A Different Kinda Summer

So far, so good, I am loving summer. This summer is shaping up to be much different than summers in our recent past.

First, we have gone out of town right after school gets out for the past few years. Last year it was almost a requirement. The meteorologists called June, Junuary last year because it was so cold. ON June 3rd last year I recall a guy saying, “I’m going to the mountain. There’s 2 feet of fresh.” That just pissed me off. REALLY JUNE? REALLY? None the less, we left town and went to California to chase the sun. Then we were off to Fossil for the Wheeler County Bluegrass Festival and finally Priest Lake. All of the places were sunny while it rained in Portland. We came back on July 10th and the sun came out on July 11th.

This year we stayed in town. The weather has been reasonably nice and I have loved just going with the flow. The kids have been sleeping in, we’ve been out to breakfast a couple times, we’ve been swimming and generally doing the summer thing.

This weekend has been great fun. Last night we hosted a party for a friend of mine’s all women’s choir. They’re called Lyrica. They are in town for the weekend. I have known my friend, Lee Anne, for almost 35 years. WOW, that is a long time. They were such nice people and it was a true pleasure to have them here. Sophia and her buddy Ella were hired to work the party. That was a great deal. They made sure everyone knew where the beverages were, they took dinner orders and then they cleaned up the whole thing. I love having a capable kid. Our neighbor Deb came over at 11:30 and the girls then went to her house and cleaned up her play room. They wanted an even 4 hours. My boys made sure to introduce themselves to many of the ladies and then showed them their loft beds. They’re quite proud of those. I was very proud of my kids and all the ladies enjoyed them.

Today we all slept in (kids went to bed after midnight). At noon, Bob had a baseball game. He’s hooked up with the 35+ set and has played for the past couple of weekends and they’ll continue to get together over the summer. Sophia had a babysitting certification class and our boys went swimming….BY THEMSELVES! It was awesome. I watched the game and checked on the boys periodically. Eventually, I brought them some lunch. After the baseball game Bob went swimming with the boys. They boys ended up being at the pool for 5 hours and most of the time it was just the two of them.

Tomorrow the boys have Ninja camp. Coulter is convinced he will learn how to chop down a tree with his bare hands. They’re quite excited. Sophia and I will have a bit of girl time. I am grateful for the time with her because in July she is going to Minnesota with a friend for 3 weeks! I can’t believe I am letting her go but I am sure it is what I would have wanted to do when I was 11. It’s going to be very hard for me.

From here on out we have a few things planned, camping at mom’s house, summer cousin camp at dad’s house, a couple of camps for the boys and eventually a trip to California in August. We are mostly in town for a change and I am enjoying this pace.

The kids are enjoying freedoms that they couldn’t last year. They have grown up with Grant Park across the street. It started out with them going as a group to the soccer field. Eventually, we let them go to the playground at the school. Sophia can now go to most of the park as long as she is with a friend and lets me know where she is going to be. And today, the boys got to go to the pool alone. It was a big day and a big deal. I am still keeping close tabs on them but a little freedom feels good to us all. I am not the kind of mom that needs to be needed all the time. To the contrary, I love to watch them grow and gain independence. They are amazing little people and when they have freedom, I have freedom.

So our summer is going quite swimmingly thus far. I am loving the pace and hopefully, by the end of the week, Coulter will be chopping down trees with his bare hands. More to come.