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Summer Bucket List

July 29, 2015

Just a few short days until it is officially summer! We all know how quickly the time flies during this carefree and relaxed time of the year, and before we know it we will be buying backpacks and pulling out the jackets for cooler weather. At the beginning of each summer I like to create a wish-list. Everyone in the family participates and throws in their ideas of what they want to do and what is a "must-do". Then, when I plan the family vacations I use the list to make plans for the trip and determine where we can go. I also pull out the list when I hear "I'm bored", when the fighting becomes more frequent, and when we find ourselves wondering what we should do that day. Here are some ideas to get you started on your own wish list!

THE QUICK-LIST (places that you can go to or do at the spur of the moment)

Splash parks, pools, and reservoirs
Centennial Center Park
Kidtopia at Southlands Mall
FREE summer Concerts
$5 Summer movies
The Plains Conservation Center
Have a picnic at the park
Go to the batting cage
Visit a pick-your-own farm
Camp out in the backyard
Go on a local scavenger hunt. The NWF has great ideas for the whole family and younger kids.
Go to a drive-in (and quickly as it seems more and more are closing)
Go on a hike
Have rootbeer floats while searching the sky for shooting stars
Play miniature golf
Eat popsicles while finding shapes in the clouds
Go to an outdoor movie night. (Southlands Mall should be starting them soon!)
Make a shaving cream slip-n-slide with shaving cream and a paint tarp
Visit White Fence Farm
Go to the Aurora History Museum
Make Ice Cream in a Bag
Put your mattress (an inflatable is great) on the floor, put pj's on, order chinese and have a movie marathon.
Play board games on the patio
Make a spaghetti bridge or an egg parachute. Many of us did this in middle or high school...see if you can do better now! See how strong you can make your bridge and make a parachute that will protect a raw egg.
Color a neighborhood on your driveway with sidewalk chalk
Eat out at a cuisine you have always been curious about but never tried
Make your own sushi!
Build a fort and read books in it
Get a slurpee and take a walk (and if you go on July 11 they usually give you a free one!)


SPEND THE DAY (places you can decide on quickly but take longer to get there or will use up more of your day)

Dinosaur Ridge
The Denver Zoo
Fishing
Belleview Park-great park, stream, train ride and petting zoo. They also have a playground nearby
Tiny Town and Tiny Town Railroad
Estes Park (LOVE the house of miniatures!)
The Renaissance Festival
Letterbox/Geocaching
Go to the gnome candy store then take your goodies over to Washington Park and ride the paddleboats!
Horseback riding
Elitch Gardens
Water World
Pirates Cove
Heritage Square
Hammonds Candy
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Visit Wings over the Rockies
Boondocks Fun Center
The Butterfly Pavilion
Walk 16th Street Mall
Go to a Rockies Game
Have a picnic, build a sandcastle, swim and play some volleyball at one of the reservoirs
Go to the Arapahoe County Fair


COOL-OFF! (Places to go to get out of the heat for the day!)

The Children's Museum
The Denver Art Museum
The Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Rollerskating
Bowling
Jumpoline
The Movie Tavern
Casa Bonita
Go to a play at the Aurora Fox Theater
Monkey Bizness

FAMILY WEEKENDS OR TRIPS

Santa's Workshop at the North Pole
Camping
Pikes Peak
Cave of the Winds
Garden of the Gods
Rafting and/or Ziplining
The Great Sand Dunes
Camp or stay at a Yurt at the YMCA of the Rockies
Have a Colorado Staycation!