Summer!!!

Our last day of school was last Friday. We've had one official week of summer break..... and it's possibly busier than our school week! 

'A change is as good as a break' though, and it has been a restful week in its own way. 

I used to sort of school year round (we took more breaks throughout the year, so we still did the same amount of school). As the kids got older, and as we've lived in a kid infested friendly neighborhood the last 5 years, and as Dad was a proponent of the long summer break, we have been having a typical summer break lately. 

Elizabeth and friends photographing at an abandoned house.

Phoebe led a Memorial Day Parade around our neighborhood.

School is busy enough, now that all four kids are full-time into it, that many things get put off until a break arrives: 

• Spring Cleaning (which I must have ~ this gives my brain an excuse to leave several of those deep cleaning things that would niggle at me to no end if I didn't tell myself that I have time set aside to get to it ~ I just have to wait till Spring Cleaning!)

• Field Trips (we just have very little time during the school year to get to many field trips. I think we had more time for this when the kids were younger. But when I hear of some free museum day or that the Planetarium will be open special days during the summer or I want to try a new park someone mentioned on Facebook, I jot it down and we have a go-to list of things to do during the summer.)

• Jobs (these have already started for the olders. Jonathan started mowing lawns in the neighborhood, and Elizabeth started a job at Avocado Cafe. All of the kids help with Spring Cleaning and get paid for it. Liz is learning to drive, opened a new checking account, etc, etc.)

• Swimming (the pool opens. Liz has her raft that we want to take out at least a couple times. I'd like Harrison to have swim lessons.)

• Appointments (doctor and dentist appointments get put off till break if possible: Christmas, Spring or Summer.)

• More Podcasts, More Books (With the spring cleaning and driving, I have time to listen to more podcasts, so I'm trying out new ones. And I also have a *little* more time for reading books. I'm trying to follow along with the current Close Reads book discussion.)

• Next Year's School Prep (This actually starts around February/March. I enjoy planning curriculum, so this is fun for me. Right now I'm waiting for all the books I've ordered to come in, and then I can begin planning out the specifics for the first trimester.)

• Camps (church camp for each kid and a week of VBS.)

• Travels (we initially had put off our trip to Louisiana until school was done, but it turned out that a surprise funeral took us over there early. And we were only able to schedule time to fly to Washington 3 weeks into school next year. So travel plans aren't working out, but that's okay.)

It's good.