red balloons

So here we are- July 31- which in Georgia only means one thing: school starts this week. I can’t decide if I am sad to be going back to a schedule where the kids are at school or if I’m ecstatic that they won’t be eating constantly and needing to be driven to this camp or that practice. My work days will get back to quiet hours where I can focus, but I will also no longer get to hear them playing a board game and laughing in the other room or fighting over a video game or offering to help each other with their respective chore (please know this offer doesn’t happen often- it’s why when it does it warms my heart that much more. Also- I am a firm believer that the kids can and should be helping around the house. The four in my house have a weekly rotation on tasks that I want NOTHING to do with- like cleaning out the litter box or doing dishes after dinner). 

It took me years after moving to the South to adjust to sending children off to school in August. In Minnesota, school always started the day after Labor Day, in September. There was usually a chill in the air. I always looked forward to that new pair of jeans and a cute sweater for the first day of school pictures. I’ve adjusted slightly and I no longer try to force the kids to wear jeans and sweaters on the first day, but I still wish for that chill every year. 

While I don’t see any possible way we will feel any type of chill this week, our 9.5 weeks of summer vacation is coming to an end. It was a very busy summer and we made so many new memories. 

While Kylie spent the first few weeks of summer in Louisiana spending time with Todd’s family, the rest of us spent the first three of those weeks busy with a summer lacrosse league for Alex and Mason. To say these two are competitive is a massive understatement. They are happiest when they are on the field and part of a team. We spent three consecutive weekends at tournaments. Between the two boys on two separate teams for their age ranges, every Saturday was filled with six different games, three per team, scheduled one hour apart- which equaled 11 full hours. When you added in the hour before the first game to warm up, it was a full 12-hour day every Saturday. Games on Sunday varied based on how they did on Saturday, but the hours were still long. I’m always thankful that I really truly enjoy the other parents and boys on the teams- it makes those long days so much easier to handle. They may not have won every game, but they gained so much experience, honed their skills and solidified so many friendships that were so fun to watch. Mason’s team did walk away with the championship in their final tournament, so that was a nice way to end the summer season. Alex walked away with a sprained ACL and orders to stay off his knee for two weeks, so that didn’t end quite the way we wanted it to, but he’s back to full speed now.  

During the summer lacrosse season, I did manage to sneak away for a few days with my sister, who keeps my life exciting with adventures that usually only she can come up with. This time around we met in Savannah for a quick girls’ getaway. Her plans never fail to be amazing, and this time around was no exception. We met up at the boutique hotel we were staying at where free champagne was flowing in the lobby all day long. We started out with a fancy dinner on the riverfront, then joined a walking ghost tour. It was fun and a good way to be introduced to the different areas of the city, but we were a little nervous that the cemetery where we started was right outside the door of our hotel. We spent the next day at the beach on Tybee Island and fit in dinner that night at the Pirate House. 

The next morning we spent time in Forsyth Park, then jumped on a trolley tour and explored more of the city. That night we checked out the speakeasy attached to the Prohibition Museum and then joined a cocktail making class. This class was the MOST fun three hours I’d had in quite a while. In a very small world, four out of the five couples (considering my sister and I as a couple here- everyone else was DEFINITELY out for date night) had connections to Minnesota and the bond just made the class more fun. As much as I consider myself to be the “fancy” friend, I’ve never felt fancy enough to offer to make someone an old-fashioned or a martini, but now I most certainly can. To be quite honest though, when we checked our “notes” the next morning, we figured out that my sister’s note taking abilities may have been impaired by the amount of alcohol we tested out in the recipes we made (although at least she took notes- my phone includes a note that just says “212”- why did I think that would be helpful?), so we were thankful they sent out recipes by email after the class! 

