Schoooool's OUT for SUMMER!!!

Today at 2:00, the school year was officially over for Kendall...and we are SO EXCITED!!!! I can hardly believe she'll be in fourth grade next year, but I'm not going to get sidetracked by mourning the passing of the year...instead we're going to celebrate the beginning of summer break and a completely successful school year! Our summer break will begin tonight with pizza after Kendall's Taekwondo class (she tests for her orange belt tomorrow!), and then ice cream, of course! Graeter's, here we come!

On Monday, we head to our consultation with the orthodontist. Yes, it's that time already! We're going to see what she has to say and get a timeline planned. With all the orthodontia I had to endure, I can hardly see what this will entail, and more importantly, how much it's going to cost. I hear it's like having a new car. But WITHOUT the new car. :(

Then on Wednesday morning, I head to The Big Apple with Sheri and Sarah for some good girl bonding time with my BFFs! I haven't done a girl's trip in oh-so-long...I can hardly wait!!!! I've been getting myself all ready to go with an update to my wardrobe (which was sorely needed), new shoes, a new purse, and new makeup! I'll feel like a new me! And after touring the big city with lots of laughing and non-stop fun with my girls, I'll be ready to come back home and throw myself back into our summer here.

Here are some of the things we have planned for the summer:

1.) Kendall has volunteered to be our "art director" for summer break. She is planning at least 2 crafts for us to do every week. She's been printing them off the internet and tearing them out of magazines and putting them in a 3-ring binder. She loves planning activities and being the "teacher", so this should be lots of fun!

2.) I like to keep the kids from losing everything they've learned throughout the school year, so I pick up bridge workbooks and we'll do a page or two every day, just to keep things fresh. This also helps to make the back-to-school transition a little easier.

3.) Noah is starting to read, which is really exciting!!! He's been sounding out words like crazy, and not only when I ask, either. This will make the summer reading program at the library so much more fun! Kendall usually participates in the reading programs at both the London and Dublin libraries, because well, it's double the fun! I've already got her started, as I picked up 4 new books for her on Wednesday...starting with A Wrinkle in Time (one of my faves!), which she already finished! Now she's on to book five of the Harry Potter series...

4.) Noah has started T-ball and boy, is that fun! Barry is helping to coach, and says it's a riot to watch these 4 and 5 year olds. They get so excited when they hit the ball that they start jumping up and down, cheering...instead of running to the bases. I guess there's a little girl on Noah's team that runs up and takes the ball from whoever has it...she doesn't quite get the point of the game, but they're working on it! LOL!

5.) We'll be picking the kids' daily chores back up, starting next week. We fell off the wagon during the school year, mainly because it's just so busy around here that it's hard to fit them in around their schedules. But they'll be glad to get them going again, because $5.00 per week for Kendall and $3.00 per week for Noah is pretty good spending money for things like SillyBandz and candy! And this year, Kendall is learning how to do laundry! WAHOO!

6.) We are taking a long weekend to head up to Niagra Falls at the end of June. We'll be spending a day/night in Niagra, then heading up to Toronto to visit my friend Doug, then back down through NY and hoping to meet up with Barry's college roommate Marcus and his family on the way back. I'm hoping we have time to stop at Mohican State park for canoeing on our last day, but we'll see how that goes. And get this...we're not planning anything ahead of time. We're going to Hotwire it a couple of days before and see how lucky we get!

7.) In July, Noah will be attending KinderZoo at our awesome zoo every Friday. It's his first time for zoo camp, and he is VERY excited. Kendall has gone every year since she was 4, and it is by far her favorite activity of the summer. Her zoo camp is the last week of July and is going to be extra exciting this year, as her BFF Riley is coming to stay with us for that week and attending zoo camp with Kendall. Those girls have talked of nothing else since March. Oh, the plans they've been making!! It will be an awesome time for them, I'm sure!

8.) We are discussing letting Kendall attend a week-long lacrosse camp in July as well. She's never played, but is willing to give it a try. The way I see it, it's our job to expose her to as many things as we can so she find the things she really likes...so I'm pushing for this one. Now, I just have to find a lacrosse stick and mouthpiece. I'm going to try to borrow a stick or find one used, since we're not sure she's going to like it. Craig's list, here I come! :)

9.) We want to get the kids downtown to the new Huntington Field to watch a Clippers game or two...they think that will be major cool! And so do we! There's nothing like a good ball game in the summer. And Noah will be totally into it, seeing how much he loves t-ball. I'm sure it will be a good time!

10.) August brings our big trip of the summer, as we're headed down to Arkansas to visit Barry's sister and her husband. Neither of us have been to that area of the country before, so it feels like an adventure! We're going to take a day or two to get there, stopping to see and do things along the way, spend a few days with Amy & Joe, and then take a different way home, stopping to enjoy all the different parks and such on that route. I love a good road trip!


Of course, we're planning all kinds of little activities here and there...going to the pool, boating, the fountain park in Dublin, the zoo, maybe Kings Island, taking a tour of the Anthony Thomas chocolate factory, Young's Dairy, hiking in Hocking Hills, and many other things our area offers throughout the summer. I love the summer, and it kills me that it's only 10 weeks long!!! So much to cram in...how on earth will we do it all? Oh, and did I mention building a pole barn as well? Ahhhhh, that's a different post entirely... :)

WELCOME SUMMER!!!!