summer plans

Summer is finally here, and this three day weekend was not enough of a taste. It’s time to wrap up things and head to bed, and I just want another day at home.

I thought I’d try and distract myself from the impending work week by thinking of some of the fun things we have planned for the summer here in the Lou. We’re creatures of habit, for the most part, but our habits are pretty fun.

The Tower Grove Farmers Market is in full swing, and we try to make it there most Saturday mornings. The photo above is from our visit last Saturday – F found beets the size of Ellen Tebbits’ beet in the book we are currently reading. (We made beet sliders with them, and we’re STILL eating them.) The girls’ have new Keens, so we’re ready for the fountains and the Whisk popsicles and the live music and the great people watching.

We still try to visit the garden (officially MoBot, but we only call it “the garden”) every Wednesday and Saturday morning during their early morning walking hours from 7-9. We beat the heat and the crowds and the light is just so much better. And in the summer, E can join us on Wednesdays! Most Saturdays, it’s just me.

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis is on deck this week – I love to run by the set as they build it in the park. It starts on June 1st and runs through the 26th, except Tuesdays. This year they are doing A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and we usually meet up with the same friends each year for a picnic and the play. It’s such a terrific community event.

Speaking of theater – this year we purchased season tickets for the MUNY performances. Those start in a few weeks, and our tickets are on Tuesday nights. I think it will be fun to meet up in the park, maybe have a picnic dinner, and stay up late watching the shows. Sometimes it’s hard to make summer feel like summer when we’re still working our normal schedules. I hope this adds some excitement to our summer weeks.

It wouldn’t be summer without Circus Flora! We go every year on Father’s Day weekend – but this year we’re also joining some of F’s Girl Scout Troop for a backstage visit and tour. The theme of the show is baseball this year – perfect for this Cardinals town. I love this circus. I can’t imagine summer without it.

On the subject of baseball, we’ve already made it to our first game of the season. We don’t typically attend too many games, but we tend to purchase tickets when various groups we’re involved with offer them. I do love to go to the park a few times each season, but I also love the sound of the game on the radio and the sound of the homerun fireworks we can hear from inside our house!

We purchased tickets from Left Bank Books for the release party for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts I and II. It’s a pretty late event, but I think that will be a blast – something the girls will really get into. It’s right between their two birthdays, so we’re keeping it a surprise for now. If you think you might go, let me know. We might plan a meet up an hour earlier at Jeni’s next door! Talking about birthdays reminds me that we’ll also have two summer birthdays to plan. No definitive decisions on those. Some talk of laser tag and animal themes. (Not related.)

What else? We don’t belong to any outdoor pool, but M takes the girls swimming at various spots around town when we find the time. Last summer, he and E tried to go for a bike ride once a week on some of the park trails around here. I continue to sweat it out, running at the hottest point of the day – character building. The girls go to various summer camps around town, and E spends several weeks of the summer as a counselor at one of them.

Although we love amusement parks, we’ve never taken the girls to Six Flags here. Maybe one day. We’re kind of spoiled now to Cedar Point, and the girls are already plotting our next visit there. We’ve got a beach vacation coming up soon, but not soon enough! I’m ready for sand in my toes and the smell of salty air.

We’ve also got to really buckle down on our house projects, and we’re hoping the end of the school activities will help this some. We have three weekends at home – in a row! – it’s something we haven’t had in ages. We need some concentrated blocks of time to work, and maybe we’ll finally get some of those.

Last (I think), but not least – our Thursday night gatherings in the front yard. We haven’t officially kicked off the season yet, but everyone’s been asking. It’s always nice to open up the gate and welcome neighbors and friends over once a week to listen to the blues across the street, chat and catch up. It just feels like summer.