I realize summer is about one third gone, but I have been working on some of these things and if I put them all in writing they’re just more likely to get done.  Certainly we will do more than this, these are more the big hitters.

I consciously tried to keep us less scheduled than last summer.  Last year a number of interesting options came up after we’d signed up for other things so we got over-scheduled.

On the schedule this summer:

• Swimming lessons for the middle four will run most of the summer.  This also results in our spending lots of time at the pool.
• Our oldest has one week of baseball camp.
• The oldest three have one week of track camp.
• Kids B-D have one week of tech camp.

And that’s it!  Should be very manageable.  We have a list of day activities for days in between.  And, hopefully we’ll get some movies in on rainy days. (Thus far we’ve had only one.)

I need/want to accomplish the following:

• Finish up school/spring sports:
  • Dry all soccer cleats and put away
  • Clean all sports water bottles (3)
  • Empty back packs
  • Clean lunch boxes
  • Clean all school water bottles (8)
  • Check status of all items in preparation for next year
• Keep the woods from encroaching on our yard
  • On one side we have a five leaf vine thing and the plant in these pictures.  This second plant looks sort of like ferns when kept trimmed, but it puts out creepers that wrap around trees, thicken, and eventually kill the trees.  The righthand picture shows some that have been cut.  You can see the marks on the tree where other bands have been.
    

    
  • On the other side we have the same five leaf vine, raspberry plants, and a different sort of climber.  This one doesn’t strangle the trees, it just creates a net over them that doesn’t look very good.  There’s also poison ivy on this side, which I am very allergic to, so I’m less brave about tackling things.
    

    

    

    

     

• Throw out/donate/sell/etc. another 465 items.  This counting thing has been working well for me.  I had planned to do this again in the late fall, but there’s enough kicking around now that I’d just assume move it along.
• Tag 465 items for the fall tag sale.  My rules for above were that it has to get out of the house within the time period.  Since the tag sale isn’t until the end of September these items don’t meet that criteria.  As a result there are many things that should be leaving our house that aren’t going anywhere yet.  But, tagging needs to happen sooner rather than later.
• Prep for the 2018-2019 school year.
  • Purchase a new lunch box and water bottle for the incoming kindergartner.
  • Complete preschool paperwork for the youngest.
  • Pay bus fee.
  • Purchase school supplies after the lists come out in mid-August.
  • Check fit of soccer cleats for four kids.  Upgrade as needed.
  • Check fit of baseball cleats for oldest.  Upgrade as needed.