Farewell, Summer!

This summer has been the best summer of my life. We have made many memories together as a family, and although it may appear that all we did was play, we worked hard too. I am a mother who is convinced that children need to spend more time with their parents and they need to be taught responsibility and skills that will make them good adults. We made several goals and a bucket list at the beginning of the summer and it was fun to see them unfold and be accomplished.  I loved seeing them feel the satisfaction of doing a job well done, a priviledge that I feel many parents deprive their children of having. To fit everything in that we wanted to, we came up with a calendar and schedule. Here is what we did:

Mondays: Make something Monday... we made slime, cookies, crafts, did science projects, a "kid wash" out of PVC pipe. And we- mostly the boys- cleaned the playroom every Monday. 

Tuesdays: Take Time to Read- we went to the library- or went bowling. Tuesdays job was to clean the bathrooms. The coveted job was scrubbing the toilet. 

Work Outside Wednesday: This was one of my favorite days of the week. We did hard things on Wednesdays and it took a while. We weeded the garden, washed walls and windows, cleaned the garage THREE times this summer, watered flowers, washed cars, mowed the lawn, cleaned the patio, trimmed the bushes, swept the sidewalks and driveway. It was hard work for my kids. And although it did not happen without some complaining, they got it done and they did awesome! 

Thoughtful Thursday- We tried to do service on this day, we wrote cards, drew pictures and made cookies for someone we thought needed some love. One Thursday we went to a humanitarian aid event and stuffed little bunnies that were sewn and sewed on the button eyes for them. This was a little challenging and I ended up having to redo what they did becuase they really were supposed to look nice, but they tried and they enjoyed serving. Thursday was also clean bed room day. 

Fun Friday- This was a day of fun and no jobs- we went to Eagle Island a few times, to Ivy Wild water park, parks, the childrens' museum, the lake, on a picnic, to the park. Whatever the kids wanted. 

We also started an allowance for the boys to reward them for doing their work and so they could buy their own stuff. I hate going to the store and having them ask "Mom, can I have this?" to every thing they see. Now I say, "Yes, you can buy it with your money!" 

We also had a daily routine that included reading and math, cleaning up dinner, doing Quick Tidy and doing first and last fives. Like I said, it was a busy summer. It proved to me that if you want something done, you need to plan for it.

As I look back and still enjoy many memories from the summer, I mostly realize that I enjoyed all my children in all their stages. I think in my perfect world, I would have a newborn and a two year old. This is the second time in my life I have been able to experience both at the same time. And, I love it. Both stages are full of new experiences that are so exciting. Bridger and Carter are at the age that they are learning to do new things on their own, have deeper conversations with us and come up with ideas and projects on their own. This summer was so fun and fulfilling to me as a mother.
A few random pictures:
Slime we made:

These are pictures from one of the times we went bowling:

 The "waiter" brought our group probably 15 cups of water. I will let you guess how many towels he ended up bringing us later to wipe up those 15 cups of water!

Yes, Afton was shirt-less the majority of the summer.

In Boise, it stays light until 10 p.m. I loved walking outside to a yard full of kids. We had two new neighbors move in. They added 9 kids to the cul de sac and it has been so much fun. This night I walked out and Tammy had made herself at home on the patio with her new baby Parker. Of course I stopped what I was doing and we enjoyed visiting and watched the boys play soccer. It was a great summer night.

 Sissy pretty much gave up naps for summer excitement which meant she was exhausted every night. She also learned to climb into Eden Baby's crib. She loves to snuggle with anyone she can.