Summer Time...Sweet Summer Time

Oh the memories I have of summers past. Lots of swimming, bike riding, time at my grandparents farm. Apples, playing in the creek, watching stars and catching fireflies. Night tag in the yard with the neighborhood kids and we’d all end up in the swimming pool. Marco Polo anyone? Those carefree days. We ran out the door in the morning and played all day long. Mom had to yell for us (not at us) to come home to eat. Then right back outside. Love them. Miss them. Have fond memories because of them.  County Road 11 was the best!!!

Summer is right around the corner for us. Can you believe we are halfway through the month of June? Whew – flying right by, isn’t it? Crazy. Just crazy I tell you.

This week is the last week of school for the kids. Just four more days and HALF days at that. Olivia will be a 7th grader next year – yikes!

We attended the middle school academic awards last Thursday night. Her discipline and commitment to her studies was recognized by her teachers. She came home with three awards. The first award she received was for perfect attendance. John and I looked at each other and Elliott said, she was sick. Thinking back, she was sick, however, she was sick during spring recess so she had perfect attendance. Then she received an award for all of her classes as she is a high honor roll student and her grades reflect her time and effort. Her last award, was a reading medal. There was a large group of students for this award. Students read a book, take an AR quiz and earn points based on their score. Olivia is a member of the 100 point club but last night, she was given her medal for having 250 AR points. Wow – yes, she is a reader and she had a goal in sight and we are so proud of her for her achievements. We keep telling her, she set the bar high right from the beginning. We love you Olivia! Keep up the extraordinary work you are doing. You are on the right path to success.

Elliott has been cleaning out his desk and bringing lots of projects and papers home. He’ll be in third grade next year and Thursday, he not only finds out who his teacher will be next year, he’ll get to go to her classroom and work on a quick project. I hope he gets the teacher we both want him to have. He’s a little sad summer is near because he loves going to school and being with his friends. I remind him that he is participating in the school program and will see some of his friends there.  He'll soon forget about school.

Summer time is close and we are ready to enjoy it. Vacation is on the horizon for our family. Once again, we’ll head north to Canada. Eh? A week on the lake with a boat, fishing poles, swimsuits and sunscreen – I think know we are ready. We are anxious and I have my lists started. The guys have been busy replacing fishing line on the poles. They even went fishing a few times to work out their kinks. Guess who caught the only fish and a nice one at that? Miss Olivia. Yep, she might just bring home the pot of cash for catching the largest fish in Canada. Go girl, show those boys how it is done! I’ll have pictures for proof too. The big question is “Who’ll come home with bragging rights?”

We have been to the Portland, Ontario area three previous times. We love it. We rent a cottage on the lake. The lake is so clean and we enjoy exploring it.  We rent a boat – at their age, the kids favor a pontoon boat. We know the area well so we can make quick, if necessary, trips into town. We have visited the local sites - locks, museums, a small local cheese factory. On our last vacation, the kids whined when we wanted to go somewhere. This year, we’ll stay put. We’ll enjoy the lake - swimming, fishing, boating –time. No need to go anywhere. We slip into our routines so quickly when on vacation. John boats early in the morning. I get to knit or read. When the kids get up, John is usually on his way back. We eat breakfast then we all go boating and /or fishing. We come home, swim until we are tired or hungry, eat then back outside. It is so relaxing. No schedule, no time clocks. Just hours and hours of family time. I prepare for the week by making salads, bake good and a menu so little time is spent in the kitchen or at the grill. I have my list and check it twice-at least! The kids have made their lists (so different than mine) – snorkels, swim suits, water shoes, flippers. You get the idea – only the essentials!

Love the vacation time but even more, I love the FAMILY time.