25 ways to slow down and enjoy the summer

School's out! Our girls had great experiences in first and third grades, and we are grateful for their academic growth. Now we have 12 short weeks to cover ourselves in sunscreen and mosquito spray and get outside to enjoy all that we can squeeze into the shortest but warmest season the northern prairie offers. While the first official day of summer isn't for a few more weeks, our summer kicks off with Memorial Day and ends in late August when school and football season start.

Each summer, I create chore and reading charts for my girls so they're motivated to pitch in around the house and yard and continue reading. They also play baseball in June, attend Bible school and a few camps and take swimming lessons for a couple of weeks. The summer is never long enough, so I make it a priority to "schedule" some evenings and weekends for downtime to allow for spontaneous summer moments that create lasting memories. To remind myself, and maybe you too, here's a list of 25 ways to slow down and soak in all summer has to offer.

• Stop and smell sweet clover during hay season.

• Run through a sprinkler on a hot day.

• Roast marshmallows over a campfire and make s'mores.

• Eat a hotdog while watching a local baseball game.

• Read a book while sitting in the sunshine.

• Plant (and weed) a garden.

• Visit and support a farmer's market in your town or a nearby town.

• Freeze or can garden produce.

• Attend a small-town festival.

• Go camping in a state park.

• Go fishing and take someone along with you. (We prefer catching walleye for supper.)

• Attend an outdoor theatre or musical production.

• Pick berries and enjoy them straight off the vine or in jams or pies.

• Hang your clothes out to dry in the fresh air.

• Grill your favorite meat and enjoy a picnic.

• Make lemonade and set up a lemonade stand.

• Skip rocks on a lake.

• Enjoy ice cream cones with your family outside.

• Get up with the birds to watch an early morning sunrise.

• Attend a local rodeo.

• Visit your local county fair and enjoy the 4-H projects, animals, food and rides.

• Fly a kite.

• Watch or participate in a local parade.

• Go swimming in a local pool or lake.

• Bid farewell to summer with a ride on a combine during harvest.

There's no way you'll accomplish everything on this list. Pick five for starters for you to enjoy by yourself or with your spouse, children, grandchildren, a friend or neighbors. Time has a way of slipping by, so be intentional about making time to slow down and soak in summer, which might mean saying no to other requests and unplugging from the demands of work by turning off your phone and social media.

I hope my kids look back on their childhood and treasure their summers. I fondly remember potlucks on my grandparent's front porch, the Aneta, N.D., annual turkey barbeque in June, shooting off bottle rockets with my cousins, swimming parties with families and friends, fishing "down at the dam," our family trips to Medora, N.D., to see the musical, delivering my mom's homemade harvest meals to the field and my uncle and grandpa teaching me to drive a grain truck.

As a young girl, I remember working alongside my grandma in the garden, hanging clothes out to dry and packing "lunch kits." I filled thermos of sun tea, lemonade or coffee and put them inside heavy black plastic boxes with metal clasps. Meat sandwiches, Cheez-Whiz sandwiches or a special peanut butter and pickle sandwich for my grandpa were in each lunch kit along with a piece of fruit and homemade cookies. I lined them up by the door with masking tape with a name on each one for everyone going out to the field. My love of preparing and sharing food started with summer experiences with my mom and grandma.

As I got older, my best summer memories were created as I traveled for summer AAU track meets with my track club teammates and coaches across the U.S. I'm grateful my parents and grandparents exposed me to a variety of summer experiences.

When summer ends in a few short months I won't have recreated all my childhood experiences, which are now tucked away as memories. My goal is to enjoy a summer of new experiences - simple yet full of togetherness.

Don't wait. Start this week with new summer experiences or recreate a favorite tradition to experience with your loved ones.