Conquering the summer bucket list

So, at the start of the summer I made a list of activities I wanted to do with the kids. Not an all-inclusive list. There are things not on this list that we did. Some were planned. Some were spur of the moment. There were things on this list we did more than once. I just made the list to record some places I wanted to visit that we may not have visited before and I thought it would help me get them done to check them off the list. Today, I re-evaluated the list, which originally had 50+ items. My goal was to do at least half. When I looked at it today, I eliminated a few things. For instance, I had three splash pads listed, but I realized that my kids are really getting too old to enjoy splash pads. We may still visit the closest one if we have an idle day that's warm. I also deleted Wihala Beach because we've visited three other beaches. So, after today, the list has 44 places. We've visited 26. That's more than half! Goal met. And there's still a couple more weeks before school starts, so we may cross off a couple more. I still would really like to camp overnight and hit the county fair. Here's what the list looks like as of today and here's some pictures of some of our summer activities:

X                      Pool visit (maybe get passes)

X                      Sand Ridge Nature Center

X                      Zig E’s Funland

Albanese Candy Co.

Deep River Water Park

          XXXXX               Library visit

Chelberg Farm

Wicker Park Splash Pad

X                     Indiana Dunes

X                     Frozen Yogurt Express in Munster

X                     Free Movie at Lansing 8

                       Zoo (Broofield or Washington Park)

X                     Picnic at a local Park

XXX                Kite flying

XX                  Berry Picking (strawberries and blueberries)

                       Downtown day via Metra train

                       Roller Skating (free passes from school)

X                    Tyler’s Tender (free kid meal from birthday club)

                       Mini Golf

X                     49-er Drive In

X                     Berry Picking (blueberries)

X                     Green Lake Aquatic Center

                        Hollywood Park

XXXX              Cubs game

X                      Tyler’s Tender (take report cards – 5 tokens for each A)

X X                  Out for a family breakfast/lunch

X                      Boat ride      

X                      Find a new park to visit

                        Fishing

                        County fair

                        Minor league baseball game

 X                    Chinatown

                        Try Dairy Belle in Hammond

                        Hoosier Theatre

X                      Try a new restaurant

                        Movie in the Park

XX                   Attend a parade

                        Overnight at a campground

X                      Farmer’s Market

X                      Summer Concert

XXX                 Dairyville

                        Vintage Base Ball Game

                        Navy Pier

X                     Cruise Night

This guy was our pet for the week. Until we couldn't find anymore live crickets or grasshoppers to feed it and we let it go in the garden.

Archery at Bristol Renaissance Faire

Ice cream at Taste of Wisconsin

Chillin' by the Pierhead Lighthouse in Kenosha

Taking a tour at Jelly Belly Center

Kenosha Public Museum

Riding the streetcar along the lake in Kenosha

In the water at Eichelman Park in Kenosha

Dinosaur Discovery Museum

Russell Military Museum

Pizza at Beggar's Pizza on Tuesday night for the organ player

Preschool reunion at Centennial Park

Wine tasting with Svengoolie in Munster

LCPL Philip J. Martini Memorial Foundation Fundraiser

Grilling!

Going for a bike ride

Indiana Dunes

Munster July 4th Parade

Lan Oak Park for the Grand Ole Fourth

4th of July Fireworks in Lansing

Farmer's Market

Russell Military Museum