Summer Bucket List

Every year, as soon as July 4th is over, I start to mourn the passing of summer. Never mind that there are five or six weeks before the kids go back to school (maybe even seven). Never mind that we had a fantastic beach vacation,  as soon as we pass that magic date on the calendar, I start to freak out about all the summertime things I haven't done yet.

I blame my anxiety on the fact that back to school ads start showing up in full force on July fifth.

So to combat my anxiety about summer ending, I have created my "bucket list" of things I need to do yet this summer.

•  Make homemade ice cream - using my grandpa's recipe, of course! But I need to get a second ice cream maker to do this efficiently.

• Go hiking with the family in the Hocking Hills

• Have a REAL picnic - preferably one with grown up food (cold fruit soup, prosciutto and brie sandwiches, some kind of fancy side dish, and a fancy brownie or tart for dessert. Wine would be good too)

• Go to a fair or festival

• Go to a farmer's market. There are so many good ones around here, but for some reason we almost never go!

• Visit one of the parks in town that has a splash pad or water fountain for the kids to play in

• Go to a baseball game - none of us are huge baseball fans, but something about going to a game just screams "summer."

•  Go to a drive in or outdoor movie

• Hang out with my friends on a patio or deck

This is not an unreasonable list, is it? It should be do-able, right? I can't let the summer pass me by without checking these things off.