check the list!

Summer Bucket List ideas

Here are some ideas to get you started:
1. Go get ice cream
2. Visit the zoo
3. Take a family hike
4. Visit a nearby lake or beach
5. Visit your favorite museum
6. Library story time
7. Camp in your backyard
8. Roast s’mores
9. Visit the local pool–or run in the sprinklers if they’re still closed
10. Include any planned family vacations
11. Play a board game
12. Put together a puzzle
13. Movie marathon
14. Reading marathon–complete with snacks and comfy pillows
15. Playing at the playground
16. Riding bikes or scooters in your neighborhood, at a park or somewhere else you like
17. Visit a local historic landmark
18. Play tourist in your hometown for the day–what are the highlights everyone should see?
19. Learn to cook something new. Try Granola, Banana Bread, Nicoise Salad, Fresh Pico de Gallo or Chex Muddy Buddies
20. Practice a new language. Spanish, Chinese and French are spoken in the most countries (or by the most people) after English
21. Read (determine a summer reading list–these or these could get you started)
22. Build a fort
23. Learn the constellations and watch the stars one night
24. Draw or paint a replica of a famous artist’s work
25. Write letters or make cards for family members that live far away

Have fun coming up with your own ideas and have a great summer!

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This is why Memorial Day is such an important holiday–because it honors the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Unfortunately, it often gets hijacked as summer’s opening party instead of getting the reverence it deserves.

Part of this is probably because in the US today, fewer people are personally connected to anyone who has even served in the military, let alone lost their life in a conflict. Because of this, makes it a bit abstract and can make it hard for kids to understand why they should care so much.

By learning about the history of the holiday, and wars that we have fought, the day can be more about memorializing and honor.

History of Memorial Day

What we now know as Memorial Day began as Decoration Day after the Civil War. Families would decorate the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and say prayers over them. In 1866, the town of Waterloo, New York became known as the official birthplace of the holiday. They held it as an official town event where businesses closed and residents decorated graves with flowers and flags.

What began as a memorial for Civil War soldiers, Memorial Day now honors all of the fallen soldiers in all of the wars the US has fought in.

In Washington DC, there are memorials commemorating the major wars that have been fought by the US. Since most of us can’t travel right now, visiting them virtually is a great way to show respect and learn about American history too.

African American Civil War Memorial

This bronze statue serves as tribute to the United States Colored Troops (USCT). The wall lists the names of 209,145 USCT who fought for freedom during the American Civil War. 

This monument is part of the African American Civil War Museum. You can find out more info about that on their website here: African American Civil War Museum.

There are 18 other memorials and statues scattered throughout the District representing the Civil War.

You can find a list of them and directions here: Civil War Monuments in DC

World War I Memorial

The District of Columbia War Memorial is dedicated to the 499 service members from DC that lost their lives in World War I. This memorial also contains all 26,000 DC residents who served in the war.

A World War I Memorial honoring all of the US soldiers from that war is in the works. It will be in Pershing Park.

World War II Memorial

One of the newest memorials in Washington DC, and incorporated into the National Mall, is the World War II Memorial. The memorial was dedicated in 2004. It honors the service of 16 million members of the US Armed Forces, the support of millions of people at home, and the ultimate sacrifice of 405,399 Americans in the war.

For more info about the memorial itself, visit this National Park Service page here.

And, you can even visit this one virtually here: World War II Memorial

The WWII memorial is very large, partly because it was built around the existing Rainbow Pool. Granite columns representing each U.S. state and territory at the time of World War II surround the pool. Quotes, references to theaters, campaigns, battles, and two massive victory pavilions showcase the efforts Americans put in to win the war.

Korean War Memorial

The first time I visited Washington DC, and the National Mall, it was night time and this memorial stood out as something almost ghostly. I felt the spirit of this memorial immediately. Still impressive in the daylight, it’s definitely one of my favorites.

Dedicated in 1995 the Korean memorial honors the 5.8 million Americans who served in the U.S. armed services during the Korean War. The memorial, located near the Lincoln Memorial, has 19 stainless steel statues wearing ponchos. They are about 7 feet tall and surrounded by juniper bushes.

Yeah, can you imagine being a teenager who had no idea about this memorial, walking around the Mall, and seeing these 7 foot-tall guys lit by little lights coming out of the dark? Part if me wants ti say there was fog, but I’m pretty sure that’s just my imagination. Awesome, creepy and very moving.

Visit it virtually here: Korean War Memorial

Vietnam War Memorial

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial chronologically lists the names of 58,318 Americans who gave their lives in service to their country in a 246-foot-long wall made of black granite.

The National Park Service created a short video that explains the purpose of the wall and what it means. Watch it here. Dedicated in November 1982, this monument’s design was very controversial.

Only 2 years later, on Veteran’s Day in 1984, this statue of 3 servicemen was added to the area around the original wall.

