Oh, What Do You Do In the Summertime?

Deep breath......School is out for the summer tomorrow. That means the kids will be here 24/7.....Another deep breath......I think I can handle it.........really deep breath

OK, so the thing is, I have a love-hate relationship with summer.

Here are some of the things I love:

• sleeping in and not having the hectic, crazy morning routine


• the hot weather (I really hate being cold)
  
• playing at Lagoon, the park, Dinosaur Park, the zoo, etc.


• stealing Ryan away from work and having a picnic lunch with the whole family at the park


• hiking up with the mountain where it's nice and cool


• getting out the little pool so the kids can splash around


• going on walks around the neighborhood in the evenings and talking to all of the neighbors who have been cooped up in their houses for the past nine months


• getting ice cream cones at Dick's or Artic Circle


• watching my garden grow little by little (and my weeds grow lots and lots)


• going up to Oakley for the July 4th parade, program, rodeo and hangin' with the fam


• having Dutch Oven dinner and dessert in the backyard with friends


• going to Bee's games


• going over to Dad's house and roasting marshmallows in the backyard

Ooooh-kaaay, now here's the schtuff I don't love about summer:

• sleeping in....I mean way in. Katie would wake up at noon if I let her. The kids mess around all morning and then they want breakfast at 11:00!


• the hot weather....I can get really cranky when it's too hot (yeah, I know I said this on my love list, I just don't want it TOO hot)


• hearing, "I'm bored" about 50 times a day


• kids wanting to play the Wii for eight continuous hours (I haven't experienced this in the summer yet, but I know it's coming)


• getting the kids in bed too late for Ryan and I to have some quiet time


• having my A/C unit break (I know this one is coming as well, we haven't had a summer yet where it has not malfunctioned)


• having no structure or schedule

So! Here's the good news! I've come up with a great plan! I have made up a schedule so that we have structure, something to look forward to each day, and a little sanity during the long summer months!

So, everyday, the kids will need to be up by 9:00. The kitchen closes for breakfast at 9:30. Chores begin at 10:00 at the latest. Hopefully, we can be done with chores and getting ready for the day by 11:00-11:30. I'm going to motivate them to get the house clean early and fast by letting the first person to tell me they are ready pick which of the chores they want to do. Then, when everyone is finished, we will have something fun to look forward to.

Monday ---

• Chores: that's always our big cleaning day. Maybe not deep cleaning, more like our "put the house back together because we destroyed it over the weekend" day. So we will straighten all rooms (which takes forever on Mondays), do laundry, and dust.
• Activity: plan, prepare for, and participate in Family Home Evening

Tuesday ---

• Chores: we will all put our clean laundry away, clean bathrooms, and straighten all rooms
• Activity: Lagoon day! (Rides or Beach, depending on our moods)

Wednesday ---

• Chores: we will straighten all rooms, vacuum all floors, sweep and mop kitchen and bathroom floors
• Activity: I will alternate taking each kid to lunch, one on one

Thursday ---

• Chores: we will do more laundry, straighten, and organize the garage and do yard work
• Activity: Invite friends over day

Friday ---

• Chores: we will straighten, put clean laundry away, and clean bathrooms
• Activity: Play and craft day and do whatever!!!
  

I have tried most of this before, and it generally works. The key is to be consistent and motivated, which is where I fall short. Hopefully this summer is different, hopefully I don't give up around mid July. I don't want to dread summer, I want to enjoy it. If you have any tried and true solutions about taming summer chaos, I would love to hear about them. Happy summer, everyone!!!