Still buried in boxes, but finding a wee bit of time to knit and blog. It’s good stress relief. That’s what I keep telling myself. We have a nice deck that is perfect for knitting. I’ll have to take a picture and show you sometime. I did start a Citron with Kauni and I am having fun working on that when I can steal a few minutes here and there.
During our summer of Camp Loopy, we’ve been talking about fun memories we have from past camping and summer experiences. One thing I remember is catching lightening bugs. Did you do that, too? When you’re little, it feels like you’re catching floating stars and putting them in a jar. There’s just something magical about lightening bugs.
When our kids were little, we did something that we called Adventure Club each summer. We made a list of different things that we wanted to do and made sure to schedule something out-of-the-ordinary, each week. I took photos of each weekly event so that I could put it in our Adventure Club Scrapbook. At the end of the summer, instead of saying, “Where did the time go? We were going to do so many things this summer that we never got around to!”, we could pull out the scrapbook and see all of the fun times we had and the things that we did. One of the things we did one summer was to have a Lightening Bug Picnic.
The kids were in charge of catching a jar full of lightening bugs to “light” our picnic. I made up food to go with the theme. We had Moons (croissant sandwiches), Worms (pasta salad), Stars (Jello Jigglers cut into star shapes), Flower Pot Dirt (cinnamon muffins baked in mini flower pots), Clouds (popcorn) and Twigs (Twix candy bars). Of course half of the fun was that the kids got to stay up until 9:30 for dinner, because it didn’t get dark enough until then! It was a fun summer adventure.
This month’s contest is about summer memories. What is one fun thing that you did in the summertime when you were growing up? Maybe you did it once, or maybe it was a summertime tradition? Leave your answer in the comments below and we’ll use the random number generator to draw for a few $35 Loopy Ewe Gift Certificates next week.
Sheri backtoknittingboxesknittingboxesknittingboxes
We had a couple of summertime traditions. At the end of every school year my brother, sister and I would pack our bags and go to my grandparents house for the summer. Mom and dad would visit us on the weekends off and on throughout the summer. My grandparents only lived about an hour away. We loved spending the summer with my granny and pops and my mom loved that we weren’t at home alone all day getting into trouble. 🙂 At the end of ever summer my parents would come get us kids and we’d go camping for 1-2 weeks before the start of school.
Midnight runs to DairyQueen!
I used to love going to Boblo Island. You had to catch a boat to get there. On the way back from the Island, there was always dancing with a DJ. It was so much fun.
I was a kid back when homemade ice cream was made using hand cranked ice cream churns. Every Friday night during the hot southwest Louisiana summers my parents would invite friends over and each family brought their ice cream churn, their favorite recipes made up to pour into the tank. The men and children would sit outside and churn the ice cream and then we’d all enjoy a little of what everyone had made.
We didn’t have much money so couldn’t go places far away. I remember the fun of going to local fire company carnivals with my parents. We also used to have lots of picnics.
I used to go to sleepaway camp every summer. Girls camp on one mountain and boys camp on the other. The lake was shared in the middle, where we swam, kayaked, sailed.
The “cool” shoes to wear were Dr. Scholl’s sandals — the wooden platform ones — and we would tear down the mountain to the lake every single day.
Ah youth….my knees are feeling the pain as I even think about doing that now!
Summer Camp. Going away for four weeks every summer and getting care packages from home 🙂
Girl Scout Camp. Loved it so much!
