This was definitely our best summer visit yet. It had all the usual family togetherness and the advantages for me of having extra hands and not having many household duties. The children also had the stamina for lengthy outings, so we could be away all day and not feel rushed to get home. They also expressed a lot of love for and enthusiasm toward my parents, so there was a lot of joy and energy! But, what made it most special was my own time with my parents. Perhaps because the children are slightly less demanding, we could have some nice conversations. The highlights for me were watching and learning from my mom (the very gifted former literacy teacher that she is) as she helped to teach the boys to read. Each of them made significant progress in only three weeks and I feel better equipped to continue helping them when we return home. Secondly, my mom and I went to church together each week, which was something we hadn’t shared in a long time. THANKS, Mom!
These are the other things I will cherish:
- Watching the Charlotte’s Web play
- Janet’s beautiful wedding
- The amazing magic show
- Wii Bowling with Great Grandma
- Visits with aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandmothers
- VBS (and some alone time for mom)
- Playgrounds..endless climbing, spraying, and sports
- Hiking the incline steps and playing for hours later
- Tennis lessons
- Indoor sports fun at Miller Park
- Nancy Drew puzzle (Thomas did a good bit of the 1000 pieces)
- Wildlife presentation (amazed the kids sat and listened for 1.5 hours)
- Reading and math problems
- Games (mancala, perplexus)
- Lots of art (cards for dad, dot to dot, masks)
- Amazing art musuem
- Touring and hiking the Capital (again without complaints)
- Carousel and hiking afterwards
- Papa playing lots of basketball, golf, and sports with the kiddos
We have a lot of summer left, but we are so thankful for my family and the amazing memories we shared.
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