5 Things To Do In June.

School is ending, summer is on its way.  We’re gearing up for time with friends and family, lots of summer birthdays, and tons of time outside.  This month, I am posting fun things for you every day so be sure to stop back and say hello. 

Viva la SUMMER!  Here are five great things for you to do in June.

1.  Make Popsicles!

You can go high tech or low tech with these.  There are tons of fancy recipes to follow or you can just simply freeze your favorite juices.  Add fruit slices if you like!  Make boozy adult versions! 

You can get sets of popsicle molds for less than $10.   We bought our friends Merrily and Pete a Zoku popsicle maker as a wedding gift and Merrily just raves about it.  She told me to get on it and order one for Finnegan and Tate this summer.  I found a duo {makes 2 at a time} on Amazon for $36.99.   I ordered one for the kids as a secret summer present. 

Popsicles in less than 10 minutes.  Awesome.

2.  Celebrate the SUMMER SOLSTICE.

The longest day of the year, June 21, falls on a Friday and it’s the perfect opportunity to get together with friends and celebrate the official beginning of summer.  As if you need an excuse to get together with friends and grill things.

3.  Explore the Farmer’s Market in your city.

There is nothing like getting fruit and veggies that have been picked locally the day before.  Everything is so fresh and delicious that you can’t help wanting one of everything.  Let your kids explore and even taste new things, lots of vendors will gladly let you sample. 

{If you are local to Toledo, here is the schedule of the Farmer’s Markets in our area!  Ours has live music, coffee, locally made soaps, honey, breads, cheeses, and meats.  What are you waiting for??}

4.  Make a summer “to do” list.

Finnegan and I are finishing ours up this weekend and I will share it with you on Monday!

5.  Have an outdoor movie night.

Last year, we did the Sandlot.  We’ve also done Ferris Bueller and Old School… you know, back when we were fun, before the kids started dictating what movies we chose.  This year, Avengers and the original Parent Trap are on the list. 

Oh, hello.

I’ve been on a little self imposed hiatus this month.  I know, I know.

A break to figure some things out and to soak some things in.  I don’t do that nearly enough.

Soaking in things included: Playing My Little Ponies with Tate.  My sister’s graduation from college and a trip to Lexington.  My brother’s graduation from high school.  A baby shower for friends who are adopting!  Mother’s Day.  Year end school programs and carnival and “parent involvement” projects.  My sister Rachael was home from Palestine for a whole month.  Brunches.  Dinners with friends.  Playdates.

Good things… well except for the laundry and dishes and boring stuff.

And to make up for it, I’m posting every day in the month of June. 

You’ll be sick of me.  Just you wait.

Enough about me.

What’s up with you?

Summer Drinks: Vanilla Vodka + Lemonade.

So my two drinks of choice are kahlua + cream in the winter/fall or vanilla vodka + ginger ale with a lime in the spring/summer.  The former tastes like chocolate coffee milk.  The latter tastes like a cream soda.  I only really deviate for wine or an occasional fruity frufru drink when the occasion warrants.  I always seem to come back to those two favorites though. 

When we were in Lexington for my sister’s college graduation, I ran out of ginger ale and I love a vanilla lemonade, so I tried the vanilla vodka and raspberry lemonade together.  It is perfection.  Like the yummiest, most delicious, best summer drink ever.  I let everyone take sips and they all agreed it was a blog worthy drink.  It’s dreamy.  You all will have to try it for yourself.

Vanilla Vodka + Lemonade

• 1 {or 2} ounce vanilla vodka
• 6 ounces raspberry lemonade
• ice

Add some fresh raspberries if you want to be fancy.  

And let’s face it, I always want to be fancy.

You can also use plain lemonade or blueberry lemonade with good results, I always get the Simply Lemonade brand found in the cold juice section of the grocery.  I probably would skip the powdered lemonade drink mix here and pick something decent.

I also stumbled upon a new {favorite} brand of vodka.  I don’t know how new it is, so much as new-to-me, but it’s delicious either way.  It was mid-level pricewise, but the vanilla taste is more like a fresh bean rather than a fake substitute.  The brand is 360, it’s a million times better than any other vanilla vodka I’ve tried.  They also have some ridiculously weird flavors like cola, glazed donut, and buttered popcorn.  I’m going to have to get my sister Lyndsey on creating some fun recipes to try those out.

Want some other vanilla goodness of the non-alcoholic variety?  Try Vanilla Lime Iced Tea.

Big Deal.

Tate left me this little note.

Just so we’re clear.  Her daddy was there for the writing and flower assist.  The scribbles are all her.

She wants to color constantly lately, we have to confine her to the high chair because we keep finding random scribbles on things that shouldn’t be scribbled on.

Like books.  Her brother’s homework.  My agenda.  Walls.  Me.