Winter Bucket List

The last few months we have been trying to be more intentional about creating memories with our kids.  In January, I printed a really cute winter bucket list poster for our fridge. We decided that we would take it a little slower and put a few ideas that were at home and a few others outside the house.  It has made winter bearable by being able to look forward to time together without wondering what we are going to do.

Hardware Ranch is an area pretty close to where we live that is a habitat for all sorts of local wildlife.  Most people go in the winter to see the elk population.  They put you on a sleigh and drive around the property.  It is a pretty short ride, but you get up close with these giant creatures!  I was really excited to go.  We had to wait in a long line, like over an hour, with two toddlers who desperately wanted to get down and run around in the snow.  The wait was miserable.  But worth it in the end.

Monster Jam was something Brandon and I were really excited to take Brecken to.  He knows and loves monster trucks, their names, colors, everything!  Leading up to it we tried to explain he was going to go see Grave Digger or Max-D, but he didn't really understand.  Brandon took Brecken and it went okay.  Brecken loved seeing the monster trucks, but he did not want to wear any headphones.  If you have never been to an event like this, it is ear shattering loud, so you have to have some ear protection.  Like all things with little kids, it wasn't perfect.  I just kept telling Brandon to remember one word: memories.  When you look back on things you don't remember the tantrums -- you remember how big their eyes were when they saw that giant monster truck they talk about all the time.

Sledding -- It is no surprise that I am not a big fan of snow.  I took the kids over to Brandon's sister's house and did a little sledding in their backyard.  My kids don't really last too long in the snow either.  It takes us about twice as long to get them ready as the amount of time they actually play outside in it.  Later in January, we got together with Brandon's family out at the farm and did some sledding there.  Again, my children did not really care to sled, but we were all out in the snow playing.  Maybe next year?

Bounce & Slide is a local indoor park that we really enjoy going to.  They have all sorts of inflatable bounce houses and slides (obviously).  But they also have a toddler area with a lot of toys and it is a giant place where our kids can run around and be loud (without being judged by other parents because they are always high energy).  Anyway, Lizzie LOVED every bounce house and every trip down the slide.  Brecken was really hesitant at first, not really wanting to go on them, but we got him to try and he had a blast too!  Easily one of my favorites on our list.

Build a Snowman.  This was an easy task for us because we have been dumped on with snow this winter.  We built this giant guy in our backyard.  Lizzie decided it would be more fun to lay on her belly and eat the snow instead.  When she was over it, I took her inside and Brandon helped Brecken build another small one.  They lasted about a week before someone bulldozed them.

Fun Park -- This place is our local arcade, roller rink, bowling alley, and they also have a giant padded jungle gym.  We decided to go on a whim and it was a hit.  Brecken and Lizzie loved climbing all over it and Brandon and I had fun chasing them around.  We played some games and got a few tickets too.  Brecken also decided that climbing into the arcade games was an acceptable thing. Bless his heart.

Bowling -- I feel like a party pooper because I really do not enjoy bowling (or snow, blah blah blah) but we went to breakfast and bowling on New Year's Day with Brandon's parents and his sister's family.  I have not bowled in years and rarely have I ever not used bumpers (lame, right?).  We all had a lot of fun.  The kids bowled on their own lane and Brecken loved rolling the ball down the lane --- he almost took a trip or two down the lane himself.

Movie Night at home -- We are a movie family, I will admit that.  For our movie night we watched the newest Grinch movie (I know Christmas in February).  It was really funny and cute!  Brecken and Lizzie both watched it and stayed snuggled up with us almost the whole movie, so we take that as a big win!  No pictures from this night because that is just how it rolls sometimes.


Service Projects are important to us.  I won't go into detail with the different ones we did, but I have to give Brandon a shout out.  He was willing to go up twice and plow the ridiculously long driveway at my Mom and Dad's house.  The snow was crazy deep both times.  The second time he even had to walk up the driveway to get the plow.  Great guy, right?!

House Project -- Since we moved into our townhouse we have been trying to do some small projects to make it the best house for us.  We have painted, got carpet, etc.  This winter we did two things that are small but have made a big difference.  One is we put new LED light bulbs in our living areas and hallways.  Eventually we will do the rest of the rooms, but it has made it so much brighter and nicer in here!  My favorite project is the toy closet.  Our hall closet downstairs was a cluttered mess.  We also had a billion toys all over the living room all the time.  Brandon cut some shelves for us to put toys on and then use the space at the bottom for other bigger toys.  It isn't completely finished yet, but it has made our downstairs so much cleaner and clutter-free.  The dream would be a whole toy room, but we don't have the option for that right now, so this has been perfect! 

Before 

Progress: One more shelf to build.
Also-- can you tell the lighting difference? LED bulbs for the win!

Go to the Movies -- we weren't sure if we were going to do this as a family or a date.  We chose the latter and went to see Captain Marvel.  It was so good!  Brandon is a huge Marvel fan, and I really enjoy watching the movies too.  Thanks to our brother-in-law we splurged on luxury seating and I honestly don't know why we never tried it!  Who wouldn't want to sit in a recliner with heated seats? It was a great date and an amazing show!

Valentine Dinner -- we had our second annual family Valentine Dinner.  I won't go into all the details about it because I wrote all about the logistics here.  The kids love that I decorate the table and we keep it simple with pizza and cookie/ice cream dessert.  I looked forward to this because I felt like it was one of the first traditions we put in place last year.  I am excited to keep this as our Valentine celebration.

We did a lot this winter! Okay, it is still winter and probably will be winter weather around here for a while longer (see the pile of snow that came yesterday), but we are moving on to our spring list!   It has been great to help us plan our time as a family and create some pretty fun memories!  I say pretty fun because it is with toddlers, so you could flip a coin to decide whether or not we leave crying or happy.

Below is my attempt at a bucket list poster for spring.  Feel free to use it.