Summer Days - Bucket List

This was our first summer to have a bucket list.  We liked it enough that we will try it again.  Here's this year's list:

Krispy Kreme with report cards

 (check!  we headed over right after the Fourth of July festivities.  we get 2 dozen free with all of our scholars)

bike to XXX park and have a picnic 

(nope!  still waiting for the bridge by our house to be completed so that we can cross it and cut off a mile of biking to get there)

go to the zoo (check!)

the pictures don't prove it, but Grandpa was with us and sponsored the trip - thank you!

 loved the giraffes

 loved the lion water fountain

 brought some of the monkeys with me

 but then they were so cute that I couldn't bear to leave them at the zoo 

Camden looked happy despite being chased by a dinosaur because, as he told Callie, he had a plan to trick the dino - insert sneaky giggle

eat Pollyanna-style watermelon wedges

we are serious about watermelon eating at this house

play Love At Home with Jacob during Sacramant Meeting 

(working on it...scheduled for September and we're still practicing)

3 hikes (did one)

canoeing (not yet)

Manti Pageant 

(didn't work out for me and the little ones, the girls went as part of Girls' Camp)

camp as a family (check!)

 a little cloud cover gave way to a beautiful starry night - the star gazers saw about 2 dozen shooting stars

 

during the brief rainstorm we played cards in the tent

 

Callie's friend Sabrina came with us

 The card game moved to the picnic table and after awhile we started singing songs that came to mind as people said things...that gave way to simply belting songs out (we had the place to ourselves), and we ended up playing a funny singing game - tons of fun.  The night ended with s'mores, a devotional, and star gazing.

A funny note on camping - the restroom facilities were vault toilets.  The nicest ones I have ever seen, mind you, but Emmie didn't like them so much.  She refused to use the toilet as it got dark at night and kept herself dry until she was persuaded to go again the next morning 15 hours later.  After she used the potty she hopped off and said, "Now it's your turn to not fall in".  

wolleyball as a family (nope)

make homemade caramel (nope)

make homemade lemonade (nope)

Movie-thon - Pride and Predjudice (nope - but we did watch some fun movies)

Read-a-thon (check!)

It would have been nice to get to more of it, but I am glad that we did what we could.  And I'm glad that we got to enjoy lots of family, fun and friends that kept us from doing the rest - a GREAT way to spend the summer when you don't have any vacations planned yourself, and fantastic reasons for not finishing off the bucket list!

Summer Days - a review

We have just been through our speediest summer yet.  School has been in session for a week now.  This was the first year ever that come August I didn't start anxiously anticipating the beginning of school again.  We worked out a nice system this summer and I have enjoyed having my children at home with me.

In all honesty, it didn't start out that way.  At the beginning of the summer there were tears on my part and a realization that I don't like summers!  Enter prayer and listening/researching different ideas for how mothers make it work and love it, and with some tweaking we were able to figure out how to not only get along this summer but to enjoy being together!  Some things we did:

Family song, prayer and scripture was at 8 am every morning.  Before then the kids and I pretty much left each other alone.  I did lots of 6 am walks with a friend, yoga, and home chores.  It worked best when I had the chore lists out by 8.  I found that our days went smoothest when I looked at all of the work that had to be done that day (typically by me) and divvied it up.  Watering the planters, yard work, tidying up after breakfast and lunch (or occasionally assigning out making breakfast or lunch), tidying, vacuuming...we all shared the load.  I think it worked out pretty well.  I know I liked having more time to spend with the kiddos.  And after Tyler and I went away for almost a week Jacob expressed relief that we would be having daily chore lists again - he liked feeling productive!

Quiet time was supposed to go from 1-2.  Drew and Jacob were supposed to read and the little ones were supposed to play quietly so that I could nap and have some down time, and then we were all supposed to gather together to watch a documentary.  It was nice when it worked.  When the summer got really crazy it turned into cartoons for the little ones and whoever snuck in to the room to watch with them while I took a nap, but I did make sure I kept some down time for myself in the middle of the day and it was wonderful.

Dinners continued to be very late, starting at 6:30 or 7.  Not my favorite thing, but I do like it when Tyler can be with us for family dinners so we often wait for him.  Or I am just plain late getting food to the table.  That puts bedtimes late but I stopped worrying as much about late bedtimes and went with it - it was summer, after all.  After our Month of Company in July it was a blessing to have late afternoon swimming lessons these last two weeks.  I'd make dinner earlier in the day, and at 4:15 the little ones and I would all go swimming for about 90 minutes (their lessons were staggered so everyone got in some free swim time and some lesson time except Emmie - who just splashed her little heart out).  When we got home they'd pajama and eat dinner and then often they would be ready for bed, or at least quiet reading.  What a great way to get ready for real bedtimes again for the school year!  It was also a super fun ending to the summer to swim almost every day for two weeks.

We tried to get to the library once a week.  This was a beloved activity for all involved and it was always such a peaceful day after we got home and everyone had their nose in a book (or two or three).  Loved that!

We did Park Day with neighbors and friends for the first month.  It was pretty fun, but then we had family visit and went on a trip and it fizzled.  Oops.

We had a Bucket List.  Loved that.  Didn't get to all of it but enjoyed some of it.  It will get it's own post.

We had a no video games rule.  Loved that - didn't have to fight the battle of constantly being asked "can I play the Wii?"  I am not saying we never turned it on - it did go on while Tyler and I went away for 6 days, and there were a couple of times that I let the Wii be the babysitter for the boys while I was away and the girls didn't want to actively tend - but it was only a handful of times in 12 weeks.  I loved it that the kids did lots of outdoor play, our board and card games got a little bit of use, and it was fun to see games of four square going on.  Definitely need to repeat this!

Mostly I am just grateful at where I stand now, versus where I was at twelve weeks ago.  I am so thankful that with prayer and research and inspiration and hard work the answers came that helped me to not survive but to truly enjoy the summer with all of my children home.  Maybe summertime is a school of it's own for mothers.