This past spring I was brainstorming for fun & new experiences for my son and I to do this summer. He loves being outside and is curious about absolutely everything, so I wanted to try new activities or visit new places.
I started by googling ‘fun activities to do with kids’ around the Fuquay/Holly Springs/Raleigh area and made a long list. I saw many suggestions that we hadn’t tried ‘pop up’, due to me either not knowing they existed or because my son was too young last summer to have truly enjoyed or understood it. Their were SO many so I narrowed it down to a shorter list that seemed more manageable and this became the ‘Walker and Mommy Summer Bucket List 2018’.
In case you cannot read it, our list is:
- Visit three Farmer’s Markets
- Visit the FV Splash Pad
- Open Gym at The Little Gym
- Catch Lightning Bugs
- Run in the Sprinkler
- Plant Flowers
- Go to Storytime at the Library
- Go to a One Dollar Movie
- Visit the Zoo
- Feed the Ducks at the Park
- Go on a Picnic
- Make S’mores
- Play with Bubbles
- Make a Bird Feeder
- Go Strawberry Picking
- Paint a Picture Outside
- Go to a Fair
- Go on a Road Trip
- Visit the Beach & play in the sand
- Build a Fort
- Eat Ice Cream
- Visit a Museum
- Fly a Kite
- Visit two new Parks
- Go to a Baseball Game
- Go to an Outdoor Concert
- Say “Mama”
I have had our list hanging on display in his play area downstairs since we created it. Each time we do one of the activities I write the date, sometimes the name (if it’s an activity with multiple visits i.e. two new parks) and cross it off the list. Our summer bucket list has been very convenient for those days that we don’t have anything planned and my brain is too tired to think of something quickly. I love being able to walk over to the list with my son, check out the activities that have yet to be crossed off, read them to him and let him vote on which adventure he wants to take that day.
The bucket list has definitely given us some great lifelong memories. Besides the one I loved MOST, which was when he started calling me ‘mama’, we got to explore Raven Rock State Park, which is so serene it makes you feel like you are in Colorado, not Harnett County! We attended a Durham Bulls Baseball game, which just happened to be Family Night for my father’s company, so we spent most of our time eating and playing games. (Come to find out, Walker is a huge fan of corn hole!) We watched the actual baseball game for maybe fifteen minutes but hey, it still counts!
The dollar movie might have been one of my favorites. We went to the local theater to see ‘Trolls’. He had never been to a theater before so I figured paying one dollar would be the perfect opportunity. That way, whether we were there for ten minutes or forty-five minutes, I would only be out two dollars. I bought Walker one of the kid’s trays that had popcorn, fruit snacks, and a drink. Unfortunately, the theater chairs had bottoms that were pretty heavy so he wasn’t big enough to hold it down to keep it from folding up on him. That was ok though, he just sat on my lap which was more fun for me! He held his tray on his lap and we made it one hour ten minutes before he stood up, looked at me and said ‘all done, bye bye’ and we left. Ahhh, how I love the honesty of a child! Fall my favorite season is just around the corner and I cannot wait to make us a new bucket list: I am sure apple picking and a few festivals will make the cut as well as the Whirligig Park & Museum in Wilson, NC.
What would you include on your fall bucket list? Let me know some of your favorite fall activities in the comments. Maybe we will ‘borrow’ some of your ideas! Have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!
