Welp, this is it.  Summer’s officially over on Sunday.  I’m sad.  I don’t know what gives, but I am not even excited for fall.  I’m not ready to trade in weekly tacos for weekly soup (tacos trump soup big time).  I’m not ready to give up fun summer dresses and skirts for frumpy sweaters.  I am not even ready for Pumpkin Spice.  Wait, I already had one of those.  Just kidding.  I just really loved every minute of this summer and I’m not ready to put it in the past.  I guess a little check in with the “Summer Bucket List” is a good way to keep the summer going for just a little longer.  Ahem…

Go vegetarian for one week

I did this pretty early on in the summer.  I wanted it to kind of happen naturally without me really having to try but there were several weeks where I made it all the way to Friday then caved.  I actually find it pretty easy to not eat meat (that’s just how I roll most days) but the one day a week when I do crave some steak tacos is so hard to ignore.  Anyways, I did it.  But now I’m back to ordering things like salad with bacon dressing.

Attend Film on the Rocks

Done!  Twice over!  And not surprisingly, I loved it!  I mean the second time I went, the volume was so loud I thought my eardrums were going to burst (people were actually screaming “TURN IT DOWN!”), but all the people camping out, waiting to watch a movie with their friends and their beer is so fun.

Finish all the books on my “Summer Reading List”

I truly thought this one was going to be harder.  And maybe it would have been if I hadn’t taken that weekend trip to the cabin and read through a whole book while we were there.  That bought me lots of time to finish up that last book.  It felt so so good to be on a book-reading roll.  I always feel my best when I’m reading on a normal basis.

Go to Movie in the Park

I had really thought I was going to make it to the Movie in the Park event in Denver.  I even had all the movies scheduled out in my phone but that never happened. Luckily, my mom invited me to the Louisville MITP.  Extra lucky, because our attempt to go to the Boulder one was rained out.  But I did get one good MITP in and it turned out to be a fabulously fun night with my family.  Doing something just the four of us reminds me of when I was a little girl 🙂  Except now I get to drink sangria.

Try a new hiking trail.

Another one I checked off the list pretty early on.  And then never set foot on a hiking trail for the rest of the summer.  Oopsie.  At least the one we did get in was a good one.  I know I say this all the time, but I am absolutely dumbstruck every time I go into Boulder and see those big beautiful flatirons.  I am so spoiled to get to see such a sight so often.

Go one day without social media.

Aaaaand there’s no picture for that.  I thought this was going to be the real challenge of the summer, but I woke up one Saturday morning and just decided I’d be taking a break from the world of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the like.  It actually turned out to be really easy.  It really just made me more aware of how annoying it is when someone is glued to their phone.  But now I’m back to being that someone, soooo.

Run a 10K.

Although totally unintentional, I’m so glad I phrased it this way in my original Summer Bucket List post.  What I’d meant was to run a 10K race.  I didn’t do that.  But!  I did go on a 6.2 mile Saturday morning run, which totally fulfills this list item.  I felt tired and out of energy by the end, but hey, I also feel that way after a 3 mile run.

Bike to work.

Rest assured that my hair did not look like this by the time I got to work.

Joey did this a bunch last summer and would always tell me about these “two giant hills,” so I was expecting some super steep and fast incline.  What I got was two long drawn out inclines that I probably wouldn’t even have noticed were hills unless I was trying to pedal my body up one.  Joey may or may not have passed me up on foot.  I may or may not have got off and walked the bike up most of the second hill.   But I did it!

Give my office some personality.

Does getting a mini orchid, lighting a candle and hanging a calendar on my otherwise blank walls count as personality?  I’m gonna go with probably not.  In other words, fail.  But since this is the only thing on the list that I didn’t take down with ease, I’m calling it an overall success.  Plus I’m busy channeling all my decorating inspiration (and decorating budget!) into our house.  Much more important.

Go to an amusement park.

Checkity check!  I also rode every single roller coaster and even got Joey to go on one with me.  Actually, I had nothing to do with that, he seriously volunteered himself.

Brew an IPA.

This turned out to be our best beer yet!  I love it, Joey loves it, win, win.  In all seriousness, I thought I hated IPA beers until I tasted ours.  I think my taste in beer might be expanding even more.

Make/eat s’mores.

It may have been on our teeny tiny apartment patio.  It might have been over our grill and not a real fire.  And I might have felt like I never wanted to eat Hershey’s chocolate again, but those s’more were so worth it.  Also, important question: are you Team Barely Toasted Marshmallow or Team Char That Sucker Up.  I’m a proud member of the latter.

Drink a root beer float.

Ahhhh, yeah.  I’ve had a glass bottle of root beer and vanilla ice cream in my apartment for months.  So what do I do?  Order a $6 float while out to dinner.  Naturally.  Anyways, the experience was almost ruined by our waitress forgetting the straws (who does that?!), but it worked out for the best because by the time she got around to bringing them the ice cream was good and melty.  So so delicious.

Go to the cabin (and don’t complain :))

SHOCK OF THE SUMMER: I LOVED the cabin!  Seriously.  From the uber peacefulness of the mornings, to the cozy evenings by the fire and all the reading, BBQing, and mid-day napping in between, I had such a good time during our weekend getaway.  I have a good feeling this little escape will become a summer tradition.

Meanwhile, it’s also officially closing day.  We were supposed to close on Tuesday but houses have to be reappraised because of all the flooding here in CO so things just weren’t ready in time.  Let down doesn’t even begin to describe what I was feeling after that phone call from our realtor.  BUT today IS the day.  Which means I’m freaking out with excitement and ready for a busy weekend of moving.  Happy Friday to all of you!