Summer vacation RULES

Dear girls,

For years, as a child, I lived for summer vacation. It meant so many things. Warm summer nights, hot days by the pool, digging in the sand, eating lots of ice cream and potato salads. Most of all, it meant eating crabs.

Now that I'm older, I can look back on those days with such nostalgia. I bask in the glory of those fabulous low-key times.

I so want that for you.

I never thought I'd live this far from the beach -- four hours! I practically grew up at the beaches that were only a couple hours from our home. Those amazing times were easy day trips.

This will not be the case for us. We will have to plan an overnight trip in order to experience the wonderful things the beaches offer -- the crashing waves, the immensely warm sand, the french fries, the ice cream, the water taffy, the gritty boardwalk under sand-covered flip-flops.

I promise you will experience all of this, too. No childhood can be complete without digging in wet sand for sand crabs or building holes big enough to cover yourself up.

This is my first real summer vacation since I was 15 years old. I have worked every summer since then. Even in part-time jobs, summer days were easily wiped away by hot grease at McDonald's, smelly pancakes at Denny's, drunkards at a local al fresco bar, and more and more people willing to drop way too much money on alcoholic beverages just about every summer after ... until I became a journalist. Then my summer days were spent chasing ambulances, fire trucks and reluctant sources for deliriously sad stories I didn't want to write.

So, enough of that long list of what it used to be like. I'm a stay-at-home Mom now. I have the world at my fingertips -- and you on leashes. I have a great stroller, borrowed from a friend. So, what do you say we make the most of Mama's First Adult Summer Vacation? I have started a list of must-dos both for us together and for me alone. Perhaps we'll toss in a few ideas for The Da-Da to join in on as well.

Mama's First Adult Summer Vacation To-Do List Part I

1. Go to the beach
2. Take walks at all of the local parks (you'll ride in the stroller)
3. Shop each week at the local farmer's markets for our groceries.
4. Make fresh lemonade
5. Garden (You will enjoy helping with this, I'm sure.)
6. Get up early and drink coffee outside with the birds
7. Do one project a week that will make me proud (Joining Tackle it Tuesday)
8. Finish my novel by writing in the early morning
9. Make homemade ice cream
10. Drink wine on the patio in the evenings (after you are in bed)
11. Paint my toes and nails each week.
12. Obtain my first nice healthy "glow"
13. Eat hard shelled crabs at least once
14. Perfect my crab cake recipe (The Da-Da will enjoy this one immensely)
15. Splash around in a baby pool with you