Summer... Then & Now

I love summer. The only thing is, summer vacations are so short now. Wasn't summer break longer when we were kids? Was it really? I don't know for sure but summer seemed a lot longer when I was growing up. Of course we didn't have all of the many sources of "entertainment" that our kids have now. I grew up with two sisters and we lived in the country. We spent our days riding our bikes, playing with the water hose, "swimming" in a little plastic pool in the backyard, playing with our barbie dolls on the front porch, playing on a swing-set in the backyard, helping mom and dad in the vegetable garden, going to Vacation Bible School or a Gospel Meeting SOMEWHERE just about every night, chasing fireflys (lightning bugs) around at night, shelling peas, lying in the cool grass under a shade tree reading a book, playing with the neighbor kids, playing red-rover and rock-school for no reason other than to pass the time, and dreaming about our upcoming one & only annual vacation to the beach. How different is that from how our kids spend their summer days now? We stay so busy that it seems August rolls around before we blink an eye. Is it better this way or was it better the way I grew up? I don't know, just something to ponder. As I was sitting at yet another baseball practice over the weekend I was looking at our calendar for the remainder of the summer break. We have only two free weekends before going back to school and one of those weekends we hope to go to the beach. The word that comes to mind when I think about my summers as a child is carefree. How much "carefree - nothing to do - use my imagination" time do my boys have? Not much and maybe not enough. Again, something to ponder.

Moving On....

The Pirates came in 2nd place in the tournament which was great but I have to admit, we were all a little disappointed. Not in the team, just in the outcome. Winning the regular season and coming in 2nd in the tournament is nothing to complain about. That's a great season but we felt that our boys deserved to win it all. They played their hearts out the entire season with only 9 players when all of the other teams had 11. Oh well, we have moved on and Samuel is now playing All-Stars which means baseball all summer long. They have already started practices which have been for about 3 hours every night. He loves it and we are looking forward to it as well. We have been swimming most everyday since school got out last week. Samuel and I went on Saturday and Sunday then on Monday, of course, we took John Michael. I obviously wasn't thinking when I packed my book in our pool bag! I mean, did I really think I would be able to sit and read with a two year old at the pool? NOT! Let me say that the nice, relaxing, poolside visits are over when you take a two year old little boy who thinks he is as big as his eight year old brother. Needless to say, the book hasn't been back to the pool since Monday. Another interesting visit this week was to the library. I thought I could take John Michael in withOUT the stroller and we would sit and read some books while Samuel made his book choices. Mistake #2! Again, what was I thinking? We left with NO books, and one child kicking and screaming AFTER I found him hiding from me in the Adult book section! And don't even ask how many books had been pulled off the shelves when we made our escape. Aahhhh... the WONDERFUL TWOs! Isn't that what they are called?!? I am trying to plan John Michael's birthday party but once again, just as last year, we have baseball tournament conflicts. I thought I was being smart and started planning it for three weeks before his actual birthday because we know we have a tournament both the weekend of and the weekend after. We got to practice last night and found out we are playing in a tournment THAT weekend also. Poor thing.... will he ever get a real party?!?!? I am still waiting to find out if we will be playing on Sunday and hoping that it will work out. Don't even ask what Samuel's first and second birthday parties consisted of. Let me see, the word overboard comes to mind! Two words that have been on my mind lately are "simplify" and "rocketship". I will expound on the rocketship more later and I think we can all probably relate to simplify. My thoughts keep coming back to YES, but HOW? Can anyone else relate? Happy summer to all!

