I have one simple way for you to have the Best Summer Ever.

That's right. Just one.

Are you ready?

1. Ditch The Summer Bucket List.

Seriously - ditch it. A bucket list is simply a to-do list in disguise. It's a fancied up taskmaster. And who needs that in the summer?

I don't.

I started off this summer with a bucket list of things I wanted to do with my toddler. But then a funny little thing happened on the way to knocking things off my list - Real Life. Don't you hate it when Real Life happens? Kids get sick and record rainfall cancels outdoor fun and jobs get crazy and on and on and on. Real Life does not stop for summer. Real Life does not care about your bucket list.

So as I looked at the arbitrary list of things we just HAD to do this summer I realized that I was giving myself some crazy standards. We had no time for spontaneous fun when working off a list like that. Plus, if we didn't check off all the boxes it would feel undone and unsatisfying at the end of the summer. I hate that feeling. I don't want any part of that feeling.

Let us remember that the Bucket List is not a prerequisite for fun.

You don't need one. All you need is this mantra: Your summer, your rules.

With that in mind, here's what we're doing instead:

The Summer Menu

Ah, doesn't that just sound nicer? Menus mean you have options, not obligations. Want to do the same activity 5 days in a row? Your summer, your rules. Want to go off-script and take a spontaneous day trip? Your summer, your rules. Want to completely ignore item #7 and not do it at all? Your summer, your rules.

Let's simplify, for the love. There's no need to make this parenting gig any harder than it already is. Limit your menu to 10 things. Or 15 things. Or 5 things. YOUR SUMMER, YOUR RULES.

Here's Our Menu:

1. Eat Outdoors

2. Swim

3. Visit the Botanical Gardens

4. Go to a splash pad

5. Go to the park

6. Get sno cones

7. Play with sidewalk chalk

8. Go on a walk

9. Go to a summer festival

10. Go to the zoo

End. Of. List.

You aren't limited to this menu of course. But it's there to be a helping hand when the words "I'm bored!" are on the tips of your children's tongues.

And it's totally okay to make that phrase against the rules.