‘Twas the First Day of Summer Break…(FREE SUMMER BUCKET LIST PRINTABLE!)

So today is the first day of summer break 2023.

The first couple of days are a delicate balance, right? I want to let the girls decompress a little so I try to keep things moving at a slower pace.

But on the same hand, I want to set the expectation for the summer to be something besides two blobs laying around double screening 24/7.

I’m also still acclimating to this SAHM version of summer. Up until 2 years ago, I was working outside the home full time and the girls went off to their summer after-school program. I didn’t have to provide all the structure in our day.

What I have figured out is to make the girls an active part of planning our summer plans. I think it’s a pretty understood parenting principle that involving kids in decisions helps with the buy-in and follow-through of those decisions.

So today I will give the girls each this Summer Bucket List printable {below}. They can brainstorm anything and everything they would like to make part of their summer break. The sky’s the limit!!

I know Leah has been itching to learn cross stitch. Brooke wants to find ways to make some money. We’ll have a couple of weeks in Michigan visiting family and Brooke can’t wait to camp while we’re there. Both girls have signed up for our Girl Scout Council’s Summer Reading club so I’m sure library visits will be a regular occurrence.

And I anticipate that some of the items on their list won’t be feasible – whether due time, distance, finances, etc. But we’ll talk those things out and see where compromises can be made.

If you’d like to get feedback from your kids about what they’d like to include in their summer break adventures, I’m offering my Summer Bucket List printable to you for free!

What is on YOUR summer bucket list???

Girl Scout Cookie Booth Signup – Google Sheet Template

Girl Scout Leaders and Cookie Managers, let’s be honest – there are many moving parts to a successful Girl Scout Cookie Season! There are so many things to keep track of and establishing a streamlined system for Girl Scout Cookie Booth signup is a must.

I’m going to share with you the system I created that works like a charm!

My troop has used this cookie booth signup method for many years and it works great for us.

I’ve used other sign-up programs like the one in BAND (which I LOVE for troop communication) but I just really love this Google Sheet version. It is easily available to families and everyone can see changes in real time.

This template is also easily customized to work for your troop and how you run your booths. Some simple adjustments include:

  • Adding rows & columns
  • Deleting rows & columns
  • Omitting the color coding
  • Changing the color coding
  • Tracking sales per booth
  • NOT tracking sales per booth

If you need help with customizing the template for your situation or have trouble accessing it, drop a comment below and I’ll do my best to help you out!

Click here to get the Girl Scout Cookie Booth Signup template: Girl Scout Cookie Booth Signup Google Sheet Template

I hope this template works well for your troop and that you have a relatively stress-free but successful Girl Scout Cookie Sale!!

Remember – while the funds raised through the Cookie Sale are vital to running our troops the main purpose of the sale is to allow our Girl Scouts to learn and practice the 5 Selling Skills!! If they are learning and having fun, we are doing our jobs!!

Melanoma Monday is Here Again

Today is Melanoma Monday.

Melanoma Monday was founded by the American Academy of Dermatology in the early 1980s to encourage sun safety leading up to the summer months.

I’m thankful that there is not much to share when it comes to my experience with melanoma.

If you’re new to my melanoma story, here’s a quick recap:

Melano-not me

Post Procedure Update

All Clear

And an embarrassingly crappy, old YouTube video:

I am now 12 years post-diagnosis and I’ve very happy to report that I’ve had no reoccurrence. I’ve maintained 6-month checkups for most of that time and recently my dermatologist and I decided we could knock those back to every 8 months.

I’ve had a few biopsies here and there – some in more painful spots than others – but my philosophy is that I’d rather have an uncomfortable biopsy that comes back negative than miss something that becomes a bigger problem.

As always, I encourage you to do what you can to prevent skin cancer, learn to do self-exams, and see your dermatologist regularly.

Early detection made a HUGE difference in the outcome of my melanoma. So I will be a broken record the rest of my life shouting that message from the rooftops!!!!

When was your last visit to the dermatologist for a skin cancer screening?