My parents were very young when they had me my Dad was a full-time college student and my Mom worked full-time so summer was a time for any extra income while Dad was out of school. So my brother and I were shipped off to our Grandparents for the entire summer so once my grandparents retired we ended up with certain things we did every year with the neighborhood kids. My grandparents house became the local hang out for the summer with homemade popsicles and all sorts of other goodies like pancakes for breakfast everyday till we couldn’t eat anymore the same with homemade macaroni and cheese for lunch and dinner. We used to do a bunch of summer activities most kids do like swimming down at the river playing games etc. but we had a couple of things that got larger every year first was about the age of 11 or 12 I started a backyard carnival and the money raised we donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association after the first year my granddad would come up with a couple new games to add each year we did this till I was about 15. Surprisingly the other thing everyone looked forward to was the major game of Kick the Can we played a couple times a week but the game everyone really waited for was the one planned on the moonless nights during the summer my grandparents had a huge grassed back yard with soft lighting surrounding the entire yard the game started at sun down and we would play till we couldn’t run anymore then gather around for dessert and then spend the night sleeping on my grandparents screened in back porch sometimes there would be as many as 20, 25 kids all squished in back there. I have no idea how they survived us but my summers with them were the best.
My favorite summer memories are going to the State Fair every year with my 4-H exhibits. It was a lot of work but rewarding and fun at the same time.
My favorite summer memories are being able to finish an entire book before supper.
Every 4th of July, our little neighborhood had a parade. The kids dressed up and decorated bikes, scooters, trikes. We were led down the street by a police car (and felt quite important). When we reached the end, a little ice cream party was waiting for us.
Summer when I was a kid consisted of trips out on my family’s boat. We would get up, spend the whole day on the ocean cruising, tubing, and fishing, and then coast into Boston Harbor at night where we would dock and walk to the North End for pastries.
I remember we used to save frosting jars, use forks to punch holes in the lids, and then catch lightning bugs in them and keep them in our room overnight. So awesome!
I remember most summer holidays involved a road trip from Wellington up to either Levin or Rotorua to visit one or other set of grandparents. I loved the arriving at either destination, especially as it was the beginning of Christmas for us. (southern hemisphere)
My favorite summer memories all surround water. Growing up in New Hampshire, we would make several trips to Hampton Beach to swin, sunbathe and walk the boardwalk. The trip there and the trip home were always such fun. All the anticipation and then all the retelling of the fun memories. We also made day trips to Lake Winnepesauke to sail all day-stopping and swimming whenever we wanted to- visiting family friends who had summer homes on an island within the lake. I would also go to friends homes who had pools and we would swim and sunbathe. As a family we always went to see the 4th of July fireworks at the park across the street from the junior high my sister and I attended. That was a highly anticipated event every year. I never saw lightning bugs until I was an adult and we had moved to Texas- I wish I could have collected them in jars, too! My Dad was famous for taking us on secret trips, too. We would pile into the car and end up in Salem, MA, or at the Stonehenge in MA, or at an airshow with picnic lunches and going for ice cream cones. There were public pools, and one in particular was very clean and my father had lifeguarded there in his teens-Livingston-and we would frequently spend the day or go for an evening swim after dinner. Aaaah! Such memories! I’m so glad you asked this question. The memories are such good ones.
Thank you so much,
Betsy Pratt
2 great memories: summer camp at Camp Swoneky for one week every year until about 8th grade. And after 8th grade: working at Burger King. I’ve had many jobs since then and make A LOT more money, but I still think of it as the best job I ever had.
I grew up in a small town where everyone knew each other. The best summer memory is the annual 4th of July parade – all the bikes in town decked out in red, white and blue – around the town square. This was followed by a tug of war… the town against the volunteer fire department…. they always won because they would turn a fire hose on the rest of us when tey were about to lose. ;D This happened every year and it was entertaining for everyone especially in the PA heat.!
Camp Shalom was the day camp of choice for all the Jewish kids in Waterbury, CT. I loved that little camp- taking the bus, swimming in the lake, making that enameled jewelry where you shake the powder on the copper blanks and bake it, pounding ashtrays out of soft copper sheets and driving the counselors crazy by talking “baby talk” with my best friend Jill. I also remember going into the woods to see the rock with the plaque bolted to it honoring my great grandmother, Rebecca Isabell. My great grandfather, Nathan had given money in her memory. Funny, the things we remember.
One thing I remember is eating popsicles in the summer. I loved them, and banana was my favorite!
