Summer is here!

Summer is here!! I love the freedom that summer days offer. Yes, it is one of the perks of being a teacher. One of the really good perks. I love getting to stay home with my kiddos and live the life of a stay at home Mama for a few months. We have already been up to some fun things. We had a fun water day with Kate at Gigi and Papa's this past weekend. I have been working on getting the kids' bedrooms into shape. I know... this is the longest project ever. We transitioned them into their own rooms months ago, and they are STILL not completely finished. My Mama hung curtains in Rush's room. She also found the perfect navy quilt for his bed at Target. It was one of those fun finds that was just sitting all alone on a shelf... not in its proper place, but it was just the right size for Rush's new red bed. I almost have his room (old guest room) cleaned out. I know that sounds like it shouldn't take that long, but I basically had a room full of stuff with nowhere for it to go. Slowly, I have found new homes for many of the things in that room. It is my priority to get both rooms completely furnished and decorated by the end of June. It WILL happen. Since we are redoing those rooms, we got new mattresses for both of their beds this week. The mattress that Rush has been sleeping on was really old. We were going to throw that mattress away, so I decided before it was thrown out, it would make an excellent trampoline. We moved it into the backyard for some good jumping time. Fun stuff! Another thing that I love about summer is that we don't have a schedule. Staying outside a little later for some fun time is no big deal!! Today was a day filled with impromptu fun. My favorite kind! This morning, we went over to a fitness trail that is near our house. The kids and I walked/ran/strolled for three miles. (We had the stroller with us, too, so I did some pushing.) It was fun. We saw cardinals, squirrels, old dead logs (who knew they could be so entertaining), a bridge, and some fish in a creek. It was lots of fun. We decided on our walk back to the car to zip back home and pack up a picnic lunch. We went back to the state park that is literally about two miles from our house. We drove through and found a picnic table near a big slide. The slide was a huge highlight. Rush would, of course, try to dive off the end of it. There was sand at the bottom, and he would just roll around in it. Such a boy!! I am having to get used to this dirtiness that comes with little boys. The germaphobe, hand wiper in me struggles with letting him enjoy himself if it means getting filthy. I am getting better with it. (And, I had my Wet Ones Antibacterial wipes in the picnic basket.) Between bug spray, sunscreen, and the big slide, a bath was necessary before nap time today. I think I only dumped about two cups of sand out of Rush's tennnis shoes. :-) When we were driving back home, Rush said, "Dat was so much fun, Mooooom! I wuv you so much." My heart melts. From Frannie: "We had a fun day, Mama. I love fun days!" Me too, sweet girl!!! Days like today make the ones (like yesterday) where they both pretty much whine/complain all day turn into a distant memory. Here's to looking forward to the fun days ahead. Last year, I felt like the summer zipped by us and was gone before I realized what was going on. When this summer is over, I am going to be sure we can say that we packed all of the fun and good times in that we could. These sweet days of their young childhood are flying by. Gotta hang on for the fun ride!!