Summer To-Do Lists

School's out for Summer! With most of June and August and all of July to enjoy, Kelli and I wanted to get organized for Charly's first summer ever!

Charly's To-Do List:

1. Talk mommy and daddy into buying me a mini-swimming pool so I can splash in the sun!
2. Rolling from my back to my tummy is a piece of cake. I want to be able to roll from my tummy to my back!
3. Mommy and daddy are designing a flower garden in our backyard. I want to put my footprints in stepping stones for mommy to use.
4. Watch a lot of baseball with daddy. I want to go to a Waterloo Bucks game with all mommy and daddy's friends. I want to go to an Iowa Cubs game with my cousins and maybe even my future boyfriend Jace. And of course, I want daddy to take me to Target Field to see his Minnesota Twins play! It's Target Field's Inaugural year and mine too!
   
5. Go to the Zoo and see a live elephant. I love elephants!
6. Get a picture taken with all my cousins. Cooper, Brooks, Jackson, and Griffin. Jackson, you have to sit still!
   
7. Pick strawberries in a strawberry field with mommy.
8. Go for a boat ride with another one of my future boyfriends, Ethan and his brother Ryan.
   
9. I want to learn how to read. Mommy and daddy have these DVDs they play for me. I love watching them, but the gorilla is weird!
10. Go to a parade. I can't eat candy yet, but I want to see what parades are all about!
    

Kelli's To-Do List:

1. Plant a flower garden where our large bush is in the backyard and add Charly's stepping stone as the main attraction.
2. Spend a lot of time by the water. Take Charly to The Falls, go to the beach, swim at Clear Lake, and play in Charly's future pool.
3. Go shopping with my little side-kick! I want to go to Williamsburg, Jordan Creek, and venture to the Mall of America with my new shopping partner. I may be setting us up for some serious issues in the future and more money out of our savings account!
4. Become a runner. I need to be motivated this summer to get back into shape and shed some of my Charly weight!
5. Learn how to cook! I would love to try 3 new recipes each week and not be overwhelmed by ingredients! I would also like to become a hostess. I was raised in a family where our weekend would not be complete if my mom didn't host friends and family while cooking a feast for everyone. I want to be more like that...a pantry (my tiny cupboards) stocked full of food and ready to entertain at anytime!
   
6. We have taken over 600 pictures since Charly's been born, and this summer I would like to get caught up and start filling up our photo albums. I also need to develop pictures to add to Charly's baby book, so I can check that off my list!
7. Learn new songs to sing to Charly. I seem to continue to sing the same songs over and over; I have even tried creating my own original songs...maybe part of my to-do list should be to market songs!
8. Re-decorate the living room. I don't mean an overhaul...just buy some new things for our sofa table, rearrange the pictures behind our couch...add some Charly pictures to the shrine of Jordan and Kelli, and buy some new pillows for our couch...pillows are my weakness!
9. Organize the basement and have Jordan build me a closet downstairs. Can one of my to-do items be something that Jordan has to do?????
10. Take time to relax and spend time with my beautiful and wonderful family. Enjoy all the goodness summer has to bring...picnics in the park, laying out and soaking up the rays, going for walks and bike rides, grilling, reading children's literature, and spending lots of time with family and friends!

Jordan's To-Do List:

1. Get our yard back in shape. Last Halloween, a large portion of our front yard was dug up as a result of some serious plumbing issue. Clay takes a long time to settle! This summer, my lawn is going to look pristine, with thick, green grass and simple, clean landscaping. I also have to dig up an oversized, ugly bush in our backyard and replace it with a flower garden.
2. Go to Target Field, not once, not twice, but at least three times. I want to experience it with Kelli and Charly first and foremost. But I also have to experience it with Dad and Taylor, and Shawn and Kali. Three great excuses!
3. Learn how to grill something other than burgers, brats, hot dogs, and chicken breasts. It seems as if I always throw the same ole' same ole' on the grill. So I bought a 500 page How-To book and may need to enlist the help of a certain brother-in-law . . .
4. Finish handyman projects around the house. Our living room needs crown molding, our fairly new remodeled bathroom still needs odds and ends touched up, the basement floor needs a second coat of paint and sealer, the stairs leading downstairs need to be re-carpeted, and I'd love install a new kitchen floor. We'll see how it all goes!
5. Play at least 10 rounds of golf!
6. Read a lot of books. A while back I started a blog project that went astray due to an abundance of schoolwork. I'd like to revive it and get back to reading some of the older Newbery Medal winners.
7. Begin writing a novel. I have a few ideas for juvenile fiction novels that I think could win me my own Newbery Medal someday.
   
8. When June rolls around for a lot of teachers, they want to close the door to their classroom and not think about it until the end of August as the new year begins. Call me crazy, but I don't want to mentally check-out from the school year. I want to plan a day or two each month this summer to spend time in my classroom and get ready for next year. That way, those few days before kids return in August are not so stressful!
9. Host a party! Our friends host parties all the time. We never have. Besides the get-together we had following Charly's baptism, Kelli and I have never had a substantial amount of people gathered together at our house. I want to grill, drink, play games, and build a fire.
10. Take lots of pictures! Someday (soon) I would love to begin laying the groundwork (maybe even this summer) for Kelli and I to start our own photography business. So this summer, I intend to practice, practice, practice!