NOT-SO-LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

Summer can be tough. Fearing endless days of "I'm bored" - I'm scared into having a game plan. Always on the lookout for new fresh ideas, I stole this from a good friend.

Using a simple piece of (large) paper, I asked my 4-year-old daughter what she wanted to so this summer. And then I wrote down her answers. We were off to a slow start as she wasn't quite sure how broad to cast her net. I heard many ideas that were simply indoor activities with "outside" tacked onto them.

Until, that is, she asked me what I thought were good ideas. I suggested we write 'ice cream for dinner." She looked at me straight-on and asked, "Mom, are you being serious?" As I explained to her, that yes, I plan to have ice cream for dinner ONE day every year during a particularly hot summer day, she still looked skeptical. She countered, "but we can't do that." Why not, I asked her? She was truly caught off guard and just grinned back - waiting for the punchline. I explained to her that we did this last summer and the only rule was that I got to choose the day (I didn't mention that it would be a day when the kids ate exceptionally well). Deal? She was convinced, and then the ideas started flowing more freely.

My personal favorite is her asking to go to the Woodland Park Zoo. Although we're members of Point Defiance, she feels compelled to see some 'wilder animals' - the giraffes and zebras particularly. When I wrote it up there, she responded with considerable anticipation, "Oh Mom, I've wanted to do that my entire life!" How's that for dramatic flair? Yeah, she's four. And yeah, we took her to Woodland Park last year.

So you can see, we came up with quite a list. We've got 40 items to cross off in 2 months. Happy Summer!