We literally did not have 3 straight days of nothingness this entire summer. I'm not complaining. It was a wonderful summer, and it is shaping up to be a fantastic school year as well. But, I certainly didn't get any of that "supermom" homeschooling stuff done! I don't know if I even asked my kids to spell 'cat' this summer! But, boy oh boy did we have fun!!
Last time I posted was after the first week of summer when N went to basketball camp and R & J went to swimming lessons and soccer camp. N left that Friday and went to Texas--by himself. I was quite afraid. Not that the plane would crash or anything, but that he would somehow be alone in an airport. Of course, we paid for the "unaccompanied minor" fee. You walk them to the gate, an agent takes them on the plane and at the other end walks them off the plane to the waiting grandmother who is STANDING AT THE DOORWAY. They are responsible for your child for about 50 yards worth of walking a ramp.
Guess what? They didn't do it! Seriously--he came off the plane alone and the flight attendant camp running out about 2 minutes later. I could have had a complete cardiac arrest when my mom told me that. Instead, I calmly called the airline (really, I stayed completely calm!) and told the customer service guy the whole thing. He couldn't speak he was so appalled. So, they refunded the fee and apologized 4 gazillion times and are supposed to be "handling it." I don't really care what they do. I doubt I'll be able to let my kids do that again for a long time.
What if my mom hadn't been standing right there? They were in the international terminal. He's traveled enough, he probably would have thought she was in baggage claim and started walking. Some grown up could have said "Oh, let me take you to your family," or something equally scary...anyway. Let's not think about it.
My inlaws came to our house the same day N left. They were here for about 4 days and greatly entertained the children. We went to the Wild Animal Park and a movie and R and J loved being the center of their world for a few days. It was a really fun new experience, since they haven't ever stayed at our before.
A few days later, the little boys and I joined N in Texas. It was a whirlwind tour compared to our usual 6 week trips. We were there for 11 days but managed to squeeze in the annual 4th of July celebration,
my niece's birthday, 
a family reunion, and finding my mom a new house--and that doesn't include the few days we got to just hang out and swim!
my niece's birthday, a family reunion, and finding my mom a new house--and that doesn't include the few days we got to just hang out and swim!When we got home, we had a couple of days to unpack and do laundry, and then the other half of the McFamily got here. Uncle G had to stay and work (those pesky jobs--always getting in the way of a good time!) but it was fun having a mob of kids and two moms.
Our plan was to have an activity day, a beach day, and a rest day in that rotation three times. But, little G and I both got quite sunburned so we only did 2 beach days. And, when we tried the "rest day" the children almost revolted, so we found that we had to have SOME activity every day. Fortunately, there are several friends (and the YMCA) that have pools--and swimming necessitates naps...so it worked out.
We went to the zoo and Sea World too. We went to Sea World in the evening, which was a completely different experience. We were the only ones in the manatee exhibit (my favorite) and we stayed in there a long time. It was cool, because they were really moving around a lot, and usually they are just hanging out.
I had my usual bought of depression when they left. It is always a reminder of the different types of friends--and which ones I have here and don't.
Two days after they left, we started Vacation Bible School. 450 kids...I was in charge of checking them in and out. Let's just summarize that by saying there are some REALLY not nice parents out there. They much preferred their own convenience to the safety of their children. I told one mom that she had to come in and check her kids in, and then come in and check her kids out--as opposed to just meeting them at the curb. Her children are 5 and 6 years old and we have 450 kids--if they all just took off for the parking lot we would surely lose a bunch of them.
With her starbucks in her hand she said, "Look, I need the maximum amount of time away from my kids as possible. There is a big difference between 3 hours and 2 hours and 45 minutes. I need a break." Only because we were in a church did I not slap her.
After VBS, we had a few days to get N ready for Operation Purple Camp. He left last Sunday, and had a great time. I will post pictures when I get his cameras developed. I picked him up yesterday and had to go straight to Urgent Care. He has pretty bad bronchitis (it only started yesterday morning, so they didn't call me because I was already on my way to get him).
He was pretty frightened at the doctor's office, and so he didn't sleep well. But, the inhaler is helping, and hopefully he'll be better by Monday and can start school.
The first day of school was actually Thursday. I am THRILLED with both boys' teacher assignments. They are exactly where they need to be, and I love both teachers. One nice thing about having been at a school for a while is having built some relationships with many of the teachers. I really like the other teachers at their grade levels as well, but the ones they got are perfect for them.
R loves his teacher, and since N already knows his from Student Council, he is excited too. They both have lots of friends in their classrooms, and it is going to be a very good year!!!
J started back to preschool on Friday. It was a short day, just an hour and a half, and all the parents stayed. He wasn't nearly as clingy this time, and I think he is ready to face (tiny parts of) the world without R now. We'll see...Monday will be the first day without Mommy, but he knows I'll be in there on Wednesdays, so everything should be fine.
All in all, a great summer, looking forward to a great school year, Daddy visiting in the winter and then on to a new adventure next summer...we'll know soon where that will be.
More pictures soon when I download them from my camera--these all came from SMcs!
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