Like those who are still in school all across the country, my kids are counting down the days until summer vacation where structured days mix with carefree ones that are opportunities to complete the items on their summer bucket lists. Thomas and Emily recently sat down and made a list of all the things they wanted to do this summer and I realized that there was a common theme to both lists: wanting to capitalize on the warm weather to be outside as much as possible.
I can’t say I blame them. After all, isn’t that what childhood is all about?
They love the afternoons that are void of activities and the only thing that stands between them and playing outside or going for a bike ride is their homework so with summer coming and full free days ahead, they have endless ideas about how they want to spend their time.
Our 2016 Summer Bucket List
- Play outside
- Play with the chickens
- Play with the dog
- Go to baseball games
- Do wood projects
- Use the tree house a lot more (last summer they worked with my husband to build a massive treehouse in our yard that has a platform 12 feet off the ground!)
- Add on to the tree house (there’s talk about adding a lower platform or a crow’s nest high in the trees above the roof line)
- Install a fire pole on the tree house
- Sleep in the tree house
- Work in the garden (we have our own fruit and vegetable garden in our yard)
- Hang out at the pool
- BBQ and eat good food
- Visit the beach
- Maybe Chincoteague or Assateague (one of our summer favorites!)
- Go boogie boarding
- Dig a giant hole
- Make a fort
- Pick berries
- Have a water fight
- Make a waterslide in the yard
- Finish my summer reading packet
- Do fun camps
- Go to baseball games
- Draw
- Explode a potato in the microwave (I agreed to this as long as they clean up the potato explosion)
- Go biking
- Travel somewhere I’ve never been
- Play guitar
- Go sailing and canoeing
- Go camping
I love that so many of the things that the kids want to do can happen right in our own backyard. Over the years my husband and I have made it a priority to make our backyard a kid-friendly space where interesting materials are readily available to spark the imagination and they can unleash their creativity or chill out in the hammock, check on what’s ready to harvest from our garden, play with our Labrador, Oliver, or our 3 chickens who spend the day free-ranging it around the yard.
It’s not uncommon for our kids to want to spend a majority of a nice summer day outside and while I do think about mosquito bites, ticks, and the recent news about mosquito borne Zika virus and ticks, I worry less thanks to DC Mosquito Squad. For the third year in a row, we’ve already started our annual mosquito treatments that repel and kill mosquitoes to help us enjoy our yard to the fullest throughout the summer.
About DC Mosquito Squad & Why We Use Them Every Summer
About every three weeks a DC Mosquito Squad technician comes out to apply a barrier spray to our front and back yard that repels and kills mosquitos for about 21 days. I always know when a technician is scheduled to spray because I get an email letting me know the day before. I don’t need to be home when the treatment happens but if I happen to be out, I always find a door tag with the time the technician sprayed so I know they were there.
The technician wears a backpack sprayer and treats the area under our bushes and shrubs and other places where mosquitos like to live and breed in our front and back yards. The entire process is quick and quiet. It takes about 15 minutes to spray and 30 minutes to dry. When the spray is dry, it’s safe for our kids, Oliver the dog, and our 3 chickens to go back outside and the effect of having DC Mosquito Squad treat our yard is felt immediately.
During the summer months, I am a prime target for mosquitos and in the past, it’s been difficult for me to enjoy being outside when walking from the car to the house resulted in numerous bug bites. Since our first DC Mosquito Squad treatment three years ago, I noticed an immediate difference. For the first time in forever, I found that I wasn’t getting bitten the second I stepped outside. In fact, I wasn’t being bitten at all!
Thanks to different spray plans (they offer a regular barrier spray or all-natural option), ability to see when technicians are coming, flexible scheduling, and elimination of mosquitos from our yard, DC Mosquito Squad continues to be a worthwhile investment that helps make our backyard enjoyable for all.
To make your summer more enjoyable and to reclaim your yard so your kids can complete the items on their summer bucket list, visit D.C. Mosquito Squad. They also provide special event sprays for outdoor events that will prevent mosquitos from ruining your special day. You can also connect with DC Mosquito Squad on Twitter, Facebook,YouTube, Pinterest, or Instagram and their blog is also full of helpful information, regardless of where in the country you live.
To read my other posts about DC Mosquito Squad, visit:
- 29 Ways to Protect your Family From Mosquito Bites and Zika Virus
- 4 Ways to Get Rid of Backyard Mosquitos and Ticks
- How to Keep Biting Bugs Away from Special Summer Events
This post was written in partnership with D.C. Mosquito Squad who is providing standard barrier treatment for our yard this summer.