The Vietnam Women’s Memorial honors the U.S. women who served in the Vietnam War. It shows three uniformed women with an injured soldier.

Virtual Tour of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (click on the smaller square near the bottom right for more photos) You can also see it here from Google Arts and Culture

These are the major memorials in Washington DC that commemorate the major wars the United States has fought in. I hope that you enjoy looking around, learning something new, and taking time to honor the fallen US service men and women this Memorial Day.

Have you been to these? Which is your favorite?

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The basics of a trip and a party are the same–they should both be fun, both need a theme and a location. And you need great food and activities.

How had I never thought of this before? I don’t know! I used to plan events for a living, and traveling is one of my favorite things to do. And I’ve planned a whole bunch of both of them.

One thing I know is that for a lot of people, both planning a trip and planning a party are stressful. But they don’t have to be. They have the same basic steps and things you need to do. It’s just the details that are different.
Here’s how to do it much easier and with less stress.

Step 1: Determine the theme

Every trip and every party need a theme. The theme sets the basic feeling and vibe of what you want your trip to be like. When you imagine what your trip will be like what do you see? The theme just gives your trip focus–what is the purpose?

Do you want to relax or do you want to explore somewhere exciting? Or is it the outdoors you want to enjoy? Mountains, beach, city, desert, jungle, many locations or just one?

These are just some of the options for what the theme of your trip is going to be. Our family is planning a trip to Spain this summer and the theme is Exploration and Education. We’ve been wanting to visit for a while, especially since our kids became fluent in Spanish at school. We want to see as much as we can, but also take in the culture and beautiful historical sites we’ve heard about.

2. Budget

I’m not a great trip budgeter, especially when it comes to breaking things down, but deciding how much you have to spend in total will make everything else that comes next much easier because you’ll be able to know where to splurge or where you need or want to spend less.

3. Location

Once you’ve decided what you want to get out of your trip, you can narrow down locations. The way you want to travel–by car, plane, boat, etc. will likely be the biggest factor. The time of year you’re traveling will also play a big factor in where you go based on your theme. Do you want somewhere warm when it’s January or do you plan to ski or enjoy other winter sports?

Next consider what’s on your travel bucket list and see if you can cross one of those places out with your trip. Where have you been dying to go? Sometimes it’ll be a combination of where you want to go, where you can get to within your budget and what your goal is.

4. Activities

Activities are probably one of the most fun parts of a trip, and a big reason you’re going to your chosen location in the first place. Depending on your theme and location, your activities could mostly be chosen for you.

Wanted a beach vacation? You’ll most likely be mostly hanging out by the water. Touring a new city? You’ll base your activities on the locations and sites that are most important to you.

Are you into history and culture? Then find the sites and do activities that will give you the biggest sense of the place.

And that is the key–chose the things that your family cares about and don’t rely entirely on what other people say. If the guidebook tells you a certain museum is awesome, but you really don’t care about what’s inside, you should definitely skip it.

5. Food

One of our favorite things about traveling is the food. It really is one of the best ways to get to know about a place.

When we’re somewhere with multiple options we very rarely eat at chain restaurants so that we can get to try local places.

Last summer we visited Knoxville, Tennessee for the afternoon on our way home from a longer vacation. We didn’t have much time to see things in the city, but we happened upon a farmer’s market and picked up some bread and cookies from a local bakery to take home. Then we had lunch at Sweet P’s BBQ restaurant, tried ice cream from Cruze Farm creamery, and finished it off with treats from Knoxville Chocolate Company.

Yes, I now that’s a lot of sweets. But, we didn’t eat them at once and they were a great way to get to know the culture and flavor of Knoxville.

The point being, plan to eat at some local favorite places to get the flavor of the place and understand the culture better.

By thinking of these things as you begin planning your trip–or when you decide you want to take a trip in the first place, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and make the planning process much easier and less stressful.

What is your favorite kind of trip or where do you want to go next?

Happy planning!

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We all know electronics are one way to keep kids occupied, but we also know that all that screen time isn’t good for them either.

Our kids get car sick, so reading and electronics are out anyway, so we’ve had to come up with some old fashioned ways to keep them entertained. These are also good for any time you have to wait anywhere, whether it’s a restaurant, the doctor’s office, waiting in line at an amusement park or any place else.

1. The Category Alphabet Game

When traveling with kids, this one goes a long way because there are so many variations. And it’s pretty simple, so little ones can play too. It can last for as long as you want. Choose a category such as vegetables, animals, cities, people names etc.

Taking turns you go through the alphabet naming something from that category that begins with each letter. Person 1 has letter A. Person 2 has letter B and so on. When each person has had a turn, start back with person 1 and the next letter in the alphabet.

2. The Yes/No Game

I heard this one being played by a family as we were waiting in our doctor’s office and my kids wanted to add it to our game list. Its possibilities are really endless and can go on as long as you want to play.

