Can you believe how quickly summer is flying?

I guess that’s why they say, “Time flies when you’ve having fun”, eh?

We are crossing off all sorts of items from our “Summer Fun To Do List”.

Our most recent check-off:

Cow Appreciation Day!

Chick-fil-A was full of other cute little bovines, as expected, but we certainly enjoyed our FREE food and time with friends.  (And apparently a few of YOU were there at the same time…next year we need a group picture!)

I also checked one of my Project Summer goals off this week when I ran my 5K–and finished!  YAY.  Unfortunately, my running partner was unable to join me because of an injury.  So we decided to sign up for another 5K in September!

We also enjoyed a really fun Bluegrass concert last week at our town’s Concerts in the Park series.  Made me want to play the banjo!

Here are a few of our Project Summer goals for this week:

• Today we are heading to the pool to escape the 90+ degree heat!

• We may be heading to the Dollar Movies again–another good way to escape the heat.

• I’m hoping to make it to the library as well.  Love that place!

And honestly…I’m not sure what else will happen this week.  It’s kind of a full one.  But I’ll be sure to report next week!

How about you?  What plans do you have for Project Summer this week?  Be sure to check out my LONG list of free and cheap activities if you need some inspiration!

Last week I was in NY on vacation with my family.  (Thanks to some awesome help getting deals posted, you may not have noticed I was gone!)

Our family vacation has evolved over the years into an epic event full of traditions, new memories and amazing food.   My parents were very smart to have six children.  We each get a night to make dinner and the rest of the week we can sit back and enjoy the fruits of our sibling’s labor.

We also each make dessert and as it turned out this year, ice cream was a part of every single dessert.  This meant that we indulged in some sort of ice cream creation 8 nights in a row.

If that’s wrong, I don’t want to be right.

My Mom always has some creative trick up her sleeve (what else would you expect from the Dollar Store Diva?) and this year she introduced us to the fun of ‘Kick the Can Ice Cream’.

What is that? you ask.

Well…it’s pretty much exactly that.  Ice cream.  In a can.  That you kick.

My mom found the recipe here. (The duct tape was used to ensure that the cans did not open.)

The fun part came once the cans were ready.  Lots of kicking and rolling the cans for about 10 minutes.

And when the cans were sufficiently kicked–voila!  We had ice cream! (We added frozen strawberries to the other can which was delicious.)

Who knew that something kicked around in a can could be so good?

It was such a fantastic week with LOTS of other Project Summer goals being met: fishing, swimming, playing with cousins, reading books (I actually finished one!) and just plain ol’ having FUN.  If you don’t believe me, check out this good looking bunch:

This picture says so much.

Here are a few of our Project Summer goals this week:

• Continue to read books and add them to our Reading Rewards programs.

• Continue using our Chore Charts.  (We now are paying our boys $0.25 per job.)

• I will be running my 5K on Wednesday.  Wish me luck!

How about you?  What plans do you have for Project Summer this week?  Be sure to check out my LONG list of free and cheap activities if you need some inspiration!

This summer I am sharing my goals for making summer meaningful, memorable and fun through my Project Summer series.  I’d love for you to join me!

We had a full week this week.

It was a hot one, so there was lots of playing in sprinklers and swimming.

We also went to our town’s 125th Anniversary parade with some friends.  Is there anything more fun than a parade with friends?

Our Chore Chart continues to be a success.

He even looks like he’s having fun, doesn’t he?

We also had jumping in our van last night and heading to the fireworks that were part of our town’s anniversary celebration.  I love me some fireworks!

Here are some of our Project Summer goals this week:

• We visited the library today and brought home some books to get started with Summer Reading Rewards programs.

• We may head to the $1 movies again this week.  (Last week we accidentally showed up on the wrong day! Guess I should have consulted my Project Summer Planner.)

• Training continues for my 5k next month.  I plan on running at least 2 more times this week.

• I hope to re-focus on using the timer cleaning method this week.  I’ve kind of forgotten about that one!

• Our family is going on vacation next week, so we’ll have LOTS of prep for that.  I might need to print some of those Travel Games printables for the long car ride!

How about you?  What plans do you have for Project Summer this week?  Be sure to check out my LONG list of free and cheap activities if you need some inspiration!

This summer I am sharing my goals for making summer meaningful, memorable and fun through my Project Summer series.  I’d love for you to join me!

Project Summer has begun and so far, so GOOD!

On Wednesday last week, we jumped in our van with a few friends and headed to the $1 movies at our local Regal.  We saw Kitt Kittredge, which was fun for all in spite of the male majority of our viewers.  :)  This was also Cade’s first movie.  He slept like a champ through the whole thing…just what Momma hoped!

We also started our chore chart this week.  I am really proud of the enthusiasm my boys have shown for their chores so far.  I’m guessing their passion may dim over the upcoming months, but I sure do love watching the way they have jumped right in with both feet.

Today we took our first walk/bike ride to our local library.  I’m confident it will be the first of many.  (And can I just say that I LOVE that we live walking distance from a library?  LOVE it.)

Here are some of our Project Summer goals this week:

• Begin working on our Reading Rewards programs.

• It’s going to be a HOT week, so there will be some swimming for sure.

• I ran three times last week in training for my 5k next month.  I plan on running at least 2 more times this week.

• I’ve also stepped out of the stone age and joined Pinterest.  I’ve been pinning some fun summer ideas.  Feel free to follow me if you’re on Pinterest too!

How about you?  What plans do you have for Project Summer this week?  Be sure to check out my LONG list of free and cheap activities if you need some inspiration!

With my oldest son’s last day of Kindergarten this past week came the sudden sense that Summer is HERE!

I’m excited about that.  How about you?

On my son’s last day of school, we headed to a local Pretzel Shop and pulled out our Project Summer Downloadable Planner.  This was our chance to do a little dreaming about what fun things we’d like to do this summer.  Just a few of the activities that made the list: play on the playground, have campfires, go fishing, learn to swim, read, and play baseball better, and eat ice cream (of course!).

We discussed the fact that just because it made the list doesn’t guarantee that it will happen.  But it’s fun to dream about what summer could bring, isn’t it?

We also chatted about the Chores Chart that we will be using and how we can’t plan on having fun if we don’t plan on working too.  I *think* they are onboard with that.  Time will tell!

So with that said, here are some of our Project Summer goals this week:

• Begin using our Chore Chart each morning.

• It’s going to be a beautiful week, so lots of time outside.  We’ll be heading to the playground for sure.

• This week starts the Regal Family Film Festival.  We are going to try to make it to one of the movies.

• As for me, I’ve begun running in training for my 5k next month.  I plan on running at least 2 more times this week.

• I’ll also continue to inspire daily cleaning using the timer method.  It’s what works for me during this busy season of life!

• I’m guessing we’ll fit some ice cream eating in somewhere too. :)

How about you?  What plans do you have for Project Summer this week?  Be sure to check out my LONG list of free and cheap activities if you need some inspiration!