Teachers are people too. For 2 months out of the year I get to just be with my family and not worry about other people's children. I get to rediscover the things I enjoy doing in my personal life that always get put on hold during the school year. I can devote 100% of my attention to my family, which Lord knows doesn't happen, as much as I try, during the school year. Even most weekends during the school year get filled with things to do for school. I get to relax, stay up late to watch movies, get up early to go running, reorganize my house, cook dinners that aren't ready in 30 minutes, and my favorite- part play all day long with our daughter. Summer is a magical time for me and if it were a location, rather than a season, I think it would be in Neverland... If you just squint your eyes you can see it all year in the not too distant future.
So. This summer is extra special. We won't take an official vacation, we didn't pack our schedule with things to do all summer. We are just playing it by ear week to week and day by day. The only place we have to be is at swim lessons twice a week. It is very freeing for me since all year I'm literally dictated by my iCal. (I couldn't get to all the places I need to be without it during school.) Here are a few highlights from our summer so far.
Talking, talking and more talking! Lill is such a chatter box! She went from saying mostly nouns to adding some adjectives and verbs and now she has complete and compound sentences. She also has big opinions about everything. She started changing the tone of her voice depending on how she feels about whatever she is saying. For example, "Hi." became "HI YA!!!Mama!!!!" *my heart melts for this one, especially when it is followed by a huge hug*
Road trip! Immediately after school was out my dad, Lill and I took a road trip. We visited Santa Fe, Carlsbad Caverns, and Sedona. I learned that my daughter is a fabulous traveler! My mom's trick of the car bag full of new books & toys worked great!! The travel potty was also super helpful since she is almost potty trained- only 4 wet diapers in 1 week!
I love making homemade ice cream!!! Summer hits so far: chocolate with marshmallow fluff & pretzels, vanilla chocolate chip with black cherries, and mint chip. I will post recipes soon.
The garden is bursting with zucchini, cucumbers, basil, mint, jalepeños, and watermelons. Our tomatoes are almost ripe and that means it's almost time to make fresh mozzarella! I'm also excited because we tried growing watermelons this year and we have 3 almost ripe ones and 5 little ones on the way!!!!!! I cut one open today. They need a week or so more. It's so tough to tell if they are ripe or not!
What do you love to do during summer with your family?
What do you love to do during summer with your family?
