summer activities Archives - Page 2 of 2 - grace grits and gardening

My Summer Bucket List

June 29, 2016 By Talya Tate Boerner 18 Comments

Hip hooray for another summer (yay!). Because I’m a list-making sort of person, I decided a summer bucket list was in order. This isn’t likely a generic, appeal-to-everyone summer bucket list, but it’s what I hope to do. And maybe it will inspire you to come up with your own list.

Lists help me get things accomplished. I like that whole check mark thing.

So here ya go, my summer bucket list…

— Go to a drive-in. In Arkansas, there are only three remaining open drive-ins including the 112 Drive-In in Fayetteville. I’ve been planning to go since I moved here. This summer, I’m going, even though that will involve staying up past my bedtime.Continue Reading

Ten Tips for a Fun Family Reunion!

June 14, 2016 By Talya Tate Boerner 7 Comments

Here in the South we are all about “the reunion”. Family reunion, church reunion, class reunion… If you belong to a group of some sort—and of course you do!—there’s a good chance you’ll receive an invitation to a reunion before the end of summer. You may even be asked to plan it. Today I’m sharing my ten tips for a fun family reunion, tips to make yours a roaring success from planning to execution.

1. Planners gotta plan. There are a few people in our family who always step up and take charge. Whew! These people form the primary planning committee. They suggest two or three dates and a couple of locations and everyone votes. It’s the democratic way.

2. Spread the Word. Once a date and location is decided upon, it doesn’t take long to spread the word in our family. We are a group of talkers, and we have a family Facebook page. The thing to remember within a large family is that people get news different ways. It’s important to cover all the bases via email invitations, phone calls, Facebook, and mail paper invitations. (American Greetings has a great online site for printing free invitations!)Continue Reading

20 ways to rediscover the LOST ART of SUMMER

June 22, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner 10 Comments

Three cheers for summer! This year, I say we take time to rediscover the lost art of summer. Slow down. Stop trying to orchestrate the picture perfect summer and instead enjoy some hot fun in the summertime “old school style”. Waaaaay back when I was a kid, summer meant hours of bicycle riding and exploring ditch banks and guzzling cherry Kool-aid in the shade of a mimosa tree. Now mimosas are drinks, the tree variety is considered trash by many, and summer is pre-planned to stave off kids’ idle brain drain. Makes me tired just thinking about it.

Work a few of these simple simon activities into each week from now until Labor Day, and you’ll have a more relaxing summer. Promise.

1. Play in the water hose. Drink from it too.

2. Go on a picnic. Grill hot dogs. Who cares about calories or the gritty sand that somehow made its way onto the bun?

3. Lay on a quilt and watch the clouds float by. A quilt hand-stitched by your grandmother.

4. Lose yourself in a trashy summer read. It’s allowed in summer.

5. Eat ice cream in the sun. Nothing fancy. Neapolitan scooped into a plain cone. Or, support your neighborhood ice cream truck. Or, both.

6. Go for lots of walks and always carry change. You never know when you’ll find a neighborhood lemonade stand. If you have little ones at home, man your own lemonade stand in the front yard and donate the proceeds to a good cause.

7. Catch lightning bugs in a mason jar or at least sit outside and watch them light up the yard. They are extra amazing this year! (Release them before bedtime, though.)

8. Swim in a swimming hole.

9. Eat watermelon. Plant the seeds even though they probably won’t come up.