Person 1 asks a question and everyone else has to say yes or no. That’s all. No explanations or qualifiers or anything else, just yes or no. For example, “Do you like the color blue?” Yes or no from everyone. Then you can go to the next person to ask a question, or you can have person 1 ask another question. You would decide before starting how many questions each person asks before it is the next person’s turn.

It’s a really fun way to find out what people do and don’t like–especially the people you think you know best!

3. Would You Rather?

This one is kind of similar to the Yes/No game, since you’re going to be learning about what everyone playing feels or would choose in each situation.

The first person asks everyone which of two things they would rather have or do or be, and everyone else has to say which one they would rather. The answer can’t be neither or both.

For example, would you rather eat pizza or hamburgers every day? or would you rather be a dog or a cat? Or would you rather have a tiny left hand or a giant left hand?

4. Word Association Game

This one is a lot of fun, and requires no skill whatsoever. Person 1 starts and play goes around to each person, then starts back at person 1. Determine before you start how many turns each person gets so you know when to stop.

The first person says a word and the next person has to say the first word that comes to their mind, followed by the next person and the next etc. After each person has had the number of turns as you decided on in the beginning, compare the first word and the last word said. How different are they? How similar?

5. I Spy

There’s a reason that I Spy has endured the generations–it’s just classic and simple and anyone can do it. For little ones it can help with colors. For older kids it can help foster creativity because they’re trying to think of harder things to spy.

The first person looks around and finds an something they want as their “thing to spy” and then says, “I spy with my little eye, something that is ______ (whatever color the thing is)” and everyone takes turns trying to guess what the thing that was spied.

Keeping kids entertained while waiting–whether traveling and waiting in an airport, restaurant or in line for Disneyland, is hard. Buuuut, by playing some of the games above you’re practically guaranteed to have fun for at least a few minutes.

Good luck and happy travels!

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They say the more you travel the more you need to travel. I’m not always a big believer in what “they say,” but in this case, I have to agree. Once you get out into the world, there are so many other places you need to go!

But, traveling as often as you would like usually isn’t practical for most people. Whether due to financial constraints, a job restrictions, family obligations or something else, most travel lovers have to use the time they have wisely. That’s why it can be fun to travel the world without leaving home. Because virtually, you can go anywhere you want and not worry about time or expense.

These are my five tips to travel to anywhere you want, without ever leaving home.

1. Plan your “trip”

Choose where you want to travel to. You can pick as many places as you want, anywhere in the world, because you aren’t limited by logistics or expense. You may travel to Paris one day and to Costa Rica the next.

If you want, make a list of 5 places to start, and then pick where you want to “go” first. Once you have your destination in mind, this is where you get to plan your trip!

Where do you want to go? What historical or cultural sites do you want to visit? What activities do you want to participate in? This is where guide books come in handy.

2. Use Free Online Resources

Once you know where you want to go, and what you want to do, take advantage of free online resources from museums and history centers that you’d want to visit. (This obviously applies if you’re “traveling” to somewhere that’s a city with these places)

Here are some places that are offering virtual tours and experiences:
1. The Louvre has 3 exhibits you can “walk through”
2. The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has 2 galleries to see. It’s one of my favorites because the architecture is also a work of art.
3. In Madrid, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum houses Europe’s largest private art collection
4. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City has more than 1700 artworks by more than 600 artists.
5. The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History has a room-by-room tour of every exhibit.
6. In Mexico City, the National Museum of Anthropology has virtual tours of its Mayan artifacts.
7. In London, the British Museum has it’s exhibits of the Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies available to view.
8. If you’re visiting Amsterdam, be sure to check out the Van Gogh Museum.

3. Browse google Images

Google Images is an excellent place to go when you want to see what your destination looks like. Thanks to videos and thousands of photos taken by millions of people, you can view almost anywhere from multiple angles.

Also, use Google’s Arts and Culture pages to delve even deeper into museums and cultural sites around the world.

4. Watch a movie or two

So many movies take place in countries around the world there is bound to be one or two that take place in the city or country you’re “visiting.”

With so many services streaming and movies available to purchase cheaply or rent, this is a great way to escape and get to know your destination better.

5. Get into the kitchen

Create a meal that is popular in your destination. When on vacation, we are known to skip the souvenir shops and spend our money on food instead, because it’s one of the fastest and easiest ways to get to know a place.

Well, this is no different. We’ve actually done this in our family for a while–choose a country and make food from there all week. Just like when you’re on a trip and eat out at local restaurants, you’ll use your own kitchen to get to know this place.

There are recipes online representing just about every country there is. I even found 3-4 for Andorra–that tiny, itty bitty country the size of Rhode Island between France and Spain.

With just a little bit of planning you can even do some of the activities you might do on a real trip, or use videos online to learn a new skill too. The most important thing is to have fun and look forward to a visit in person some day!

Let me know in the comments where you’re going to go!

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