10 Things to Do on the Longest Days of the Summer

We’re heading into the for-real official, according to the sun, first day of summer marked by the longest day of the year.  According to the weather folks, the days around June 21 will also be relatively long, too. And hot.  So what to do with all these extra hours of sunlight?  A few ideas.

Cook early.  Don’t spend the mid-day in the kitchen.  Plan an easy meal that you can prep and cook early.  Pull out the crock-pot in the morning, try my Asian chicken.  I also like pasta salads for this reason - they’re easy and versatile.  You can change up the ingredients, but also tweak it a little bit for the picky eaters in the house.  

My basic recipe for pasta salad

• Cooked, cooled pasta – I prefer short pastas like rotini or bow-tie, but spaghetti and angel hair work well, too
• Cherry tomatoes
• Green veggie – spinach and asparagus work well
• Crumbled/shredded cheese – mozzarella and feta are tasty choices
• Italian/Caesar salad dressing – this is a cheat to save figuring out extra seasoning
• Protein options (great use of leftovers): chopped chicken, cold salmon, tuna
• Toss it all in a bowl. Chill.
• Pour a glass of sangria.  Lunch and/or dinner is ready. Ta da!

Cook late. Wait til the sun’s gone done a little bit and toss a few burgers or fish on the grill.  Throw some veggies and corn on the cob on there, too. And then finish it off with dessert, like our Campfire Banana S’mores.

Take an early evening walk. Alone, with the family or just the dog, depending on what kind of day you’ve had.  When the sun starts it’s descent, enjoy the little bit of warmth left and the quiet of the settling day.

Catch fireflies. This, and catching crayfish during the day time, were two of me and my brother’s favorite summertime activities.  Watching the little bugs light up never seemed to get old. Be sure to punch holes in the top of whatever container your kids are catching them in, and of course, some grass for them to live off of (I don’t really know that that’s what fireflies eat.)  And then, before going in for the evening be sure to let them all go.

Eat ice cream.  In a cone.  The more fresh from the cow, the better. Or at least, not from a box and big name. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got a pint of Ben & Jerry’s somewhere in the freezer, but there’s nothing like fresh-made, from somebody’s personal recipe ice cream. Better yet, make some of your own. I’ve got my ice cream maker in the freezer now.

Enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables.  Stop by a farm stand or farmer’s market.  Or take a basket to a pick-your-own farm for whatever’s in season now. Eat your berries and veggies as is or bake them into a pie or coffee cake or something delicious.  And you’d be surprised what your kids can learn. I’m almost embarrassed to admit one of my kids was perplexed by the fuzzy skin and big pit in the middle of a peach we bought at a road-side fruit stand.

Drink cold, sweet tea.  One of the things I love about living below the Mason-Dixon line is I never had to preface “tea” with “sweet.”  What other way would you drink cold tea?  It’s the simplest thing and I make it by the gallon (which, lasts maybe two days)

• Tea bags: I like Luzianne for iced tea and experiment with some of the flavored teas for a different flavor.  2 or 3 large tea bags per kettle of water (Luzianne tea bags are larger, made for pitchers of tea; use about 4-6 regular size tea bags)
• Pour almost boiling water over tea bags in a plastic pitcher (not glass!)
• Let tea bags seep about 10 minutes
• Add sugar (to taste, I use a lot) while the water is still hot *this is key!
• Add ice, if needed, to fill the pitcher.
• Pour over ice. Enjoy.

Enjoy discounted movies and bowling.  Maybe the heat is too much, after all, so head indoors for a few hours.  We don't go to the movies a lot because, well, because there's six of us.  Same for bowling.  But in the summer, some theaters offer discount movies and it's a great chance to catch up on movies.  Regal Cinemas offer $1 fun kid movies.  A number of bowling alleys, like AMF Bowling, offer either free or discounted games, but you do have to signup for the passes or card.  These are also great rainy summer day activities, too.

Hydrate. In as many ways as possible. Be sure to drink enough water on hot days. But also cool off in the watering hole of your choice – swim at the local community pool, jump in a nearby lake, run through your lawn sprinkler, or dip your feet in the baby pool still sitting in the garage.

Lay in the grass and watch the sky.  That’s all.

Happy summer!

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What Have You Done All Summer?!

As if turning the page on the calendar (yes, I use a calendar with real pages that turn) is not enough to tell me it's almost August 1, the back-to-school newsletters from the schools are piling up in the mailbox.  Excitement? Panic? Yes. School is not too far away and what have we done with our summer?!  My mind is racing back over the past 6 weeks and trying to catalogue whether we had the best summer ever because this will be the one and only summer of 2013 and its got to be spectacular and memorable and oh so special.  Doesn't it?

That's the mom-panic/guilt I feel as each phase of life comes close to an end. Will the kids remember this summer/Christmas/vacation/birthday forever and ever? Did I use all my mommy powers to make it a momentous occasion?  Up until last week, we were at the pool on a daily basis for swim team and at the basketball court several times a week for the summer league and at basketball, tennis, and academic camp.  Then last week, it was a true slacker mom week as I barely got in my car and we hung out at home.  But somewhere in all that we did mix in a few other activities.

Movies - The kids have been to the movies a few times. I've taken them, their dad took them, they went with friends.  I'd go a lot more if the movies weren't so dang expensive! It doesn't sound so bad when you consider 1 ticket - but multiply that by 6 and add a bucket of popcorn (because not having popcorn is not an option) and you're getting close to $100.  Yeah, a bit much for a movie we can catch on Netflix eventually, but there are some movies you've got to see on the big screen with big booming speakers.

Farm markets - There's something about pick-your-own and farm fresh fruits. We went out early in the summer for strawberries, have stopped at markets for blueberries and tomatoes.  It's a summer treat that we enjoy, partly because once you've hauled in pounds of berries, what else is there to do but make strawberry shortcake and blueberry buckle?

Newseum - With 4 kids, I'm always looking out for the reduced-price option and for the summer, Newseum is FREE for kids! (It's about $22 for adults.) It's  an interesting and educational museum, a history museum really, although, when you think about it, most of the news that's reported is sad, so its not exactly a happy place.  There are some really good exhibits about Sept. 11, Kennedy, and the FBI and an awesome display of Pulitzer Prize winning photos which may be more suitable for teens and adults, but the younger ones had a good time in the mini-news studio, outfitted with a teleprompter, backdrop, and camera.

The kids loved "checking in" at the Newseum.

Newseum: As American citizens, we enjoy many freedoms.

Bowling - Several bowling alleys have some kind of free games promotion. Bowl America offers free games for every A or B on the final report card.  With 4 kids, we ended up with about 100 free games of bowling.

So, now what for the rest of the summer? Other than the rush of back-to-school shopping and finishing up the last few pages of summer packets? We still need to find the perfect scoop of ice cream, hang out by the pool a little bit more, and enjoy sleeping late.  Ahh, summer.

What have you been doing all summer?

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