Summer break....Do we really get a break?

August is here....and that means school shopping...and getting back into the groove of things. The days of summer go by so fast...we start out SO EXCITED thinking finally kids and adults get a break from all the chaos of school. But do we really? 

I am so excited when school is finally out. This means we have nights...and weekends back. No sports (unless one of the boys decides to play soccer or baseball) and no homework...our schedule is really relax. (So I think) This means more time for camping, playing outside, doing family things! (This picture was taken at the end of the school year)

Then we start to ask ourselves - Is summer worse then the school year? Your grocery bill triples. With preteen/teenage boys that means 5 meals a day. Even after that they are still hungry! I don't know where they store all this food. #growingboys Then you have to tack on all the summer clothes, activities that they want to go to, camps, baseball games, golf! You really have no other option because if they are home every day all day for the WHOLE SUMMER then you will have kids going crazy before the end of June!

Summer is also the season (at least in Iowa) that you go to every small town festival. Our small town has one every year in July and it is so much fun....but when you live in Iowa the closest town is usually 5-10 miles away (if not further) and they all have their town festivals. You HAVE to go because you see your friends, your kids see their friends, and it turns into a whole weekend of events. At the end of the festival you are usually broke and/or hungover. So any extra money that you did have....that's gone! All of these start in July....and end in August! Here is a picture from a couple years ago of our youngest two...they just finished the mud mania course!

To top it off....we have our state fair. Now the Iowa State Fair is the 7th largest in the country...but its also rated the best in the nation!!! Yes our lil hick state is the best in the nation! So that is a must see for the summer. Which means even more $$$$ being spent but lots of memories being made!

Back to my original question....do we really get a break during summer. Is it better or worse when the kids are on summer break?? In my opinion the first few weeks are great! The kids finally catch up on their sleep, they are not fighting as much, they want to help out more around the house! Then July starts....and we are board, none of my friends are home, its too hot outside to play, the pool is too cold to be in, they have now ate you outta house and home, they don't know what day it is or how to tell time anymore ....and you still have a 1 1/2 months of summer left.

My next question....is year around school better?

Question of the day 08/02/18

Question of the day..... 

Where would we be today if technology was still as advanced as it was in the 90's???

When I was a kid my parents made me go outside all of the time. Honestly that was all there was to do. I mean you hung out with your friends down at the town square... Or you walked around town to see who you could find. We didn't have cell phones... Facebook wasn't a thing but there was MySpace or AOL! I was only able to use that when I was at school because that is when I had full access to a computer. (I giggle now because I am writing this from my phone)

I received a Facebook message from my oldest son today that said... Internet is down!!! For my youngest who is 10 this meant life as he knows it was over!!! For my oldest who is wanting to graduate high school and pursue a career in the tech field... This meant what can I fix! All I could do is laugh and remember a day with simpler times. It seems like all they want to do is play games online... Or talk to their friends online. Anymore there is no face to face contact...I mean a handful of friends that they talk to online are just a couple blocks away.... And when you live in a town that is one mile by one mile (yes we moved into another small town in Iowa) it's really not that far to walk!!

I understand that we live in a small town and if you ask my 13 year old it sucks! At that age I thought the same thing... But then when you grow up and see your small town growing into a big town/city it's sad. You don't take time in our busy lives anymore to stop.. Play outside and get dirty, walk around town, sit out back on your deck and look at how beautiful the stars are. I am so worried that we are keeping our own lives so occupied and making our kids see that's how life is supposed to be that we are not enjoying life! We are not showing our kids that there is only so many days in a lifetime before it's gone!

Yes technology is great! Don't get me wrong on that! I think that is the only thing that helps us get through our busy days! At the same time I wish things would slow down. I want to see my boys grow into amazing men. I want to have memories that they will pass on to their kids. I don't want their memories to be.... Mom and dad worked...I was in my room... And that's all!For all you young people reading this... Thinking I am old... I'm not! I am only 33 and yes still missing times that were simpler! To me it's sad that my kids will never know what it means to have to develop your camera roll! They will never know what a true Polaroid camera is! A boom box, VHS tape, or real Saturday cartoons are! ( I will talk about that another day)

So I think my answer is... As far as daily life with active kids and a full time job. It would be challenging but hey our parents did it! At the same time I think our children would also appreciate things more! We wouldn't have kids thinking everything should be given to them! They would understand the value and work that goes into a dollar! Life would still go on though! My kids may thing otherwise!