Summer Buzz

Hello Everyone! Today was the last day of school for my oldest and we are officially in summer vacation mode. I kicked off the season with a very nice afternoon at the pool and have the sunburn to prove it. I swear I haven't burned in twenty years and I really did apply the SPF 50...not really sure what happened there.

So, summer is here...now what? It's a question I ask myself daily and one that constantly seems to be falling out of the mouths of my children (except the infant who can't speak yet, but give it time). We have a couple of camps scheduled, but they're pretty low key. Outside of that, we're clear, and you know what? I'm excited about it. As a matter of fact, I almost wish we weren't doing any camps. That might be the "summer buzz" talking. The summer buzz consists of all the great ideas of what you're going to do over the summer. It's at its peak those first two weeks of no school when you dial down the schedule and start to feel resuscitated. Bye bye morning scramble (and I'm not talking eggs here - who had time for that during the school year?). You want to stay up? Suuuuuuure! No homework! Have some ice cream! After two weeks of this, your kids are over tired, over sugared, and bickering like it's their job. At this point many of us are looking at our watches asking, "How much longer until school starts?" Truthfully, as my kids have gotten older, the summer buzz has stretched longer and longer. Last year we almost made it the entire summer. Buzz Kill didn't fly in until mid August, but bear in mind, Labor Day was late last year. Those last two to three weeks felt way long.

So what cocktail of summer activities are making up your buzz this year? Personally, mine is all about simplicity and getting back to some good'ol basics. Sunburn aside, yesterday's trip to the pool was the perfect start. Grabbing some friends (or sometimes going solo is just what the doctor ordered) and heading to the pool for some good old fashioned splashy fun will undoubtedly top the list this year. I have no intention of living at the snack bar, so making healthy meals is also at the top of my list. If I can share this meal with friends...even better. I have a stack of recipes and have every intention of cooking with my kids. It's an activity they enjoy and haven't spent enough time doing. I can't say involving them in the kitchen has greatly expanded their eating repetoire (to be fair, it's really only my second child that needs to broaden her food horizons), but I can dream can't I? Also, it's time to come out of the closet...I'm referring to the board games here. We have a million of them and I think it's time they saw some action. Reading, there's a novel thought (pun intended). We asked for gift cards for my son's birthday (most of which will be donated by the way), and we used some of those to buy all of his required summer reading and some fun reads too. He can read independently, I can read to the two little ones. A trip to the library is also always a beautiful thing. Get thee to a playground! Enough said. Journaling - I'll count my blogging here, and my third grader is definitely writing this summer. As long as it's not a letter to Dr. Phil about me, we're cool. I'm also digging the free movies at AMC and Regal for the occassions when the homespun stuff just won't cut the mustard.

So, you noticing the "free" or utilizing something we already have theme? I just feel the time to appreciate what we already have is upon us. I'm hoping good friends, healthy food, a good book, getting the creative juices flowing and actually sitting myself down to play games with the kids will be the perfect concoction to get my summer buzz on. Well that and a few cocktails on a patio never hurt. Happy summer!