Enjoy Summer

This week marks the beginning of summer vacation for many schools in the south ~  enjoy this time with your children!  They will be off and working before you know it (I know!).

Instead of dreading the long, lazy, hazy, dog days of summer ~ embrace them and have fun!

Here are some things my kids loved ~ 

*hours at the pool ~ take a picnic lunch or dinner & lots of drinks and sunscreen
*tv afternoons ~ watch classics like Little House on the Prairie or The Waltons or old Disney movies
*Learn something new & fun ~ cake decorating, scrapbooking, sewing, fishing, tennis, etc.
*Read ~ there are loads of books of all interests available
*Fun Foods ~ cook something new, teach your kids to cook, have breakfast for dinner or my kids personal favorite ~ ice cream for dinner night!  They still love it.  And 1 or 2 ice cream dinners for the summer will be long remembered and talked about.  We still do this one.
*Vacation ~ find side trips along the way, play games, hunt shells, eat shrimp (yum), drive through the mountains, go to a state park,  enjoy the journey, collect brochures of places you go and make a scrapbook together
*Staycation ~ catch lightning bugs, grill out, have a bonfire, find a place to swim (pool, lake, etc), sleep late, stay up late, write a letter, watch a movie together, find free or inexpensive sites locally to visit

Celebrate Christmas in July ~ movies, crafts, make ornaments etc.  Do the things you don't have time for in December.  I even did a turkey dinner one July, with all the fixings...everyone loved it!

Make up new traditions ~
*Celebrate a winter birthday with a pool party or running through a sprinkler
*Make up your own holidays ~ popsicle day, coloring day, pick flowers day, watch the clouds day, decorate cookies or cupcakes day, take a meal to a friend day, play with your food day, play doh day, etc. 
*And if togetherness gets too confining....take a nap, rest, or time out day ~ everyone needs those occasionally.

One thing my kids learned early on not to say....I'm bored.  That statements gets you chores, like vacuuming the house, cleaning the toilet, cleaning fridge shelves, etc.  One of my children came into the kitchen and started I'm....going to find something to do.  She had learned not to say bored!

And yes, life still happens ~ houses get messy cause you are home all day, dishes pile up, etc.  Set a timer and everyone work like crazy for 30 minutes ~ then have a reward....popcorn, popsicles, etc.  You can get a lot accomplished in 30 minutes if everyone pitches in.  Even a little one can pick up toys, or carry small things to other rooms, or help "wash" dishes.

Have fun.
Enjoy your time together.
Make memories.

It may not seem like it now ~ but these days will quickly pass.

Happy Summer! 

Thankful for ~
the time spent with my children
the ability to stay home with them
the break in the school routine & schedule
long days of summer