Hello Sweet Shoppers, it’s Keely on this last Tuesday of May. My kids finished their school year last Friday which means the official start of summer is here. This year we’ll be at home, no big family vacation on the horizon so we’ll be finding our entertainment locally. Here’s a peek of our summer agenda.

* Battling the “summer slide”. I’m a firm believer in letting the kids enjoy lazy summer days but I also want them exercising their brains, that means they work in some reviewing here and there. There are workbooks, internet sites and learning that doesn’t feel like learning on our schedule.

* Reading, reading, reading. This bookworm loves summer because we all get a boost in reading time. Check out your local schools, libraries and book stores, they often have summer reading reward programs in case your kids need an extra incentive.

* The Pool. We’re frequent fliers at our community pool. It gets really hot here and my family is of the glow-in-the-dark white variety so we avoid being out in the hottest, sunniest part of the days. When evening comes, you’ll often find us splashing around at the pool. My fishy girls can’t get enough. The diving board is one of the best inventions ever according to my two.

*Geocaching. A little exercise, a little adventure,a fun family time.

*Food! Last year I implemented a  plan with my oldest daughter.  Each week she got to plan and make  dinner for the night. (some required help of course)  As long as it’s healthy fare and not too expensive, it was her night. We tried some new dishes, she learned how to make some of her favorites and she got a hands on, real world lesson in planning, shopping and cooking a meal. It was a success and this year my youngest is joining in.

* Movies.  Yes we’ll be hitting the discount theater and Redbox on a regular basis, probably a movie in the park or two too. We’re crazy like that. I’m also determined to get to a drive in.

*Bowling. It’s indoors. Kidsbowlfree.com offers your kids up to two free games a day at a ton of participating alleys across the US and Canada

* The Olympics. I love the Olympics. From the opening ceremonies, the feel good stories, tallying up the medal counts, I love it all and I’m excited for this year’s events.

* DIY We have a ton of big and small projects that need to be done around the house. While we may not be doing any major overhauls I’ll definitely be working on some home improvement projects.

* Pinterest.  The girls and I are going through my boards and picking out our most intriguing pins to try for ourselves. So far the big winners: jewelry making, science projects and fancy fingernails. ( and a few recipes for those dinners they’re planning)

* Garden. My husband and my youngest daughter are the garden masters, I’m sure they’ll be whiling away some hours tending to their domain. My black thumbs and I pick, weed and water and let them do the rest.

* Symphony, Music and Plays in the park. We’re lucky to live somewhere where there’s a lot of free (or cheap) family friendly events. It’s so fun to spread out a blanket and enjoy the arts on a summer evening.

* Cold Treats  Ice cream, snow cones, shaved ice, Sonic Happy Hour drinks. Summer is a great excuse to work a few of these in for sure.

* Museums. I love museums, this summer we’ll revisit and go to at least a couple that we haven’t visited before.

* Enjoy. My own one little word of the summer. I’m going to enjoy it and hopefully help my family enjoy it too, because summers are always way too short for our liking.

Until next time, happy scrapping!