Going, going, gone . . .
The summer countdown is on. Don’t let the season slip away! Enjoy our 2012 summer “bucket list” and add your own must do’s!
Bye, bye summer! HELLLO SCHOOL!
1. Throw a slip-n-slide play date! Don’t have one? Hit Target or Walmart for some insane end of the season sales and snag one at a bargain.
2. Hit the Whitewater Center for some extreme summer fun. Canopy tour, climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, ropes course, and so much more!
3. Invite the neighbors over for one last BBQ and celebrate summer with local goodies found at a Farmers Market. Nothing says summertime like seasonal food served outside. Here is our favorite, easy, and brightly flavored menu!
4. Ice cream anyone?! Mr. K’s Soft Ice Cream and Drive is a tiny old outpost in South End, which is always packed! Mr. K’s blends up everything to make the perfect flavor just for you! Don’t believe us? Their motto is, “Anything you can dream, we can make.”
5. Make a splash. Take advantage of pool season (which will only lasts a few more weeks). Most pools close Labor Day, so dive in! Oh, and pack a picnic, who wants to cook after a cool dip?
6. It’s 400 degrees out. Feeling hot? Make these fun, family-friendly smoothie recipes!
7. Encourage your child to write a summertime journal. If your child hasn’t mastered letters yet, help them pen one. Be sure to leave blank pages for picture drawing! Create a memorable timeline of all your seasonal fun AND a perfect “show and tell” piece for the start of school.
8. Go on a “lightening bug chase”! Let the little ones stay up late and watch the fireflies come out and spark up the night. S’mores optional!
9. It’s too hot to host a lemonade stand! Ditch the lemons and host a bike-washing station! Kids get soaked and sudsy while they scrub. What can we say? It’s pure, clean fun!
10. Visit Carowinds. Wake the family up early and don’t tell them where you are heading. Upon arrival, bask in the glory of being “super mom” for the day!
11. Strike Out! Take the family bowling at Epicenter’s Strike City. You will never be able to pull off the entire family together in one place for a special day when school starts. Enjoy a fun afternoon in the air conditioning. Score!
12. Decorate the night with sparklers. Watch your children light up with joy as they create shapes in the night.
13. Find shapes in the clouds. Enjoy the laziness of summer and kick-back while finding creatures in the clouds. Make up a story using your new character friends and enjoy listening to your child’s imagination run wild.
14. Have a water balloon fight! Come on, don’t just watch! Get in on the fun!
15. Plant some flowers in preparation for fall. August is a hot month for planting but you can nurse along your bargain-basement annuals, getting them ready for fall planting. When temperatures cool later in the month or in September, transplant your annuals out of their containers and into the ground for an eye-catching display of fall flowers.
16. Search the web for some wicked “end of the season” sales for last minute beach trips. There are still a few weekends left, make them count! We found this insane sale at Wild Dunes! 20% off 7 or more nights 15% off 2-6 night. Deal ends August 15th, so hurry up!
17. Toss in just one last family vacation, just don’t go too far from home! Visit the ridiculously cool Great Wolf Lodge for a night!
18. Get ‘em geared up for learning and visit The Discovery Place! Loads of fun and educational tools to prepare them for back to school! Puppet shows, IMAX movies, science play zone, and a bubbly aquarium! Oh, and it is air conditioned! Make it even more of an experience by parking near South Blvd. and popping into Pikes Old Fashion Soda Shop for lunch. Forget Uptown traffic, ride the light rail!
19. Just relax. Enjoy the final days of less stressful mornings and fewer packed lunch boxes. Soak up the ease that comes along with summer. Play with your children and remember summer for them is a whimsical time they will remember for the rest of their lives.
20. Visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame. See why Charlotte is a racing city. So much to do, so little time!
21. Bocce is possibly the perfect summer sport. The Kings Drive portion of the new Little Sugar Creek Greenway has courts and a fabulous view of the Queen City. Enjoy the game in early evening when the sun isn’t too intense.
22. Paint your toe nails a summer color one last time! Check out this cute website for 11 hot summer tones. It won’t be long before your toes are covered up, enjoy a pop of color . . . for now!
We hope your summer was full of memories. Soak it up Smarties, summer is almost gone!
2 comments
Awesome ideas!!
excellent ideas to pack into our last week of summer next week! super excited about a bunch of these. 🙂