Keepin It Real

We are about half way through summer here in AZ- and by summer I mean the break from school- not the season.  Because here in Arizona, summer lasts forever- like 8 or 9 months.  Anyway, I just wanted to do a half way post of what we have been up to.  Today at the pool, one of my friends mentioned that she wouldn't be swimming tomorrow since they were going with some other moms in the neighborhood to try out some free bowling that a local alley is hosting.  She asked if I wanted to join, and then before I could answer she said, "does that just sound like torture to you?"  She knows me too well.  I responded that yes that does sound like torture to me.  I want my kids to have good fun summer experiences, but I can't and won't do everything there is to do and sacrifice my sanity and sometimes their sanity as well.  The age range of kids I have right now makes it almost impossible to do something that everyone will enjoy.  I still make a concerted effort to have outings and activities that each child will like, but sometimes they are short lived and simple at best.  We swim everyday.  That is something I can do.  I have a great system of getting everyone in their swimwear, sunscreened, and out the door by the allotted time.  Sadie, Drew, and Brinlee(with the help of floaties) can swim independently of me which leaves me with only Mr. Cole to entertain/swim with during this time.  We last an hour to an hour an a half and then Cole usually signals that he has had enough and we dry off and head home.  I feel good about this part of the day.  The kids are outside, doing something physical and not dying in the heat.  Another great resource of fun this summer has been the library.  I got smart this year and let Drew and Sadie get their own library cards which they love.  We head to the library every week or two and they all pick out a huge stack of books and then use the self scanner check out all by themselves. I do assist Brinlee since the one time I let her do it on her own she missed a book and we ended up setting off the lovely you-are-trying-to-steal-books-from-the-library alarm.  We have a fun little summer reading program that we are doing where they write/draw little book reports on the books they read and earn prizes.  I feel good that they are developing a love for books and using their brains and creative sides to not only read, but write reports as well.  We all went to a movie as a family this past Monday night for family home evening.  It was a great reminder to me on why I decided to skip the summer movie tickets this year.  Cole was fine until the kids started eating their movie treats and then he was horrendous.  I ended up walking around with him close to the door the whole time.  The older 3 had a great time as did Brad so I still count it as a success.  Every so often we have a little lunch date and have even taken lunch out to Brad at work a time or too.  It is a treat that we don't have too often so the kids really get excited about it when we do it.  Other than that, we are pretty much home bodies.  I am trying to keep a perspective about my current season of life and not feel like I am failing my kids by not doing more away from home.  We have a really great nap time/rest time routine that I am definitely going to miss when the older two start school in a few weeks.  Brinlee and Cole go down for naps each afternoon while Sadie and Drew have an hour of rest time where they watch a movie that they both agree on.  This gives me time to get things done like dinner prep, paying bills, pinterest browsing, etc.  After that, Drew is allowed some computer time and Sadie and I settle in on the couch to watch something together.  It is usually a food network related show- although today we watched a new show on TLC called Craft Wars and she loved it.  It is nice to have some one on one time with her and watch something that I enjoy as well.  The rest of the afternoon is usually taken up with board game playing wherein I get my butt thoroughly kicked at Trouble or Sequence.  Brad arrives home soon after that and then the whole dinner time routine kicks in.  Wow- I didn't intend for this post to get so long, but it is nice to get my thoughts out and see that I actually do fit quite a bit into a day albeit not so exciting sometimes.  Life is good, we are healthy and happy.  I love laying in bed at night- when it is quiet and realizing that everyone is tucked safe and happy in their beds- including me.