When summer lacrosse ended, we spent two weeks in Minnesota with my family. Between time spent with my parents and my sister, we were lucky enough to spend time on three different lakes, plus some bonus pool time at my brother’s house. The house I grew up in is on a small lake in central Minnesota. Todd could not believe how clear and clean the lake was, and we spent a lot of time out in it, with him swimming and me kayaking. This year, for the first time, the kids all claimed all the paddle craft- Kylie on the paddleboard and the boys in the three kayaks- and they were off to paddle around the entire lake on their own. We had an epic badminton tournament where the kids were massively impressed by my racquet skills (or not- but I did keep the score pretty close and I wasn’t a total embarrassment to them). We were able to see my dad’s band play at the horse race track and then escaped to northern Minnesota to a cabin for the fourth of July holiday. We spent our days having picnic lunches on the pontoon while the boys were out on the tube behind us, with everyone living their best lives. At night we played a lot of cards, and my dad taught the kids every different brand of poker that there is. The kids were so worn out every night that there was not a lot of argument come bed time. 

On the way home to Georgia, I decided to split the 20-hour drive into three days instead of two. Because I needed to work one day, I found a resort with an indoor waterpark so the kiddos could be entertained while I worked. I feel like these kids have a lot on their plates a lot of the time- between school, homework, sports activities, soon-to-be theater and those pesky chores I make them do- and while I am not saying that I won’t continue to have those expectations for them, it is always really fun to see them get to let loose, with no electronics involved, and just be kids. I can’t even say how many times they climbed the 200 flights of steps for the water slides. They took full advantage of the indoor/outdoor hot tub as it rained outside as well as the in-pool basketball set up. I would also not be exaggerating too much if I said they spent HOURS in the arcade. We discovered I am way better at foosball than they are- so I had that going for me. 

We made it home with just over 24 hours to turn around and get the younger boys off to their first ever sleepover camp. They spent a week at Berry College playing lacrosse with many of their teammates. While they both agreed that it was too late in the summer and just too darn hot to really play hard, they definitely enjoyed the freedom from mom and the nightly pizza parties in their friends’ rooms. The 16 year olds and I enjoyed a pretty peaceful week. 

The following week, Kylie attended an acting camp at a local theater. Watching her excitement throughout the week with the different songs she was learning and seeing her interaction with other kids who are as passionate about acting as she is, it made the stress of getting her to and from camp each day totally worth it. I really do love seeing each kiddo find their passion and the happiness they feel when they get to really experience it. 

We also hit another big milestone that week- Jack was finally able to take his driver’s test and passed with flying colors. I’m so happy for him to feel his independence, and also happy that I now have another driver in the house who can help me out when needed. 

Which brings us to their final full week of summer. The boys headed off on vacation with their dad, and Kylie and I spent some real quality down time together. School supplies were purchased and organized. Chromebooks have been plugged in to charge for the next three days. 

Bedrooms have been cleaned and organized. (This should just be a sentence in a paragraph about preparing for the school year, but I might need to expand on the explanation. When Todd and the girls moved in, Mason and Alex became roommates. When Hayley moved out last fall for college, Jack moved into her room and Mason was finally able to move into his own room. Except, we really just moved his clothes and a few of his favorite books. I took the opportunity of a quiet week to finally move Mason fully into his own bedroom. He’s one 11-year old boy, but the amount of stuff that I found under his bed was indescribable, including two pairs of glasses that he “lost” and his wallet, with his allowance from the past eight years inside of it. It was a solid 8-hour task to clear out the trash alone. Boys are gross. I’m going to leave it at that.)

And that brings me to now. Although I expect the next three days to fly by, filled with meet the teacher events (28 teachers between my four students this year- a quick side note to my teacher friends- I love you and I appreciate you more than I can say, but when I have 28 of you to manage, my apologies if I miss a few things- I promise to do my best) and dentist and doctor appointments that we are squeezing in before classes begin, and I know Thursday morning is going to come bright and early, I’m still trying to enjoy this summertime season as much as possible with these kiddos as we move into our next, best school year yet. 

To those of you who have another month of summertime freedom to enjoy- be in the moment and make as many memories as you can. For those of you on my summer break schedule, I hope you made the most of your time, have some fond memories to look back on, and that it takes you less than eight hours to clean/organize one bedroom. I hope and pray that these are the days that my kids will look back on with smiles and laughter someday.