Blogging has taken a back seat for the summer...obviously.

At the start of the summer we made a summer list.  It is a wish list of all the things we want to do before the summer ends.  It is prominently displayed in our kitchen as a reminder of things to do.  The whole family contributed to it.  There are some really big things like taking a weekend trip to Rhode Island and some really small things like getting ice cream at our favorite ice cream shop. There are 36 things on the list and we have done 14 of them.  Now, some of the things on the list are done multiple times, like go to the lake, we have done this eleven times, and go to the ocean we have done six times.  Each time we complete something on the list we cross off the item.  If we have done something multiple times, it gets a tally mark. We've had a kid yard sale, selling all the big plastic toys that no one plays with anymore, not the actual kids.  We have gotten rid of our playroom all together and turned it into a big kid hang out with bean bag chairs, art supplies and games, we have gone strawberry picking, had a last day of school celebration complete with water balloon fight, we have gone swimming countless times, including night swimming in an outdoor lighted pool, made s'mores, gone to Rhode Island with five kids and no air conditioning in the car on a 90 degree day... We are having the best summer.  The kids are all amazing, (mine and the two I watch) the weather has been awesome, and the activities are endless.  We do take down days every now and then, and we have finally worked out the proper amount of food to bring along for a seven hour lake day (practically the entire fridge) and are just having a ball.  This weekend we are planning to climb a local (small) mountain with our dogs, and next weekend, hopefully camping at the lake.  The girls are all tan (despite the copious amounts of 50 SPF sunscreen being reapplied every few hours and SPF shirts, don't worry, Laura) and their hair is so much lighter.  The summer is my favorite time of year, and I am feeling like I really don't want school to start any time soon.  Luckily we still have six and a half weeks of summer left...despite the fact that Target is telling me that it's back to school time... I guess I just won't go there for another month or so.