Summer Has Arrived

Today was the last major activity for any of my children for several weeks. Madelyn will be performing in the local parade on Thursday, but the parade starts a few blocks from our home, so she can walk there. Cross-country practice has begun, but Joe is able to meet up with the other runners without me driving him there. The garage sale was packed up yesterday and all the unsold items taken to a local charity shop. I feel such a sense of peace. It seems that we've been running flat out for so long, I am thrilled with the thought of staying around the house, unless I want to go somewhere.

Last night, Paige and Allie attended a sleep-over birthday party at a friend's home, which is just a few blocks away. In the middle of the night, one of the attendees lost a tooth. All the girls were chaperoned by the birthday girl's father to house across the street. The girl wanted to share her lost tooth with her parents. There were whoops and singing as the small group of girls made they're way down the street, carrying glow-in-the-dark balloons. I awoke to the sound and looked out the window. The children were so happy to be roaming the streets in the dark. It reminded me when my siblings and I played hide and go seek in the dark.

This morning, Madelyn and I had to get up at 5:30 to drive to the state cheer-leading finals. The team did well and Madelyn had a great time. It's so much fun to watch her perform. She glows throughout the performance. I know that she will miss cheer this summer, but the break will be nice for both of us.

After the competition, we went letterboxing. It was really hot, so we did 3 drive-by boxes. One of the boxes was in a bush outside the building that hosted the cheer competition. I didn't realize that the box was so close until after we had reached the car and read the clues.

When we finally arrived home, the house was a wreck. Some serious cleaning will be necessary to make it habitable again. Guess what we're doing Monday.

We will continue to do math and English over the summer. No one was particularly happy about the decision, but I'd like to continue our momentum. It should only take 45 to an hour each day and we'll try to schedule it when there's no one around.

I'd like to get a ton of sewing done and do quite a bit of letterboxing. I've got about 100 stamps to plant and several new boxes have recently been planted in our area.

We're still trying to work out the timing for a family vacation this summer. I never realized how difficult time becomes when the children get older and have outside obligations. Hopefully, we'll be able to find a week or two to have some fun.