Summer Break 2018

Well, it's that time again.  I have already gone back to work and the kids start school next week.  Summer break is on its last legs.  It has been a good one.  Even though we spent most days around the house, we were able to squeeze in some fun along the way.  Here is a breakdown of how we spent our summer vacation.













The city offered free snow cones in the park on the first day of summer.  That was a good start.

 This summer has been a scorcher, so we tried to stay indoors as much as possible.  We were able to squeeze in some hiking at Little River Canyon National Preserve on our way to Space Camp in early June.

As you know, the Valdosta Toys R Us closed its doors in April.  Brian drove to work at the store in Jacksonville through the month of June, and he had July off with us. He has never had this much time off with us in the summer. He was able to do things with us (like go bowling), and he was able to do things that he wanted to do (like play golf).  We also celebrated his birthday in July.  It will be back to work for him in August, but it was really nice to have him home with us this summer.

The kids learned how to play tennis at a night camp in June.  They were taught the basics of how to play, and both of them really liked the game.

They also participated in the summer reading program again this year, and they were able to attend two of the maker camps- one for animation and the other for perler beads.  We are lucky to have such fantastic programs available to us through our library. 

One of my favorite parts of being off is that I have more time available to spend with family.  We went up to visit Cassie, Nick, and the boys in the early part of summer and got to be some of the first to try out their pool.  

Poor Maren, she never gets any attention.





















We got to spend a lot of time with our friends this summer.  Olivia and her friend Hannah have been planning a sleepover since April.  The big thing that they wanted to do at the sleepover was build a box fort.  This has been a big deal.  One night in May I caught Olivia up after bedtime with a flashlight.  I thought she was playing on her ipod (which is a no-no), but she wasn't.  She was up after hours drafting a plan for the box fort.  Like I said, this was a big deal.  Hannah's mom Kim spent weeks collecting boxes for the fort.  The big night came and it did not disappoint.  Somehow, the whole thing took on a life of its own and became a 24 hour box fort challenge.  The girls stayed in the fort for a whole 24 hour period (they boxed in the bathroom too).  While this is not something that I would want to do, it was apparently a lot of fun for the girls.

 Owen also got to spend some time with his buddies this summer.  One of the coolest things that he got to do was try an escape room.  Their crew made it through and were rewarded with snow cones afterward.

I spent a part of my summer cooking and cleaning the house.  I don't know how many pots of peanuts I boiled.  My kids love boiled peanuts- they can eat a whole pot in a day.  

All in all, we had a great summer.  We rested, recovered, and now feel ready to begin this new school year which is ahead of us.