The start of a bucket list...

I mentioned in my last blog that I wanted to create a bucket list of to do for both spring and summer.  I also mentioned I mostly wanted CHEAP or not costly, and am finding it is not as hard as I thought.  Pierce has helped me with the ideas (it is nice when you can ask your child what they want to do, and you understand their answer).  I have decided to break it down into things to do at home or in the neighborhood, day trips, and extended trips. Some of these activities we already have planned (yay for weddings and fife and drum events!), and certainly do not fall into the cheap category.  Carter has been a good sport and is already partaking in some of the stuff that Pierce "needed" to do immediately.  For this blog entry, I am going to start with the home and neighborhood stuff.

2013 Bucket List for Things at Home or in the Neighborhood

Clean the Yard:  Yes, Pierce wanted to clean the yard.  It needed to be done, so this is not only an ongoing project, but a win win for all.  We started the project and raked out the front garden, while learning how plants grow.  We also discovered new treasures in our garden:  some other little boy must have lost his matchbox car in the garden.  We found one with roots going through it, still half buried, missing paint, and with broken windows.  We decided to leave it there, and see what happens to it by the end of the summer.  We also embarked on the task of cleaning up after the dog.  Obviously, the boys cannot touch the "logs" in the yard, but they can walk around and point them out for me.  Both boys love being responsible for something; just as most children do.  Update as of 6/7/13:  This will forever be an ongoing project.  However, both boys help everytime I go out there to clean.  They each grab their own rakes, or will walk the yard picking up sticks.  It gives us something to do in the yard, and learn about various parts of trees along the way.

Start a Garden: Teaching the boys where their food comes from is extremely important to me.  I am a firm believer that the younger the boys learn about nutrition and fitness, the more instilled it will be in their daily actions.  The boys are also in love with fruits in veggies, and in love with farmers markets.  To me it makes perfect sense to start a garden with them.  It will be labor intensive, and will involve a lot of work since we have to make raised beds for where we live (it is a VERY wet yard).  There is an upfront cost to this (we figured about $100 or so for the timbers, soil, and seeds), but it will also save us come harvesting time, and we hope to break even.  As of 6/7/13:  The garden has been started!  However, about a week after I put our precious seedlings into the ground with Carter's help, we had a frost that came in right before memorial day.  Our tomato plants and peppers did not make it.  However, we will be purchasing larger plants and trying again.  The lettuce, cauliflower, and squash are coming in very nicely.

Make a slip and slide:  We cannot just have a bucket list full of labor intensive things.  We also need to have fun!  Every child loves slip and slides, and it could be argued that they are a right of passage for childhood.  We need a tarp (good thing that my father in law is a carpenter and that we live with him), and some dish detergent (always in stock in our house).  I know there are ways you can go totally fancy with PVC pipes and such, but there is no need for us.  They are little and just want to have fun.  Update as of 6/7/13:  Pierce was actually given one for his birthday.  However, it has not been totally warm enough to use yet.  Looking forward to this during the summer!

Fly a Kite:  We live about a mile from a nice open park that is PERFECT for flying a kite.  We also have a kite from our honeymoon down in the Outer Banks that has only been used maybe 3 times in the almost 6 years we have owned it.  No more excuses.  Go fly it.  And it doesn't need to be the perfect spring day either.  This is a great cloudy day activity.  Done!  We flew a kite up at Nystrom's pond.  Both boys enjoyed watching it for a little bit, but Daddy had way more fun than anyone else.  Pierce was also given a kite for his birthday, so we need to try that one too!

Cloud watch/Look at the Stars:  Again, going back to my last post, being one with nature is how we should be.  Laying in the grass, looking at clouds and figuring out the type of clouds they are, what shape they are, and talking to each other is a great bonding experience for all of us.  I hear the conversations that Pierce and Carter have with each other now, and I want to foster that bond and let their creativity flow.  Looking at the stars accomplishes the same thing.  We already kind of do this, since we explained to Pierce that my dad is now a star in the sky, and he always tells me which one.  But I would love to start pointing out the constellations and such.  This has become a daily occurrence in our house.  We love to find shapes in the clouds, and the stars are amazing.  Thankfully we live in an area with no light pollution.  The boys also had me keep the fly off the tent when we went camping so that they could fall asleep looking at them.

What other ideas do you have for an at home bucket list?  I love comments, and welcome them.  And of course, all of these are in addition to the regular arts and crafts, gym time, story time, and everything else we normally do.  :)  Have a great night everyone!

Already at work cleaning up the yard.

The random matchbox car uncovered in the garden.

Making a rainbow while waiting very patiently for Carter to wake up.

P.S.  The project that Pierce fell in love with this week was making his own puffy cloud, with the strips of paper coming out the bottom that looked like a rainbow.  He then embellished his rainbow with space themed stickers.  Carter fell is still in love with the markers and glitter pens.  He likes taking the caps off by himself (independence), drawing, and putting it all back together.  We are currently working on him using his words to tell us what he needs (either through sign language or vocalizing), instead of just screaming out of frustration.