Its Summer Time & The Livin's Easy

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. But I must admit, I LOVE the lazy crazy days of summer.

The days get longer. The nights are brighter. The birds start singing earlier. The frogs croak louder. The flowers smell sweeter. 

I love sitting outside as it starts to get dark, watching the lightening bugs come out one by one. I love splashing in a mountain stream until my teeth start to chatter & my lips turn blue. I love laying by a swimming pool with the heat of the sun on my back. 

But mostly, what I love about summer is the fact that we don't HAVE to be anywhere at a certain time. Yes, there are activities that we participate in that have start times, but we don't HAVE to do them. I love that! I love the freedom of summer.

Freedom to stay up late, freedom to wake up late. Freedom to be lazy, freedom to stay busy. Freedom to be creative, freedom to do pretty much anything we want.

Unfortunately, sometimes all that freedom can lead to a different kind of dom. Boredom. How many times do we hear "I'm bored, I don't have anything to do"?

So in an attempt to curb some of that boredom, I have created our summer bucket list. Many of the things on this year's list are activities that we usually participate in every year. But some of them are brand new ideas.

I have also created our summer reading list. Most of these books I found on "most wanted" lists for children. Unfortunately, many of them, I have never read or, at least, don't remember reading anyway. Instead of a simple list to check off, I decided to make it a little more fun. I created 2 different BINGO charts with the same books on them. This gives my kids a little extra incentive to bug me to read more to them. ;)

I don't have a clue how to upload a printable document or convert excel to an image.    :(  I actually scanned that ^^^ one and saved as a picture. But I did figure out how to covert excel to a PDF & upload it.  :)

Summer Time & the Living's Easy

Hello Blogger World! Have you missed me?!?!

I'm sorry. I haven't felt very "noteworthy" lately. I still don't, but let me just recap the insanity.

June was CRAZY BUSY! Youth Tent Revival, Logan's Birthday Party, Vacation Bible School, baseball, camping, gardening, cook outs, tutu dresses, & Play Station parties are just some of the things that went on in those 30 days that FLEW by! Even through the overwhelming fun, not to mention the HEAT, I blinked & it was gone.

Speaking of the heat - wow, just WOW. Just in case you have been hiding under a rock somewhere obviously far far away from the record breaking heat, here is a video reminding you. (Disclaimer: I have no idea what else this website offers. I did not research it. I just thought the video was neat) So needless to say, triple digits has limited our trips to the pool. Hmm- sounds contradictory, huh? Yeah well, I like to BREATHE when I step outside.

We have also dealt with sickness upon sickness. Repeated ear infections, Roseola, chronic coughing, & colds - ugh, really, its not time for that!

I had really BIG intentions & hopes for this summer as far as how much we would get done with school ........ YEAH RIGHT! If we have even read a book together as a family, we have done good! I'm ashamed to admit that! Every bit of my desire & motivation disappeared. Oh well, that's the beauty of homeschool, right? (I hope)

On the other hand, I have been completely immersed in reading for the past month or so. I LOVE to read & I have always been able to lose myself in a good book. Unfortunately, I don't have the free time to indulge in this passion as often as I want to. I have taken advantage of the little extra free time & the more relaxed scheduling that comes with summer. There have even been a few times that I have had to DRAG myself away from a book in order to accomplish anything!

So here's to summer. May you enjoy those special indulgences that we too often forget about - catching fireflies, watching the first stars twinkle to life, hearing a child's delight at running through the sprinklers, the sweet satisfaction of "ping" when that jar seals, & sipping lemonade on the front porch with friends. Before you know it, the easy pace is gone & the race is back on.