I think I’ve made it pretty obvious after attending What If this past February that I’ve made a decision to live my life with more intention. I don’t want to just waste the minutes, days, and hours away on things I could care less about (I’m looking at you social media!)… and instead have done my best to consecrate my time and spend my energy on what is really important. I’m not saying it is easy or that I’m totally on top of this every day (we all fall off the wagon now and then) – but overall my life has felt VERY DIFFERENT (in a GOOD way) since returning from the Dominican Republic. I’m so much more content, calm, and balanced. (And that’s saying a lot for me!!!) 😉
So – in an effort to continue living with intention – James and I have decided to take part in The Happy Family Movement’s Summer Bucket List Challenge!!!
I met Jenny and Josh Solar (the faces behind The Happy Family Movement) at What If this past February (shocking, I know… more awesome people who came into my life thanks to What If!) and I absolutely love these two! Watching how they are with their kids and seeing how much focus they put on quality time together makes me SO excited to have a family of our own some day to implement these things as well! But the thing is – you don’t have to have kids to focus on quality time and living with intention… little families just like ours can do the same darn thing! So hop to it people!
I’m especially excited to take part in the Summer Bucket List Challenge because as wedding photographers our summers tend to be consumed by work, and before we know it – they’ve come and gone in a flurry of travel, editing, blogging, running to meetings, and shooting! BUT this year – we plan to do things differently. Thanks to the regular office hours we’ve now set for ourselves, and the overall balance we’ve been working REALLY HARD at keeping between our lives and business – we plan to actually ENJOY our summer this year and to do SUMMER THINGS between all the hard work!! You know… like swimming, camping, barbecuing with friends – all that fun stuff!
So without further adieu – I give you… mine and James’ Summer Bucket List!!!
- Go camping
- Ride our bikes to get ice cream in Lincoln Square
- Take Chloe to the dog beach
- Read a book for fun (or many books!)
- Go to a water park
- See a concert (preferably outdoors)
- Play in the backyard with the kids / grill out at my sister’s
- Go to the Terrace & share a pitcher of Spotted Cow
- Take ballroom dance lessons
- Take James to get his tattoo finished
- Have a picnic dinner at Montrose Harbor by the skyline view at sunset
- Hang out at Jeanna & Mark’s house on the lake with friends from home
- Get a turtle sundae at Michael’s Frozen Custard
- Eat popsicles & Luigi’s Ice as often as possible
- Read books & drink wine on the back deck at night
- Make s’mores over a campfire
- Go on a boat ride
- Go to a farmer’s market (preferably in Madison – because it is THE BEST)
- Go strawberry picking & make at least one batch of fresh jam from mom’s recipe
- Find an outdoor pool in Chicago & swim more regularly
- Go to a drive-in movie & watch it from the roof of our car
The Summer Bucket List Challenge begins today – so get over to The Happy Family Movement site to register!!! =) I know we are so excited to make the most of our summer instead of letting it just fly by like we have in the past!!!
Oh – and you know we got a head start on our list last night with reading & wine on the back deck!! 😉
