2018 Spring Bucket List

Well, if you look outside right now, it feels like I should be writing a “Winter Bucket List” – not a “Spring List”?! What in the world is this weather?! On the first & second official days of spring, we got a crazy snowstorm that dumped about 9″ of snow on us. I was just sitting & staring out my window as it fell – I can’t even believe it. On Monday, we were playing outside with light jackets on – drawing with chalk, running around the yard – and 48 hours later we were back out in the yard, but in all the snow-gear (that I’d already packed away for the season). I think the weather has officially lost its mind!

Anyways! Spring will eventually come & winter is officially over so, here’s a review of our winter list and the publication of our spring list!

2017 Winter Bucket List

1. Take each of my siblings out to lunch (one-on-one)* (I’m getting closer! I’m down to the last two trickiest siblings – Emma & Stephen who both work during lunch on the weekdays, so I have to be a bit more strategic to get these two to lunch with me!)
2. Create a “coffee table book” of all of the 2017 Abby’s Saturdays (This one is a work-in-progress)
3. Create a “family yearbook” from 2017 (Another work-in-progress, I have legitimately started this though! It’s just an overwhelming task to go thru all of the photos from 2017, so I’ve been giving myself “monthly” goals (to just go thru one month at a time) – it’s still a lot, but it’s getting done)
4. Finish the business/marketing course I bought back in the summer (Almost done, but not completely)
5. Read the Harry Potter series (Was this a lofty goal or what? I mean, I know I’m a reader, but this was too big of a goal. I did start the series & finished Book 1!)
6. Take Braelynn sledding – COMPLETED
7. Help Braelynn build a snowman – COMPLETED (we built 3 snowmen this year, the first two were pretty small & dinky, but thanks to our most recent snowstorm, we built a “real” snowman just yesterday!)
8. Leave our Christmas lights up around the living room until at least February – COMPLETED
9. Have the best Christmas ever – COMPLETED
10. Plan Braelynn an epic 3-year-old birthday party – COMPLETED (we hosted just shy of 30 people in our living room for an “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie” themed party!)
11. Revamp/Update this website – COMPLETED
12. Finalize new wedding photography pricing – COMPLETED (and yet, I’m already considering changing it again #SmallBusinessProblems)
13. Create “pretty” engagement session style guide
14. Learn the ropes of Honeybook & begin to use it in my business – COMPLETED
15. Send my camera off to be cleaned/serviced – COMPLETED
16. Go thru all of Braelynn’s toys & clean-out pre-Christmas – COMPLETED
17. Run my annual super-awesome like-contest-giveaway! – COMPLETED (and it was awesome – the best, most competitive year yet!)
18. 2017 Behind-The-Scenes & Abby’s Saturday Bloopers posts! – COMPLETED (read those posts here & here)
19. Read the Trim Healthy Mama book
20. Using the Moments App, cut time on phone in half & write about the experience (this is a tricky one for several reasons: 1. the Moments App is really awesome as long as it’s running in the background of your phone (sometimes though it gets shut off & I don’t realize it) and 2. I love to listen to music & podcasts while I’m cleaning, taking a shower, doing mindless tasks around the house & it counts all of those minutes as being “on” my phone. Sure my phone is playing, but I’m not actually “on” it. Also, if you are driving & listening to anything or using the GPS, it again, counts it as being “on” your phone. I think if you pay for the subscription, you can avoid some of those things, but I’m a cheapskate & don’t believe in paying for things I can avoid. So, I’m counting this as a “half-complete”.

So, out of 20 items, we completed 12 items and 5 items are “work-in-progress”es. That’s not too terrible, right?
So, here is our list for this spring! It starts today & will end on June 21, 2018 – the first day of summer! It’s so close, yet so far away! Here we go!

2018 Spring Bucket List

1. Take Emma & Stephen out to lunch (one-on-one) (the last of my siblings)*
2. Finish creating the “coffee table book” of all the 2017 Abby’s Saturdays & PRINT*
3. Finish creating the “family yearbook” from 2017 & PRINT*
4. Read books 2 & 3 in the Harry Potter series*
5. Finish the business/marketing course I bought last year*
6. Create “pretty” engagement session style guide*
7. Go to the Pittsburgh Zoo to see all the animals in spring
8. Print pictures to fill in all the empty spaces of Braelynn’s baby book
9. Insulate the 3rd floor (!!) to make it useable space
10. Go down to the Lake for the first time this year (!!)
11. Spend some extended time with Derrick’s Mom while his Dad is in Africa
12. Have the best 8th wedding anniversary ever!
13. Decorate Easter eggs
14. Plan a vacation for the year (or at least a few mini-vacation-trips)
15. Plant flowers around the house (and grass where the tree used to stand)
16. Start “Super Secret Club” (just for KAP Couples) & set up regular helpful emails
17. Picnic at the park at least 3 times
18. Teach Braelynn how to ride her bike outside
19. Buy a hammock for the backyard
20. Set up the lights around the patio area & make it a really nice, inviting space

Did I miss something? Is there an activity we should do, somewhere we should go, or an experience we simply should not miss that will happen this spring? Leave me a comment & let me know!