The Vacation Bucket List, a great idea!

Today's post comes from my friend Heather, also known as Sweet Momma over at "Adventures with Four."  She is a Christian Mommy blogger sharing her life of faith while walking in grace. She's raising four sweet (sometimes sassy, messy, and crazy) children with an incredibly patient and loving husband. Sharing all the ups, downs and in-betweens. 

I'm writing this post from the balcony of our vacation villa where I am determined to soak up the last drops of summer (even if it's in liquid form). I can't believe summer is almost over! But, there is still plenty of fun left to be enjoyed before the busyness of fall is upon us.

After a week stay-cation back home filled with more running around than any of us wanted (stupid broken windshield!) or planned for that matter, we were more than ready for our weeklong family vacation to the beautiful Rocky Mountains. This was our first vacation in almost two years with all six of us together. I know this vacation will be close to my heart for many years to come.

To prepare for the trip, we made a “bucket list” of activities to do. Trust me on this, when you spend a few minutes planning the activities you want to do with your family before you leave, your trip will go more smoothly. You won't find yourself saying, "I don't
know what to do. Do you know what you want to do?" You won’t end vacation wondering how you managed to watch four episodes of  Say Yes to the Dress, glued to the couch in your hotel. 

Listen to me, please. Make a plan to get out and do something fun! It doesn't have to cost a fortune to be memorable!

We considered all the activities offered by the resort and the surrounding community. Having been to the area previously, we knew the area offered. Before we left home we purchased some coupons (Fairmont discounts are available through their website and through discounters such as Costco) to help trim costs on golfing and day camps for the kids, activities we planned to do in advance. Here’s our list.

  

Vacation 2012-bucket list: Fairmont

1. Enjoy a self-guided hike to check out the hoodoos
2. Splish splash in the resorts outdoor salt-water pool
3. Ride the horses 
4. Take a dip in the hot spring 
5. Pack a mountainside picnic lunch 
6. Watch the wildlife (It turns out we saw a bear, mountain sheep, deer, squirrels and a bat.)
7. Swing the golf clubs at the resort course

At check-in, the resort provided a free activity guide that offered a ton of great ideas that we didn't even know were available to us!  

We added a couple of them to our list.

1. Experience the art of chocolate tasting *yummy!* (Sample over 14 different chocolates from various producers and regions of the world.  Learn all about the nuances of the cacao bean and chocolate production)
2. Create some free time using the little chef’s day camp (1/2 day camp)
3. Find the "stolen church.” I can't even remember where I heard about the "stolen church" but apparently it’s just down the road in Windermere (this is for real!)
4. Take in a yin yoga class
5. Visit the Local farmers market. (We saw the mad hatter and some belly dancers.)

Once we completed our “must do” list, we tacked on a list of activities to add as time allows.

1. Swim in a mountain lake (Brrrr…. It looked cold!)
2. Build bottle rockets and launch them
3. Go rock climbing
4. Make beeswax candles 
5. Investigate the fun of geocaching 
6. Watch the sun set over the mountains

Planning activities in advance provided structure to our trip and kept us from falling into lazy habits. I’m proud to say we didn’t watch a single episode of Say Yes to the Dress. If you'd like to see what we thought of our adventures, please stop by Adventures with Four to read all about it.