End of summer checklist

Attend the Park Hop closing celebration – check!

Held at Conestee Park, this event was the culmination to months of “park hopping” to complete the scavenger hunt sponsored by LiveWell Greenville. We visited 16 of the 17 parks featured (and technically I don’t believe the Fountain Inn Farmer’s Market counts as a “park”) and although we didn’t win any of the adventure-themed prizes, the boys had loads of fun running around Conestee during the game, they love their new shirts, and we had the chance to visit nine parks we had not yet been to. As Greenville county Park Hop 2013 is over, keep up to date with next summer’s hop at parkhop.org. I can’t wait to see which parks are chosen next year; hopefully one or two close to us make the cut, and the majority are a little more toddler-friendly than this year’s. (Cedar Falls Park was my favorite of the new parks visited on the hop…)

 

Run into random university mascot during storytime at the local library – check!

Sponsored by Cocky’s Reading Express (a literacy outreach program), the USC mascot and friends read a few books, posed for pictures with fans and gave each child in attendance their very own book. Although the boys were a bit weary of the life-sized rooster sporting a giant beak and talons at first, they warmed up after the bird took several tumbles during Chicken Little’s “The Sky is Falling.” End result = lifelong Gamecock fans? Not just yet, it will take a little more than a free book. Dear Clemson Tiger – do you know how to read also?

 

Check on the progress of the construction crew down the street – check!

The rain has really slowed them down, but a few days ago the site was buzzing during one of the few cool, dry days we’ve had this summer. Favorite construction equipment? The dump trucks and excavators.

 

Catch Downtown Alive – check!

The weekly music series at NOMA square ends with the last Thursday of August, so if you haven’t made it to downtown Greenville yet, you only have two more chances. With local, regional and national bands playing rock, blues, funk, and covers, this event is the single largest fundraiser for the Metropolitan Arts Council every year. Just remember: all the restaurants that have outdoor seating look like the perfect spot to enjoy the music while having a glass of wine or trying a local microbrew, but there is a citywide ordinance that says you must order food with your drinks if you want to sit outside.

 

Visit the doctor for well-visits – check!

On a glum and rainy day the boys walked out with a shot or two apiece, but luckily the day was saved by the arrival of Foršā avīzīte, the zine published by the cousins. Add in baking sugar cookies with our brand new train, plane and automobile cookie cutters, and you have two smiling kids.
 

 
Catch a Greenville Drive game at Fluor Field – check!

After our last attempt at supporting our local minor league baseball team was rained out, what would be the chances of it happening again? Luckily between the Playcation package, the finished library summer reading program, a Michelin family event and a completed Park Hop we had a few extra tickets. Lauris enjoyed some one on one time with dad watching the Drive play the Rome Braves on Tuesday and we have our fingers crossed the weather holds for tonight’s game.


A last visit to the Children's Museum of the Upstate before the school groups take over – check!

We didn't go to Grown-Ups Only night, the party for adults hosted by the museum as a fundraiser, but we did have a ton of fun on several of the humid and hot days here in Greenville. As these tickets were also part of our Playcation package I really feel as though we got our money's worth, having visited the museum and the waterpark and having been rained out twice at Fluor Field. We'll definitely be taking advantage of this deal next summer!

Neither of the boys will be attending school this fall, but I still feel this sense of urgency to maximize every day remaining, take advantage of every opportunity and get the most out of the last days of summer. We've had a cool spell in addition to the rain, and I sense closet organizations, end of summer garden work and fall activities taking over our schedule in the next weeks. However until then we'll have to squeeze in a few more evenings spent downtown, more meals centered around all the wonderful fresh produce available this month and some time out on the porch swing reading books & sipping lemonade. Happy final days of summer, my friends!