August 2022 – Sister Hack

NJ Bucket List: Anniversary Celebration & Baseball Game

As the Summer is in its final weeks, so is my bucket list!
Celebrate our 10 year anniversary with a fun activity

Throwback! This is the only wedding pic on my computer but we have a full physical album. How times have changed!

Because I was in Oregon the week leading up to our 10 year (omg!) anniversary, the hubz planned our activity…a day at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey!!! He picked it because 10 years is the tin/aluminum anniversary gift. I had been wanting to go to Six Flags since we first moved to NJ and I am so glad we finally went. It was also our first time at an amusement park together which was so fun. We arrived when it opened and went straight to Kingdaka (the tallest rollercoaster in the world) and right before it was our turn the ride had a technical difficulty that we watched the staff troubleshoot for about 5 minutes before deciding we did not want to be the first riders after a technical difficulty. We got out of line and went to the Zumajaro Drop of Doom ride. It ended up being my favorite ride of the day, I loved the views of the park from the 415 foot rise and the sudden 90 mile per hour drop down! We then did go back to Kingdaka, waited in a much longer line this time, and had an amazing time on the ride.
Here are the rides that we went on ranked from my most to least favorite:
1. Zumanjaro Drop of Doom
2. Superman (Hubz’s Fav)
3. Kingdaka
4. Batman
5. Log Flume
6. Sky Screamer Swings
7. Dark Knight
8. El Torro
9. Green Lantern

For food, we grabbed some Dunkin’ Donuts breakfast sandwiches and donuts on the hour drive down to the park. I bought a $6 20oz coke after we got off a particularly jerky roller coaster (El Torro) and I said “This is lunch!” because OMG $6! We didn’t buy any food at the park (and neither did anyone else so that seemed like the right choice…) and ended up stopping at Panera on the way home.

It was an amazing way to celebrate our anniversary although some of the rides did make us feel like old people!

Cost: $214 (tickets and parking), $6 (coke), $22 (Dunkin), $33 (Panera)
Total Cost: $275
Top Tip: The rides with no wait were the most painful, the rides with the longest wait are the least painful. Rides with a moderate wait are moderately painful.

Go to a baseball game
Take meeeeee outtt to the bawwwwlll game! Ah, nothing like a baseball game on the east coast. We have made this a tradition every summer since we moved here, so I definitely needed to include it on this summer’s list. We attend a minor league game in Montclair the Sunday after our visit to Six Flags. Luckily, the weather was a perfect mid-80s day, so it wasn’t too hot. We also won baseball hats on a spin the wheel at the entrance which was great since I had inadvertently donated the only baseball hat that I owned. The game was pretty lively for the first 4 innings but slowed way down for the 4th-7th innings. We ended up heading out a bit early, but all-in-all it was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Cost: $54: $30 (tickets), $24 (beers)
Top Tip: Minor league is the only way to go IMO. The price is way lower, parking is free, and the fans are dedicated!

2022 NJ Summer Bucket List:
Go to a baseball game
Have a pool day
Host a Summer BBQ
Explore a Delaware Water Gap town
Go to the beach
Visit the Maplewood Farmer’s Market
Play tennis
Win Broadway lottery tickets
See an outdoor concert
Celebrate our 10 year anniversary with a fun activity

OR Summer Bucket List: Paint Day

Emily here! I feel like I have finally hit my stride with my bucket list. Or I’ve been procrastinating and I’m finally feeling to end of Summer…either way I’m doing it! This post is Paint Day! I bought a few Melissa and Doug build and paint kits. I thought the birdhouse would be fitting for summer!

Pal and I worked on this together. He painted the top while I tried to hurry to put the base together before he got bored. He really enjoyed getting messy with the paint and also loved watching me build it! I think this would be great to do again when he’s older and can also build it.

The best part was when we were all finished Pal gave the bird house a big hug! It now has a nice spot in our backyard. Hopefully a bird family will build a nest in it in the spring!

