Good-bye Summer, Part 1…

You were far too short this time around… but a lot of people seem to share that sentiment this year…

Our family ordinarily enjoys summer vacation from Memorial Day until Labor Day, but for a variety of reasons we chose to enroll our kids in a virtual public school this year, so we had to kiss summer good-bye on Monday. I currently have mixed feelings about that. If we can finish all of our curriculum by early May and also net several additional weeks of vacation time during the school year, I think I will be OK with the turnaround for next summer… but it doesn’t seem right to start on August 8th. In fact, this is the first time in years that I do not have a single picture of the first day of school. My mind simply couldn’t process it…

But this post is not about school. This post is about summer and specifically about the last three weeks of our summer vacation (there will be more than 1 part)…

I began blogging these weeks… well… as they happened, but I never had another chance to sit down to upload photos or to take a breath between then and now. Realistically, I should be working on school assignments or going to bed at this hour, but I am blog starved. The summer’s going up tonight!

When last I left you, we were in the midst of driving to Fort Wayne for Seth to attend a video game creation day camp. Five days later… 15 hours of driving later… more gasoline than I care to count later… We had managed to collect a great number of fun memories.

Just a rundown…

Monday I already blogged… see below…

Tuesday: Caleb, Ian Miah, and I stuck around at Science Central and enjoyed some of the exhibits that we do not always have time for during homeschool trips. Caleb also traded a rock at the swap shop for some shells which is always a favorite activity. When Seth was done with camp we all headed to the mall. We intended to eat first, but Miah had fallen asleep, so we took this opportunity to play glow golf. At half price we paid $12.00 total for 54 holes of golf (3 games) each! Ian gave up after about 20 I think and quickly proceeded to return his golf club and lose his glow in the dark golf ball… Miah woke up about halfway through and was not real happy about sitting in the stroller until we finished. Seth, Caleb, and I had a very nice time, however, and it was so nice that I actually haven’t even tallied the score yet (now 3 weeks later)… I am pretty sure I won… You really cannot do justice to glow golf with pictures... After this we went to Chick-Fil-A for free kids meals, and since you have to buy one adult meal for each free meal; I got Seth a chicken sandwich (which is what he always really wants at Chick-Fil-A but almost never gets). This was a huge hit until we discovered that they accidentally gave him a spicy chicken sandwich and his mouth caught on fire… We then proceeded to ride the carousel (which I always say no to), because it was also half price… This was Miah’s first carousel ride. She liked it until it started moving…

Wednesday: Phil came with us, and after we dropped Seth off we did some shopping and then took our three littlest people to see Winnie-the-Pooh. This was an enormous hit with Ian. We always stay for the credits (which in this case were almost as long as the movie). All the other people who left during the credits did miss some extra footage, just in case you’re wondering! We picked up Seth and the best Marcos pizza I have ever had and then headed home after another great day!

Thursday: Caleb, Ian, Miah and I attempted some fall clothes shopping. Although we did end up with several free items from Old Navy, we decided that the bulk of the shopping would have to wait until we arrived in Michigan at the outlet mall… which, of course, was a real disappointment to me… I mean, I don’t love outlet mall shopping or anything (feel the sarcasm)… We also went back to the mall, ate breadsticks at the food court, and experienced Cold Stone Creamery for the first time (and quite possibly the last, because it sort of made me sick, but I’m not sure if I can blame that on the ice cream or the heat). Chick-Fil-A won out again for dinner (3rd time this week)…

Friday: When we arrived at Science Central, Seth’s eye was all red and bubbly from an allergic reaction to something. We grabbed some ice and then took a little side trip to Wal-Mart for some fake Benadryl and eye drops. Then we took Seth back to camp and proceeded to enjoy ourselves at Science Central, because we didn’t want to leave in case he needed anything else. It was another fun day and rather relaxing as it wasn’t packed. I have always been intrigued by the announcements for a star lab show but can never find the planetarium. We bought tickets ($2.00 total) and asked for directions. It turned out to be an inflatable planetarium (which I have experienced before (although not at Science Central) and should have realized, but it was new for the kids). Ha! Now I get it! It wasn't the greatest show, but it did give us something cheap and different to do, so it was a good decision. We also enjoyed a couple of demonstrations this week, and I always think its a plus when we get something educational out of our little trips! By the end of the day, though, I was so ready to return home and to see Grace (who had arrived home from camp earlier in the day). We made one more quick stop at Marcos and scarfed some pizza that was not as great as earlier in the week but still pretty good, and then headed home (watching my lead foot that apparently developed this week... thank you for those race car driver genes, Dad)…

Although it was busy and exhausting, I wouldn’t trade the week for anything. It was a fantastic break from the every day routine and I love the memories we made!

A few picture highlights:

Miah's 1st Carousel Ride:
I can't believe that Caleb didn't want to ride the elephant!

Caleb on the Moon Walk:

Squishy Ian:
Best Shirt Ever:

The Boys Absolutely Loved this Game in the Bible Times Exhibit:

Lisa