Summer seemed so short and with the crazy cold weather we had most of the summer, it didn’t seem like it ever arrived. Most of the summer weather here in the SF Bay Area is happening now. I think it was 85 degrees yesterday!
I look back at what we did this summer, and I think we made it to most of the stuff on our list. I had the boys write up a list of what they wanted to do this summer. I think that was the last week of school or maybe it was the week school got out. Jasper, in his usual fashion, sat down and cranked out his list quickly. Bryce never did one, and McKinley took one look at Jasper’s list and said, “what he said.” So we hung up Jasper’s list on our bulletin board in the kitchen and worked our way through the list:
Things I want to do this Summer.
Paint Ball – we bought the tickets at the County Fair but I’m not sure the boys made it to paintball. I thought they were all going to go while I was gone for a week. So this one is probably still on the list.
Baseball – check. Bryce and McKinley played on a summer ball team but there wasn’t one for Jasper’s age group. He did get a bunch of practice time in and a few pitching lessons. He throws so fast (and hard) that I can’t catch with him anymore. It reminds me of when I visited the Louisville Slugger Factory and one of the exhibits is a pitching speed demonstration. You can stand behind the plate (and glass window) and have the ball pitched at you at 90-100 miles an hour. It’s like a drive by pitch. Jasper’s throws felt like that. Now if he can work a little control into it, he’ll be an awesome pitcher!
Bandworks – didn’t get to this one
Great America – Jasper went with his friends but the day we had set aside to go as a family, the boys weren’t that interested. They were really home bodies this summer. They preferred to go to the pool and try out the new slide.
Make my own computer – didn’t get to this one either
Clean my room and make it usable – this one was great to have on the list. Jasper made a little progress on this one. Mostly, he likes to make piles. Piles of clothes. Piles of sports equipment, piles of books, papers, magazines. Piles (and piles) of dirty clothes. We did make it through the clothes and closet to pass on things that don’t fit, either physically or now, fashion-wise. I did spend a ton of time doing this with Bryce and McKinley in their room. I thought Jasper would do this on his own but that didn’t really happen. It still requires a side-by-side experience.
Build a play shed with a TV & couch – this one is kind of funny. Friends of ours built a huge play shed in their back yard (which has plenty of room for a giant shed and other things, like a pool). But our back yard isn’t that big and what “yard” there is, goes downhill on a rapid slope. Fundamentally, we can’t really build anything like this until we build the decks in our backyard and off the back of our house. We FINALLY got our deck permits after 4 years of haggling with the City of San Carlos but haven’t been able to build them yet. Once that happens Jasper will be back on this trail. He did take the step of picking up a TV left out at the curbside. I’m not sure that stayed around for long – I think we ended up passing that one right along.
Go to shooting range – we haven’t done this yet, but is scheduled for our trip to Arizona with friends. McKinley did get to do shooting and archery through 4H during the school year and at scout camp, so all of the boys are interested in this now.
Get the Wii working again – we can’t figure out why only Wii Fit works – that’s only so interesting to keep doing. It mostly gives us a funny, fuzzy screen (not the blue screen of death though). This one might require a call to the service center or a replacement. The kids are lobbying for an xBox or PS3. I told them to pool their money for one, which they have done and are ready to do if we can’t fix the Wii.
Hang out with friends – we did this all summer, this was one of the best parts of summer! Jasper hung out a lot with his friends, which inspired the other two to make their own “play dates.”
Do jobs around house for $ – there wasn’t nearly as much of this item as I had hoped. We’ll have to work on this one now that they are starting to want their own money to go to the movies or go downtown to get yoghurt or a Subway sandwich.
Start band with Andrew, Jason, & Dylan. Jasper did this but they haven’t practiced a lot and they had a hard time figuring out a time to practice when all 4 of them could make it. Jasper has been taking bass lessons and sounds great – his dexterity has definitely improved this summer!
What was on your summer list?