Update

Wednesday was the last day of second grade for Samuel and as we walked down the halls of Northport Elementary I had tears in my eyes. Third grade already? For some reason third grade just seems so "big" and I can't believe we are there. I very distinctly remember my third grade school year. I remember it being a tough year academically but I also remember experiencing a lot of difficult growing pains. I also remember my teacher, Ms. May, who I would have sworn was 80 years old then but just recently retired so I guess she really wasn't that old. But boy was she GRUMPY! I pray that Samuel's third grade experience will be better and he will have lots of wonderful memories to reflect upon when he is my age. So far we have been SO wonderfully blessed with teachers. Case in point... just last night, the first night of summer vacation, I walk into the bathroom where Samuel is taking his bath, and he is just boo-hooing. I asked what in the world was wrong and he said that he missed Mrs. Sparks already. He went on to say that he didn't even want to think about a whole summer of no school and not getting to see her every day. I love it! And, I remember tears and similar conversations after kindergarten and first grade. He has LOVED his teachers which has turned into a love for school in general. I feel I should pass last nights conversation on to Mrs. Sparks who has obviously meant so much to our son for the past 10 months. Baseball - Well, the regular season is over and Samuel's team, the Pirates, came in 1st place with only ONE loss the entire season. How exciting is that? AND, we are in the final 2 days of tournament and have not lost a game yet. If they win tonight at 5:30 they will play in the championship game tomorrow. It was been a great season not only because of the winning but because we have a great group of boys and parents. We have all enjoyed it soooo much and are so proud of our boys for always rising to the occasion and for always conducting themselves like true winners. They are an awesome group of 8 year old boys. So, I will update on how the tournament turns out after tomorrow. Go Pirates! John Michael will be two in less than a month now! I can't believe that my baby is turning two just as much as I can't believe Samuel will soon be turning nine. They are growing up tooo fast. The saying "the days are long but the years are short" is so true. He is moving up to the two-year/toddler classroom this summer. I think he will enjoy this class even more because of the structure and the level of activities he will be able to participate in. He is so smart and is a constant source of entertainment around our house. And, boy does he keep us on our toes! He loves going to the ballpark. Only problem is, he thinks he should be playing baseball too! Forget that stroller, he is NOT keeping his little bottom in there. SO after depleting all of the snacks, drinks, and whatever other tricks I can muster, I chase him around while trying to watch as much of the game as possible. Joseph is the official "book-keeper" for our team so it's up to me to do the chasing. Oh well, it's all part of the fun! We are planning an "Old Macdonald" themed birthday party for John Michael. He loves all things related to the farm. Particularly horses, cows, tractors, and most anything else so it is the perfect choice for his 2nd birthday party. I love planning birthday partys especially at this age. We actually did this same theme for Samuel's 2nd birthday and it was one of my favorites. I can't wait - He is going to love it! More Later...

Update

Well the camping trip was a huge success. In Samuel's words... IT WAS AWE-SOME! And according to his buddies parents, that was the same reaction they got. Despite the 38 degree overnight temperature, there were no complaints from any of the boys. Thanks Joseph! Memories they will never forget! Meanwhile, John Michael & I spent a nice weekend at my parents with my sisters and their kids. John Michael got lots of love and attention since he is the only "baby" in the family now. We hid easter eggs, played outside, blew bubbles and more bubbles which is a current favorite pasttime. Samuel and Joseph even made it downtown to see the Blue Angels on Saturday afternoon, even though they were dead tired, and I'm so glad they did since the show was cancelled on Sunday. They were really impressed and Samuel can't wait until they come back. One more school day until Spring Break! We are looking forward to doing some fun things around town. Some things we have in mind are a movie for Samuel and myself, library story time with John Michael, visiting the park and CHOM, and even a lunch picnic with dad. Of course there will be ballgames which we always enjoy! OH... something I am really looking forward to for myself is attending "My Monet" with my good friend Karen on Thursday night. I am so excited about that!

Camping Trip

Samuel is so glad that today has finally arrived. For about three weeks now, he and his dad have been planning an overnight camping trip. This afternoon around 3:00 Samuel, his dad, and four of his buddies are headed to Fayette County to the Jennings hunting land/family farm to begin their camping adventure. I can't even begin to describe how excited Samuel has been about this. They have been making lists, making plans, shopping, and getting things ready for this trip for days and the anticipation has just been building with excitement. The plans are to hike, fish, play in the crystal clear creek that runs through the property, build a campfire, and of course sleep outside in a tent. They will be cooking dinner tonight and breakfast in the morning over a campfire including monkey bread and bacon and eggs. In the morning after breakfast the plan is to hike to the top of a "mountain" (hill) and have a devotional centered around friendships. Yes, Joseph is quite the outdoorsman and I have to give him complete credit for all of this. Of course there will be all kinds of other spontanious "boy stuff" going on and I'm sure, without a doubt, there will not be a clean article of clothing coming home with them tomorrow afternoon. I pray they are all safe and no emergency room trips are necessary. Otherwise, I hope they have a great time! Meanwhile, John Michael and I are heading to Winfield to my mom and dad's to enjoy some time with my family. We will also enjoy a nice warm bed to sleep in tonight while the big boys are enjoying the great outdoors. More on the trip next week.....