Deep Thoughts: Intentional Summer Calendar

Now that the sun has come out here in the Pacific Northwest it seems like the time to think of summer. Once the girls got older we found we had to be really intentional about planning to be sure that things happened! We have certain things that really make it feel like we have had a well lived summer, and if we miss doing them it feels wrong!

A tool that I was introduced to last year was the Intentional Summer Calendar created by my friend Elizabeth Boyle. She held a get together where we discussed our plans and how to make them happen, and then took the calendars home to fill out with our families. This year she is making the calendars available for purchase here and I am glad to have one at hand to get to planning! 

The older our girls have gotten the more we find there is a need for the calendar to make sure these things happen. We are down to only one daughter living at home, and we want to make summer count. It's likely she will be working so it's extra important that we we plan. Sitting down and figuring out what's important to everyone has been a helpful start to the season. 

There are a few activities that we have done most summers since the girls were little. One is  the drive in. Steve grew up in Oak Harbor and has been going to the Blue Fox Drive In since we was little. Being able to to bring our girls to the same place has been so much fun, and a tradition they have continued with their friends. We anticipate at least two trips there this summer! 

Strawberry picking is another very real marker of summer. We hit Boxx Berry Farm as soon as they put out the call that the U-pick is open, then pick until our trays are (and tummies!) are full! We eat as much as we can fresh, then freeze a bunch so that we can have a taste of summer all season long. And if we are feeling extra industrious we make strawberry jam. 

Steve loves going to the Bellingham Bells Baseball Games. We live so close it's easy to attend the games. They are relaxed and fun. And though I'm not as into the game, I do find hanging out eating peanuts and drinking beer on a warm summer night to be a relaxing way to spend a summer evening. Compromise is sometimes a great thing!

Something that we fill in in-between the planned activities is trips to the lake to swim! We head there almost once a week when the weather is nice for an early evening dip to cool off. It's one of the many benefits to living in this area! 

Something that we had to plan for and buy tickets for is the Seattle Art Museum show of Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors. I'm so crazy, excited about this show! We have friends meeting up with us in Seattle and we are all going in together. We are doing this as a family, and I am so looking forward to our day in Seattle. 

Are there any activities you are hoping to take part in this summer? Anything that speaks to summer for you? Let me know in the comments.