What Have You Done All Summer?!

As if turning the page on the calendar (yes, I use a calendar with real pages that turn) is not enough to tell me it's almost August 1, the back-to-school newsletters from the schools are piling up in the mailbox.  Excitement? Panic? Yes. School is not too far away and what have we done with our summer?!  My mind is racing back over the past 6 weeks and trying to catalogue whether we had the best summer ever because this will be the one and only summer of 2013 and its got to be spectacular and memorable and oh so special.  Doesn't it?

That's the mom-panic/guilt I feel as each phase of life comes close to an end. Will the kids remember this summer/Christmas/vacation/birthday forever and ever? Did I use all my mommy powers to make it a momentous occasion?  Up until last week, we were at the pool on a daily basis for swim team and at the basketball court several times a week for the summer league and at basketball, tennis, and academic camp.  Then last week, it was a true slacker mom week as I barely got in my car and we hung out at home.  But somewhere in all that we did mix in a few other activities.

Movies - The kids have been to the movies a few times. I've taken them, their dad took them, they went with friends.  I'd go a lot more if the movies weren't so dang expensive! It doesn't sound so bad when you consider 1 ticket - but multiply that by 6 and add a bucket of popcorn (because not having popcorn is not an option) and you're getting close to $100.  Yeah, a bit much for a movie we can catch on Netflix eventually, but there are some movies you've got to see on the big screen with big booming speakers.

Farm markets - There's something about pick-your-own and farm fresh fruits. We went out early in the summer for strawberries, have stopped at markets for blueberries and tomatoes.  It's a summer treat that we enjoy, partly because once you've hauled in pounds of berries, what else is there to do but make strawberry shortcake and blueberry buckle?

Newseum - With 4 kids, I'm always looking out for the reduced-price option and for the summer, Newseum is FREE for kids! (It's about $22 for adults.) It's  an interesting and educational museum, a history museum really, although, when you think about it, most of the news that's reported is sad, so its not exactly a happy place.  There are some really good exhibits about Sept. 11, Kennedy, and the FBI and an awesome display of Pulitzer Prize winning photos which may be more suitable for teens and adults, but the younger ones had a good time in the mini-news studio, outfitted with a teleprompter, backdrop, and camera.

The kids loved "checking in" at the Newseum.

Newseum: As American citizens, we enjoy many freedoms.

Bowling - Several bowling alleys have some kind of free games promotion. Bowl America offers free games for every A or B on the final report card.  With 4 kids, we ended up with about 100 free games of bowling.

So, now what for the rest of the summer? Other than the rush of back-to-school shopping and finishing up the last few pages of summer packets? We still need to find the perfect scoop of ice cream, hang out by the pool a little bit more, and enjoy sleeping late.  Ahh, summer.

What have you been doing all summer?

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