This has been quite tricky to write and is definitely something I invite others to do. It has challenged the limitations I have placed on myself and made me question some of the things I have believed I can or can’t do. My husband and I have done a few of the things on this list. We haven’t accomplished them together as a family though, which is why I have included them. Some are a little crazier than others, but many are simplistic. Often as parents, we crave the lights and the glamour, the fanciful adventures we felt we missed out on as a child. I am constantly reminded though (by my children) that quite often their greatest requests and petitions are as simple as searching the beach for the largest shell we can find, or making homemade playdough with sparkly bits of glitter scattered through it. It may not seem a big deal to some, but these little things are part of being a mum I envisioned and hoped I would be. A bucket list can include anything. My personal lists are always filled with travel fancies, but it never shies away from God, family and relationships. Travel enriches my life, it is my passion, but it is not my core. As I reflect on my last year my only real regrets are relational. I don’t want to travel the world alone, I want to do it with others but most importantly my family. The Bucket List for the family. Here is my version.

Be a Major Sponsor Of a Fundraising Event

Swim with a Turtle

Race down the Luge in Queenstown

Be Buried in the Sand (head above the sand of course!)

Take a Helicopter Flight

Throw a Dart On a Map and Travel to Wherever it Lands

Bungee Jump (While Our Boys Watch From Afar)

Teach the Boys to Skim a Stone

Sail the Seas in Vietnam

Make Mud Pies

Throw Coins Into A Wishing Well

Visit Disneyland

Visit Disneyworld

Host a Lemonade Stall Outside Our House

Shop at a Winter Christmas Market in Germany

Swim with Dolphins

Fly in a Seaplane

Teach the Boys to Ride a Bike

Hike up a Mountain

Play in the Snow

Walk along 90 Mile Beach

Whale Watch

See Machu Picchu

Bike Ride in Amsterdam

Snorkel Among Tropical Fish

Explore a Castle

Stand on the Great Wall of China

Eat Curry in Penang

Ride on a Gondola in Venice (been there but didn’t ride in a gondola)

Slide Down the Longest Water Slide in the World

Dine on the Rooftop At a Fashionable Hotel in Asia

Go Fishing, and Catch a Fish

Go to the Theatre

Watch a Live Basketball or Baseball Game

See a Broadway Musical

Go to a Music Festival

Go Camping

Milk a Cow or Goat

Go Kayaking

Go To the Top of the Empire State Building

Eat Dumplings in China

Sponsor Another Child

Meet Our Sponsor Children

Cook Over a Campfire

Swim in a Freshwater Lake

Dig For Shellfish

Have a Water Balloon Fight

Have Breakfast In the South of France

Attend a Movie Premiere

See the Dubai Skyscrapers

Ski

See the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York

Have Thanksgiving in America

Surf

Try a New Flavour of Icecream For The First Time

Make Our Own Pizza

Ride An American Yellow School Bus (the boys at least)

Skydive

See A Few Of The (New) Wonders Of The World

Eat Meatballs in Sweden

Do a House Swap

Run a Marathon While My Boys Cheer From the Sidelines

Return to Morocco with the Boys (and laze around our Favourite Pool)

Fly Business Class

Ride a Camel

See the Grand Canyon

Pick Wild Blackberries

Slide Down A Mud Slide

Travel to at least Six Continents (5 down, 1 to go!)

Go on a Cruise

Go on a Disney Cruise

Help/Work With a Charity or Great Cause For A Month Or more

Travel to a Country the Boys Have Never Heard Of

Eat Weird Food (That Locals Love)

Stop at a Random Diner on an American Road Trip and Eat Pie

Build a Treehouse

Paraglide

See The Niagara Falls

Help Save Someone’s Life

Be A Philanthropist, and Be a ‘Giving’ Family

Play Minigolf

Make Homemade Icecream

Teach the Boys to Tie their Shoelaces

Always Be Thankful

Relish Special Moments With the Grandparents