We just got back from a weeklong trip to Washington, DC and also a quick trip to the mountains, so my fridge is completely bare, except for a case of peaches I picked up from a stand on the side of the road.

Usually I experience a major let-down when peaches first hit the grocery stores. I so badly want to take a huge juicy bite of a peach and experience all the magic that peaches have to offer, but when I do take that first bite the flavor is dull, sad and uneventful. It usually takes peaches until mid-July to reach their peak awesomeness, but not this year. This year they are rockin from the very start. So grab yourself a case of peaches and let’s start cooking up something mind-blowing for the little ones.

Peaches + Cloves Baby Puree (4+ Months)

Peach + Raspberry + Quinoa Chunky Puree (6+ Months)

Peach Rice Pudding with Vanilla + Cinnamon (9+ Months)

☀️Summer Bucket List 2018☀️

I started writing my summer bucket list a couple of weeks ago and posted a poll on Instagram where just under 50% of you thought I was crazy for making one. That’s cool! You can totally just work off of mine:)

Most of the year I am a so-so mom – I have strict bedtimes, I follow a schedule to the T and I serve healthy meals with lots of veggies and almost no sugar. Then comes summer, and it is all out the window. Summer to me, is a time to do things that you never get to do – eat homemade popsicles for breakfast, stay up WAY past our bedtimes and have days with no plans or agendas. It’s a time to let loose and have fun. I want my girls to remember their summers as a magical time where anything and everything was possible. A time when it was totally acceptable if they went to bed wet and dirty from a fun day exploring in a nearby creek. I want them to understand that ice cream is a dessert and a special treat but sometimes in the summer it can also work for a dinner. Summer is a time when family and friends are close, laughter fills the air and when the sun goes down that only signals the start of a new fun nighttime adventure.

But to keep my sanity, I have to make a list of things that I can easily refer back to on a day when nothing is planned and the girls need something to do to not drive me crazy.

  • Movie at the Park
  • Westlands Splash Pad
  • Build a Mud Kitchen
  • Pick Strawberries
  • Hike 1 mile with Kids
  • Press Found Flowers
  • Make Homemade Lemonade
  • Explore DC with Friends
  • Play at 5 New Parks
  • Go on a Bug Hunt
  • Stay UP Past Bedtime
  • Go for a Night Swim
  • Fairy Button Hunt
  • Backyard Campout
  • Search for Dinosaur Bones (plastic ones I hide by a stream)
  • Movie in the Backyard
  • Sunflower Farm
  • Make Homemade Ice Cream
  • Sleep Under the Stars
  • Watch Fireworks
  • Dance in the Rain
  • Ride rollercoasters
  • Learn to Skip Rocks
  • Try Something New
  • Sail Boats Down a River
  • Water Ballon Fight
  • Make Homemade Jam
  • Roll Down a Hill
  • Master Making Homemade Milkshakes
  • Learn to SUP
  • Picnic at the Pool, Lake, Gardens
  • Breakfast at Farmer’s Market
  • Food Truck Dinner at Jazz in the Park
  • Tea Party with Friends
  • DIY Crazy S’mores
  • Bike to Brewery

Did you make a summer bucket list? If so, what is on it?

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MY WORLD

Grid of family images

  • Pretending to be astronauts at the Air and Space Museum in DC. Both Ellie and Parker are now in love with anything spaced themed!
  • We went to Breckenridge with some friends when we got back from DC and we went on the most magical hike through a forest of fairy houses. 
  • The Urban Pirates boat ride in Baltimore was the most fun I think I have ever had! 
  • Chilling on a hanging swing instead of eating their dinner;)

Hope you have a good weekend!
xo,
Michele