We're four days into summer and boy are we having fun. Its been crazy, messy and busy, but so much fun. Sunday night we welcomed the season with a good s'more roast. My kids love toasting marshmallows, so this was a major win.
The younger boys also started baseball this week. I am coaching Cache and Ky's T-ball team, and its actually been really fun. We held one practice and it was madness, but the actual game went really well and I found myself quite enjoying it. Don't hold your breath, but I might just coach next year as well. Beckett is in his last year of machine pitch and doing great. His favorite thing to do is slide, which is no surprise to me. This kid is a goof and loves to get messy and be silly. And of course, after a full day of games, we had to hit up Macs Snow Shack for some snowcones. And yes, Cache was that dirty from his game.
The mess didn't stop at baseball. Remember the side of the garden I left for boys to play and dig in? Yep, that turned into a mud pit. It took every ounce of my being to not go crazy on those boys when I saw them. I love natural consequences and relied heavily on them for this particular situation. They had to hose off in real cold water, stay out and wash the dog, clean up their mess outside and then mop up the mud they tracked inside. I'm not sure it ended up being worth it for them in the end, but they sure had fun while it lasted! My favorite part is while I was taking the pictures, instead of having them say, "Cheese", I made them say, "I'm in trouble!"
So far the summer has been wonderful. Every summer I have these big plans of workbooks, chores, learning how to manage their money, and so on and so no. This year I scraped all of that and only have two goals for the summer. The first goal is family reading. Everyday, we turn off everything and sit down with our books and read together. The bigger boys and I are working on our chapter books, Cache is reading any story book he can get his hands on (he's a great reader) and we take turns reading to Kyle. We have a reading chart and if we fill it up by the end of the summer, we will have a reward day. So far, its going flawlessly. Its totally doable and I love that we are all doing the same thing together. I hope it will instill a toleration of reading. I say toleration because they don't love it like I do, but I want them to be able to focus through a book and keep their mind active during the next three months.
My last goal and the most important is to be present. I want to play with my kids. Have water fights, play catch, go on walks, have conversations in the shade and just be with them. I took away the x-box for the summer and that has really aided in my endeavor. I want our relationship to take precedence over everything else. I hope this will increase our bond and make some unforgettable memories.
This summer is going to be one to remember. I can feel it in my bones.
