Hello friends, and welcome to summer. 🌞

I am so ready. Ready for my kids to sleep in, ready for a slower pace, and ready for some travel — we have New Buffalo, Boston, and San Diego on the calendar this summer and I will absolutely be sharing any recs worth mentioning. (All three are incredibly family-friendly cities if you haven't been!)

As always this month I'm sharing some things in my cart and what I'm loving, a roundup of the best outdoor movie spots around Chicago (a personal goal this summer — so many good options), and Father's Day experience ideas. Hint: the Cubs have a home game that Sunday.

Also, I've seen a lot circulating online lately about the pressure to be a "fun mom" this summer — or collectively eye rolling at the meticulously planned "90s summer" aesthetic — and I can’t say I disagree, when in reality our parents' version of a 90’s summer was just… existing in summer! Not scheduling much outside of a camp and signing us up for Book It (yes, it's back!) I definitely don’t recall my mom panicking about a bucket list, or stressing about having the right outdoor movie screen setup for a Pinterest-worthy backyard movie night, 😝 but if you’re looking - this one is great.

I had to sit with that — because yes, I love being on the go with my kids and sharing what I find — but being a "fun" mom to me is simply someone who has fun with their kids, whatever that looks like! So consider this your no pressure guide to kicking off summer - in whatever way that works for your family.

And maybe the best way to be a fun mom this summer is finally having a trusted babysitter in your back pocket — so you can schedule some self care or help be more present — which is why I'm so excited about this month's Business Spotlight. More on that below, plus an exclusive discount code just for Big Weekend readers. 🐝

Whatever summer looks like for you — I hope this helps make it a little more fun! 💌