School's Out For Summer...

My kids got out of school last Friday for summer vacation. I am so happy that they are done! I am ready for a break from the constant driving, the early mornings, and the crazy evenings that go along with the school year.

It's taken a few days, but we're settling into a routine. We go out in the morning and do errands or go to the Y or go on a "field trip". After lunch, the little one goes down for her nap and the older kids have reading and work time. Their school sends home a packet of worksheets for them to do over the summer, which they are supposed to work on over the course of six weeks. My son finished his yesterday (in 3 days) and my daughter is almost done with hers. I knew that was going to be the case, so we went to the teacher supply store yesterday to find some extra workbooks to challenge them a bit. They are both very excited to start working on some more challenging stuff. Have I said that my kids are weird? Better that than hating school, I suppose!

I need to get them to the library to sign up for the summer reading program. I'm not a huge fan of libraries. Handling books that have been read by who-knows-how-many other people really grosses me out, so we tend to go to the book store instead. I feel like the kids really should know what a library is, though, so we'll make the effort this summer. I do remember really liking the summer programs as a kid, so hopefully my guys will, too.

Aside from that, our summer should be fairly laid back. The older kids each have a couple of camps they are doing, and all three of them will continue to take swim lessons. The rest of our time should be spent at the pool, going to the beach, going to the Y, and checking out some new hiking trails. We're all looking forward to these few weeks off!