To-Do with Teens

Somehow it's already the middle of August, and DS starts to school next week, DD the week after. There were so many things I had wanted to do with the kids this summer. I knew June would be busy, but how did we get here so fast??? :-) And while we've been busy, not much of my original list was accomplished. So I borrowed ideas from 2 people - my friend in Cincinnati and Amy's Finer Things, a bucket list, written out.

I made a list of what I wanted to do the next 4-6 weeks and things I knew were scheduled and called a family meeting. We got the calender off the wall that we never use (I use a day planner on my desk) and started planning. Trip to Amish country - check. Visit to the Ohio History Center - check. Trip to the Neil Armstrong Museum - check. Visit to the root beer stand - scheduled on DS's first day of school. DD gets the trip to the local ice cream stand for her first day. OSU football game with DD - double check! All scheduled and written on specific dates on the now family calendar, where everyone can see and the kids can hold me accountable.

We've done so much since school let out in May - the kids have been to camp, Jamaica, Cincinnati; we've seen Kutless and David Crowder Band in concert, gone to the Ohio State Fair (for the DCB concert), Malabar Farm and Young's Dairy; DD has completed her formal in-car driver's ed and is getting closer to her license and DS has his.....yet it's nice to have a plan on what is coming next. It's also nice to not have to answer the question, what are we doing?, 10 to 12 times each week! In fact, we're headed out the door here in a few minutes to head over to Amish country. I'll never give up my day planner/organizer, but it's good to get back to using the family calendar too.