Summer Days, Drifted Away

It's been a great summer! I really enjoyed having my kids home.  With that said, I am so ready for the structure that will renter my life once school is back in session.I remember the first summer I had with my kids after being married to brad one year. I was determined to maintain production throughout our days and order within our lives. So, I presented the kids with a sort of daily action plan outlining how we would spend our days. It consisted of things like: do your chores, practice your instrument, reading time, outdoor play time, craft time...I am laughing right now, like seriously I am laughing so hard!  I know what I was thinking...but seriously, what was I thinking?! Let's just say, that didnt go over well, and it didn't last long. In all honesty that idea hardly left the drawing board. Knowing my kids like I do now, its a miracle I didn't have complete anarchy on my hands after that one. But in my defense, I wanted to put my best efforts into the thing I love most, my family. They're it for me. My husband, my six kids, they are my world and they get my best efforts. I know those efforts can be misguided, and a bit intense...but I give everything I've got because they are literally everything to me.

You want to know the baker summer vacation secret? When kids are on summer break, mom is on summer break, and you know what?! I have learned to love it! I have taken the expression, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" to a whole new level! Our summer days at home look  like this, wake up...whenever, do our house jobs...providing at least a little productivity, and yes I'll admit, I don't want to completely let on to brad or the rest of the world  how ridiculously chillax we are. Who am I kidding? I can count on one hand how many times I have styled the girls' hair this summer, and we are none the worse for wear! So in reality it would take one look at my poor rag muffins and their astranged looking mother to know: we are rediculously chillax. We change our clothes IF we feel like it, generally straight out of pajamas into our swimsuits and by 11am we are lounging pool side (I was flaunting a gorgeous tan, by the way).

Im not kidding about the swimsuit thing! Olivia had a friend at the cabin staying with us and her mom overheard them talking as Olivia was explaining why her friend shouldn't sleep in her bathing suit. She explained that it would make her bottom sore. She was absolutely sure of it, since she slept in her swimming suit and did not take it off for five days! Five days! She showered in it, then put her pjs on over it, then woke up in the morning ready to go. Of course I was completely oblivious to the whole venture, and thought she was changing out of her suit each time she showered. And aparently her bottom got very sore through the whole ordeal. Well, she learned. It may have been the hard way, but she definitely learned. She was devoutly lobbying to her friend all the reasons that sleeping yin your bathing suit is a bad idea. Clearly, she had lived it!

So after we have been lounging in our bathing suits all  day (or more In Olivia's case!) Unfortunately, by the time brad gets home in the afternoon, it's hard to find signs of the chore efforts we had made that morning. And when dinner roles around, it goes something like this, "Yes children?  what's that? You are begging for Little Cesar's Pizza again? Well call me mother of the year... I oblige" Ok, I feel the critics. Let me say in my own defense, that's not the full picture. We have been very busy vacationing between our laziness. I am the young women's president of our church youth group, and brad serves as a counselor in the bishopric, so youth conference, girls camp, church activities, and the like have kept us going as well. We also have four summer birthdays: Olivia, me, Annie, and Avrie, plus Brad and I have our anniversary in July as well as Olivia's baptism...and somehow we managed to spend ten days at the cabin, on top of two family reunions and a trip to Wyoming for a family trek. Interesting, when I put it that way, I sort of feel like super-mom. I guess I fit both sides of the spectrum?! Perhaps the Baker summer vacation is more of a work hard, play hard scenario?...nah! More of a vacation hard then play hard. Let's be honest here, it would appear the baker summer vacation model is play hard, play hard.

In short, I have taken a welcomed sabbatical from my typical routine. I feel refreshed, even anxious to "get the ball rolling" so to speak. My workout routine, my eating habits, the laundry...all a few things on my list that need some revisiting. But the reality of it is, I'm already planning our next vacation! Until then, I will be whooping this crew back into the grind...welcome fall! We're ready for you!