As much as I love summer, it can get a bit overwhelming when all the kids are home. All. The. Time. Last summer, the girls & I created a summer adventure list, which was super helpful if we needed direction or ideas of things to do. We're fortunate that we live in a city where there's lots of options for music, festivals and parks. Here's a list of our favorite summertime activities, most of which are free or low cost. 1. The Milwaukee Zoo: We have a membership at the zoo and we USE it. Sometimes, we head over there for just an hour to check on the vampire bats and to see how much the camels are shedding.
2. Lakefront Picnic: I'll pack up some sandwiches & Greg will meet up with us after work at the lakefront. We eat, wrestle the kids and let them run around until they're good and tired. It's the perfect end to a day (and it makes bedtime easy!) 3. Bayshore Fountains: This is simple fun, just like a giant sprinkler. If I'm feeling ambitious, I'll pack lunch and we'll meet up with some friends there. On Thursday evenings, there's free live music  so the kids can run through the water while Greg & I enjoy a somewhat coherent conversation while they play.

4. Outdoor picnic: We don't have a patio or any outdoor furniture so I'll have the girls bring out a blanket and table settings. We grill out and just chill in the backyard for the night. 5. Play with neighbor kids: Easy enough to do, plus the added bonus of hanging out with other grown ups while the kiddos play.
6. Old World Wisconsin: Genevieve really enjoyed reading Laura Ingalls this year so this was the perfect day trip. The homes in the exhibit are all from the state of Wisconsin and we learned a lot about the history of each family that owned the homes, the types of toys they played with, the tools they used to farm and build their homes. 







7. Berry picking: There's lots of berry patches around here, and our neighbors also have a sour cherry tree. They invited us to come over to pick some cherries and the girls were thrilled to make a huge mess getting the pits out and then make their own pie. 8. Festivals: One of our favorite festivals with the girls is Bastille Days. The food is always good, plus the music and dancing is great. Plus, the lizard guy is there.

9. Bay Beach: The vintage little gem in Green Bay has apparently been around forever, but I recently learned about it. The best part is that for only $20, the girls had a whole day of rides and fun. We packed a lunch and there were plenty of spots in the shade to eat. It was super hot the day we went and there's not a lot of shade trees, so pack the sunscreen & water!
10. Dine at an Outdoor Patio: Yes, it's an exercise in patience to bring four small kids out to a public place and expect good behavior, but from time to time they surprise us and behave like functional humans. 



11. Lemonade Stand: A summer staple for sure. And probably one of my favorite photos of all time.

12. Shop & Prepare Dinner Together: They're always a lot more willing to try new (even green) food if they're part of the buying and prepping process. 13. Play at the Park: We have our favorite parks, but it's always fun to explore new ones.



14. Concerts & Shows: There's a lot of festivals & shows around here in the summer, but check local cafes & libraries for a schedule of free concerts also.  15. Summer Camps: I typically don't sign up for many summer camps for the kids, but they did do one camp this summer. They enjoyed seeing their friends outside of school and their little dance on the last day was adorable.


These are some of our favorite things.

1. First off, this article is pretty awesome.
2.  Please don't make me adult today.

1//2//3//4

3. I've been waiting for two years for this documentary to come out on dvd. I just discovered this week that it's available on You Tube.  Very well done, but heartbreaking.  4. Wow. I am inspired me to do this in my neighborhood. (If you're with me, let's talk.)
5.  Gift giving genius. Never wonder what to get for a gift again!

via

The first day of detox went ok, except it seemed like every commercial I heard on the radio was either referencing bacon or a smokehouse burger. Tomorrow, they'll probably be giving free donut samples away at the grocery store. I had a lot to accomplish yesterday and was running around town doing errands. The fact that I wasn't around the house too much probably helped me stay away from random munching. I felt pretty energetic and wasn't hungry until around 5:00 last night. Then I was starving! I ate some raw pumpkin seeds and downed the last of the day's smoothie.  I also had a piece of chicken for dinner and had a (cheat) glass of wine with my neighbors. It's homemade wine made from grapes imported from Italy! I couldn't resist. Stop judging me with your eyes! Today is Day 2 of 10. I'm anticipating a more difficult day because I'll be doing mundane jobs around the house. Mundane = munching for me. Also, the whites of my eyes aren't any whiter yet. Stay tuned on that one.

I am starting a detox today.
I've been hearing from friends who've done detoxes and have done some reading about it for over the past couple of years, but never seriously considered it, mainly because I think I'll become a very hangry person or will just give up after the first morning.  
I just like donuts too much. And fresh bread. Mmmm.
I eat a healthy diet overall: lots of veggies, beans, unprocessed foods and so on. But every afternoon from 1-4:00, I feel like crawling into bed and napping. I lose all motivation to do anything, which cramps any kind of intentional parenting in the afternoon. For years, I've attributed this fatigue to not being an afternoon person, but decided that a drastic change in my diet may be a good way to find out.
This detox promises many things. More energy! Radiant skin! Whiter eyeballs (weird, right?)! I thought about taking a photo of my eyeball to compare pre-and post-detox eyeballs, but that's just strange.
So here's to 10 days of leafy greens, fruits, raw unsalted nuts, and tea, my friends. You may note that I sound increasingly angry each day but let's all hope it's worth it for the whiter eyeballs, right? The first four days are supposed to be the hardest. 
Gulp.