Creating Summer Memories and Rituals

Summer is finally here! It’s my absolute favorite time of year as I love having a more relaxed work schedule, longer days, warm nights, planned and spontaneous vacations and trips with my family, fun summer camps for my kids and so much more. My husband, kids and I love to make summer bucket lists to make sure we get the most out of our summers and create lasting memories. Here are some of the items on our list for this year:

* Go to the pool regularly at our health club we belong to called Bay Club

* Take evening walks after dinner

* Go on hikes in Rancho San Antonio Park

* Go to Capitola, our favorite beach town in Northern California

* Visit family in Southern California and possibly Wisconsin

* Set up sprinklers in our backyard and let our kids and neighborhood kids run through them

* Host brunches and BBQs at our house with our neighbors and friends

* Go for bike rides around our neighborhood and local area

* Go to the library, check out all the books on our summer reading lists and read at the park

* Go to the local zoo

* Go to our local amusement parks such as Great America and Gilroy Gardens

* Go to some outdoor summer music concerts at Shoreline Amphitheater

* Go out for frozen yogurt

* Go to the farmer’s market

* Go to Lake Tahoe since we’ve never been there during the summer and hear it’s amazing

* Fly kites at Chrissy Field in San Francisco (pictured in this blog post) and Shoreline Park

* Go to the movies (Disney with the kids and rom-coms and action films on date nights)

In addition, here are some healthy rituals we like to practice during the summer months for ourselves and our kids:

* Wear sunscreen every day

* Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated

* Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in season

* Work out 5 times per week (this one is for my husband and me as the kids are already active)

* Get a good night’s sleep with the windows open and fresh summer air coming in our room

* Have weekend days where we don’t make any plans, stay in our PJs awhile and relax at home

I love having these bucket list items and rituals to help create wonderful memories and to give us all things to look forward to. It’s fun to see how our lists evolve and change each year as well as note which things seem to stay the same.

What are some of your and your family’s summer bucket list items and rituals? Feel free to share in the comment section below. I wish you and your family a fun and enjoyable summer and I’ll be back with another blog post soon!

XOXO,
Reena