Summer memories in no particular order: riding my bike with no specific direction in mind, Girl Scout camp, learning how to walk on stilts, going to the town pool, going to the library and taking five books out and reading them all in a week, jumping waves at Jones Beach with my father.
we would rent a condo at the beach each year, the same week, with another family and just had so much fun.
My memories are of going to girl scout camp every summer. We would hike, cook around a campfire and just have fun.
We use to go to Crystal Lake every Sunday with about half of the neighbors. We had wonderful picnics and the parents all played penny poker while we swam and ate.
my family had a little camp in north central PA and we spent almost every summer weekend up there–a 5 hour drive each way! Looking back, not sure how my parents handled all that travel time with kids….. But, we have so many fond memories of time spent wading in the little creek on our property, swimming and fishing nearby, hikes in the woods, reading on the porch, and campfires most evenings. We generally spent at least one week there each summer as well–a little bit of heaven.
Berry picking! We would head out in the morning and “hunt” for wild blackberry bushes in the woods. We always ate far more than we ever brought home…
Every summer we spent a week with my grandmother in the country. It was pure heaven, we could run and play anywhere on 13 acres and were only cautioned to be careful around the stream. We had responsibilities too, but they never felt onerous. We’d help harvest raspberries for jam, kill potato bugs (not my favourite), and generally help in her enormous garden. At the time it was fun, now I see how much I learned. My city garden is much smaller, but bountiful and as I right this my raspberries are ripening beautifully 🙂
I broke my right wrist and cannot knit socks right now but I’d still love to win.
1. Swimming at the pool in town.
2. Grilling steaks/hamburgers.
3. Asparagus “hunting”
4. Bullhead fishing
5. Marching Band
~ A weird list , I know, but I grew up on a farm, so it was mostly a lot of work and not a time of year when my family could vacation. With that said, I did enjoy summer.
My most “memorable” memory is at 4th of July time, my dad didn’t watch the fireworks. He said he saw enough fireworks (bombs) during WWII. Each July, I remember what he went through & it reminds me that war/conflicts affect everyone differently…. and some for the rest of their lives.
My favorite summertime memory is going down to the creek and swimming with my Gram and little brother. It would be so hot, and that water always felt so good. We’d come back up to the house filthy dirty, and she’d hose us off before we were allowed to step foot in the house. This was usually followed by blackberry cobbler and ice cream. Yummy.
Going to Ocean City and walking on the boardwalk. Eating the fries with malted vinegar.
I would ride my bike to the library every week and get a basketful of books to read! Then I’d sit in the shade of some of our big trees and read to my heart’s content.
We drove from Nebraska to Iowa to visit my mother’s parents on their working farm.
Sheri, no wonder your grown kids come back to visit you! You have so many creative ideas for enriching daily life!
I grew up on a dead end street in a small town. almost every one of the 12 houses had at least one kid, most had 2 or 3. All summer long we would ride bikes all day, down to the local Y to swim, or just hang out. We’d return home for dinner then regroup in the street for some kick the can until 9pm or so. So simple- so fun!
Summertime includes so many memories for me: swimming lessons and days at the pool, playing baseball in the neighbor’s field, working on jigsaw puzzles when it was rainy or too hot and had to be inside, climbing and sitting in the apples trees. Then when I was teenager, I would help with the garden and canning and making pickles or jellies. The favorite thing with the family for me was going to grandma’s, having steamed hardcrabs, and making homemade peach ice cream for granddaddy’s birthday. I did attend summer camps away from home which added another bundle of memories – having block of ice cream on cornflakes for breakfast, learning about sports which we didn’t have in small rural school such as lacrosse, swimming in the ocean, beautiful location at one camp in the mountains for night vespers which we had to go down about 200 steps to get to and it was located beside river which you did not hear from main campsite, and all the people met from so many locations. These are some of my memories as a child but then did many activities with my own children which included summer reading programs at the library, gardening, and many happy days at Girl Scout and Cub Scout Day Camps.
All and all summer to me means outside fun and family time.
