Today officially starts summer for our family. Today was the last day of school.....and the first day of summer vacation. This gives me panic and excitement at the very same time. I love having my kids home. I love not setting an alarm. I love letting them stay up late. However I do not love keeping 4 energetic kids busy. Or solving arguments between siblings. He said, she said stuff. We are going to need a plan. Because while going to the pool everyday sounds like a fine way to spend a summer....It's just not physically possible. Even for me. Which is really amazing.
So what can we do? Any ideas? We started by visiting the library tonight. Loading up on books, Play-a-ways, and movies. For any of you that have not heard of Play-a-ways they are super cool for your kids. They look like a little iPod that has a battery. It is an audio book on the go. They even come with an extra battery. It simply reads a book to your children.....and there is no downloading, cassettes or CD's. You simply plug in earphones and enjoy. The kids each have a Boxcar Children Play-a-way to listen to. We also signed up for the summer reading program. Which really works out well for our oldest, who really would rather skip meals to read. But now the rest of the week?? I'm thinking we need some structure...but not to much to make it like an army camp ??? Just needing some ideas from all you cool mamas out there.
I also picked up a book tonight at the library. By an author I've never read before-Jodi Picolult. I've heard good things about her books, and so far-so good on the first 5 chapters. Plain Truth. Ever read it? It was on the best reads for the summer list. So tell me now if I should quit reading. And start one of the other 5 books I got also tonight.
Quote of the day......And again from William, this time while praying at bedtime: "Thank you God for Jack's chubby cheeks - Dad, write that down".