Tips: We did this over the course of 2 days. Don’t rush the process! Also we did this while Bud was napping. Made it so much easier to just focus on Pal. Also paint outside (we didn’t do this but wish I had) then you don’t have to stress about a paint mess in the house.

Cost: $14 birdhouse kit.

2022 OR Summer Bucket List
✅Visit 2 (new to us) parks
✅Visit the Aviation Museum
Go to Local Lavender Farm
✅Picnic at a Park
Visit Grandparents Grave with Flowers From My Garden
Attend Library Story Time
Make the Perfect Afternoon Drink for Sipping Outside
✅Paint day with Pal
Take a Trip (day trip or overnight)

OR Summer Bucket List: New Parks and Picnic in the Park

Emily back with another summer bucket list! Maddie came to visit (full blog post coming for her visit) and while she was here we tried to do some of my bucket list items. We went to a new park while she was here and the following weekend my husband and I took both kids to a new park (crushing it!)

First up was Baker Park! We all loved this park! The theme was our town! It had different local places incorporated into the park equipment and a massive train (Pal is very into an moving vehicle). Me and my sister took turns following Pal around or sitting with Bud on a blanket. Pal did spend most of his time on the swing but also really enjoyed the train. We went to the park in the morning so we stopped by Full Throttle for some fun drinks.
Total Spent: $15 Coffee Drinks (honestly don’t know the exact amount but it’s around here.)

The next park that we went to was Kalama Park. We stopped by DQ on our way there to make this a picnic in the park (another bucket list item) and because DQ is delicious. This park wasn’t as big of a hit but we still had fun. A lot of the play equipment was very abstract and a bit hard to approach. Also the swings at the park were too high for Pal to airplane on. Big disappointment for him. Once again my husband and I took turns sitting with the baby or following Pal around.
Total Spent $36 (DQ Food)

I was very happy to finally venture out to some new parks. We will for sure be going back to Baker Park. Honestly I wanted to just go back there we my husband came with us but I was determine to complete my bucket list item. Also I really preferred going to the park in the morning. The temperature was great and it wasn’t crowded at all.

2022 OR Summer Bucket List
✅Visit 2 (new to us) parks
✅Visit the Aviation Museum
Go to Local Lavender Farm
✅Picnic at a Park
Visit Grandparents Grave with Flowers From My Garden
Attend Library Story Time
Make the Perfect Afternoon Drink for Sipping Outside
Paint day with Pal
Take a Trip (day trip or overnight)

OR Summer Bucket List: Aviation Museum

Emily here with my first bucket list item! We visited the Erickson’s Aircraft Museum which I keep calling the aviation museum. I wanted to visit this for a few years and Pal is very invested in airplanes so that was a big motivator. We finally made it happen on July 10th! It was a 20 min drive from our house. When we pulled up there were a few large airplanes parked outside the museum hanger and Pal started to laugh and squeal with delight which my husband and I said was our favorite part. The collection was very impressive and it was so fun to watch Pal walk around and look at the airplanes. My husband and I both want to return as there was a lot of educational reading material that we didn’t have the chance to read because we were both keeping a close eye on Pal.

We arrived right when they opened. It worked our great because traffic there and back was light, we had the place to ourselves and it worked out with everyone’s naps. We asked Pal to not touch any airplanes and he kept his hands at his chest the whole time. Also I think this is the first post with our second son Bud! He was mellow for the whole trip and also enjoyed looking at all the airplanes. My biggest tip for doing outings is knowing when to leave. Pal was listening really well and walking around nicely. Once we notice he started to get more comfortable and starting to not listen as well we quickly packed up and left. I make sure to pack a yummy snack to help the transition of leaving wherever we are.

Total cost $28.

Museum admission: $18 ($9 for me and my husband). $10 for toy airplane for Pal.

2022 OR Summer Bucket List
Visit 2 (new to us) parks
✅ Visit the Aviation Museum
Go to Local Lavender Farm
Picnic at a Park
Visit Grandparents Grave with Flowers From My Garden
Attend Library Story Time
Make the Perfect Afternoon Drink for Sipping Outside
Paint day with Pal
Take a Trip (day trip or overnight)