A childhood friend’s mother used to make excellent maple shakes every summer. We’d sit out on the porch with our maple shakes and talk about whatever we wanted until the bugs started biting too much. I really miss that part of my childhood, especially since that friend recently passed away unexpectedly. Maybe I’ll have to whip up a maple shake of my own.
Going to our grandparent’s lakehouse/camp was always the highlight of our summer. Swimming from morning to night, going out in the rowboat and sometimes we got to go horseback riding.
One summer my parents took us to Atlantic City (before casinos). We biked on the boardwalk, ate lots of seafood and ice cream, and rode the rides on the pier.
When I was little my Opa and I would go to this little popcorn wagon that used to be downtown and get bags of fresh popcorn and once in a while for a treat some licorice too. We’d take them down to the park and eat popcorn on the big swing together and watch all the ducks by the river. I wish summers were still that tranquil now that I’m an adult.
I watched Star Trek (original) at my Grandmother’s summer lake house with my cousin. My grandmother made hot fudge sauce and we had ice cream sundaes. I was about 13 – we did this every week night for two weeks. It remains one of my most powerful memories of Gram.
For the last 16 years, we went to the ocean for 10 days in the summer. I miss that! As a kid I spent my summers with my beloved grandparents. Doing not much of anything…..helping in the garden, swinging in my tree swing, baking cookies, coloring, putting together jigsaw puzzles with them.
I swam at the pool a lot. I remember we’d take a boat with friends and our dads and sleep on a sand bar for a night or two. That was a lot of fun.
When me & my sister were kids we would go away to camp. Every Friday was pizza day & dessert was an all you could eat Ice Cream bar followed by midnight swims. They had arts & crafts, boating, dancing all kind of fun stuff.
I wish I could find a place like that for adults lol.
Every summer my family packed up and headed to my great-grandparents’ riverside cabin. The days were filled with canoeing, rock skipping, and picnics on the dock. The nights were cool and I remember falling asleep to the echoes of bullfrogs and the laughter of grown-ups gathered around playing games until the wee hours.
My favourite summer memories are from when I was about 5 and I had an older brother and sister and we used to jump off the garage roof onto the trampoline and then into the backyard pool, strangely enough when my mother caught us doing this we were in trpouble and forbidden to jump off the rooof onto the trampoline anymore so we jumped off the roof into the pile off grass clippings and then ran to the pool, thios wasn’t as good though as the pool got lots of little bits of grass from our feet in it-lol
It was so much fun getting to spend time with my siblings all day everyday :0)
Love Mel
Growing up one of my favorite things was eating watermelon on the picnic table in my grandparents backyard. We always picked which watermelon we wanted from the farmer by the length of the pigtail. The longer or curlier the pigtail, the better the watermelon.
I spent my summer with my Aunt and Uncle who live on Long Island. Some mornings I would get early and ride my bike down to the the docks of their small town. I’d bring some bread with me to feed the ducks.
We grew up in a lake front home in Michigan, so from the beginning of may we would be begging to swim. we swam all the time and Mom had suchh trouble getting us to come out for meals! I have the same problem with my 4yo daughter nowo
Summers were always crazy- my parents worked so it was a flurry of camps and other things to keep us busy and then things like yard work on the weekends. We didn’t stop long enough to have many traditions besides driving to Memphis to see family and the last week of the summer on Cape Cod or Nantucket. In truth, many of my favorite summer memories are of rainy days when you would just sit on the screen porch and read all day. They were nice relaxing days.
and I love lightning bugs! Years ago I took some people from CA up the Washington Monument at 10 pm, which was amazing. But when we came out, they started squelling and running around- they had never seen lightning bugs before! I can’t imagine never having seen them!
One of the things I remember doing in the summer was playing four-square out in front of my house under the street light. We would play every evening. When we got tired of the game we would sit on the curb under the light until our parents called us into the house for the night.
There might be day camp or baseball games or chores during the day but come sundown we gathered like moths under the street light.