Some Summer Adventures

After complaining about our lack of activity this summer, I decided to do a couple of cool things with the kids. Since we are usually so home-bound (self-imposed, I might add), we rarely do anything new. This week we had two adventures we have never attempted before. Yee-haw!

First, we took a trip to the beach. Yes, there is a beach in Idaho... at least one. We drove up to Lucky Peak's Sandy Point for the day. It was a week day, so it wasn't too busy, and the weather was surprisingly mild: a nice breeze, plenty of shade and the sun wasn't it's usual overbearing self. The kids LOVED it! They got to build sand castles, go row boating, play in the water and have a picnic. It's definitely something we will adding to our repertoire of activities in the future.

Our second adventure was a short excursion out to the "country" to ride horses at a friend's house. Only my daughter accompanied me on this one. She's becoming interested in horses lately, so I figured she should try out a little horseback riding. She was so excited about going, it was fun to hear her chatter about it.

Upon our arrival on the site, her initial reaction to seeing horses up close for the first time was a little nervous and afraid. "Mom, I didn't know horses were so big!" she said to me. I was so proud of the way she pushed past her fear and got right up on the horse. We rode for about an hour, and somewhere along the way, she built up her courage to hold the reins herself. Then, she really started having fun. I could tell she was relaxing, because she started talking to our friend non-stop about all sorts of things. That's how we can tell when she's comfortable.
It was a great day! Of course, I still have dust in my hair...

I think I'm on a roll, because tonight we're doing something else we've never done. We're going to watch a play at the civic center! With just under two weeks left of summer vacation, it's about time we started our vacation!

That's Right! My Baby Walks!

There's no stopping him now. Everyday he gets more and more adept at walking from place to place. He breaks into a run, ends up in a face plant. It's easier to balance at a slower pace, apparently.

Since he was into everything beforehand (when he was only crawling), the only difference is the stealth mode he's operating in now. Walking is a lot quieter -- he always pounds the floor with a vengeance when crawling. So, we have to listen for cupboards opening and closing. Nothing is safe anymore. Time to break out the baby latches!

Summer Vacation

There are very few times in life that move as swiftly as summer vacation. It feels like I barely finished one grueling, stressful school year last week (when, in fact, it was just over a month ago), and I'm already on the countdown to start a new one... just three and a half weeks... a measly three and a half weeks.

And, you know, I start the summer break with such lofty aspirations: The kids and I will walk down to the park in the morning while it's still cool; we'll play for an hour then walk home. We'll do a little summer math and reading practice, then spend the afternoon in the backyard splashing around in the wading pool.

So far we've done the park thing ONCE. The other two things we've done about once a week (sometimes twice). We've been to the water park about four times, and we've been to the library four times -- and actually, two of those I went by myself. The rest of the time we've been mostly in the house (where it's semi-cool) doing virtually nothing. Pathetic use of time, I know.

I should be scheduling our days better, so they seem longer and we all fall into bed exhausted at the end of it. Now, I'm not saying I want to run us ragged so we don't feel like we've had a vacation. I'm really just wanting to have more QUALITY time, so it stretches the quantity out. When we do nothing, I feel like a horrible parent. Of course, I know a little of nothing is good now and then, and I'm okay with that; I really am. But we do so much nothing, it feels like we've squandered our summer.

The main problem is that I'm so worn out from the emotionally draining school year, I want to catch up on my rest at the beginning of the summer. Unfortunately, with three kids that is just a pipe dream. I guess what I really need to do is drink more coffee.