One Month to Go

I'm officially counting down to summertime.  One more month to go.

{these are just random pictures from recent weeks}

The kids' last day is May 31st.  Very cool.  Our 10th anniversary happens to be June 1st, so maybe we'll just have a party day on Friday, the 1st, in honor of summer starting and the start of our family 10 years ago.

With summer on the horizon, I decided to follow my friend Laurie's lead and start planning for the break.

We planned activities for our Spring Break, but even then I noticed that when things didn't work out or there wasn't a concrete plan, my big kids tend to start bickering.  Mama can't handle that for long!

So, I'm going to use this particular post as a running log (using comments) on ideas for the summer break.

I'll start with what we already have planned, mention a few things people have suggested through a post I made on Facebook, and then let you all help me out with making additional comments.

My mom will be here visiting for the month of June.  Joel has a conference to attend for a few days that month, so it will be great to have my mom here during that time.  Plus, Joel and I are going to take a 10th Anniversary trip at the end of that month and my mom will stay with the kids...woohoo!  (A Carnival cruise in the western Caribbean will be our treat.  To say I'm excited is a major understatement.)

The kids will be participating in Vacation Bible School at The Branch, a nearby church. Jenna's friend from school goes there and her mom leads the children's ministry.  They will also do VBS with our church at the apartments where we used to live.  But, I don't have dates for that yet.  The VBS at The Branch will happen while we're on our cruise, so that will give my mom something for the big kids to do each day.  Works out great!

We are getting a pass to the Rosemeade Rainforest Complex, so we'll have at least a few days each week that we go play in the water.  There are also a few spray grounds around the area.  We'll probably check 'em all out!

Friends have mentioned the following:
--drama camp in Plano
--Studio Movie Grill $1 kid movies
--library
--local parks
--moms playgroup from our church

Many moms mentioned swim lessons.  My kids can all swim, thanks to lessons for the last 3 years, so we will just plan to practice their skills in the pool.

So, now it's your turn!  Add any ideas in the comments (if you aren't local, you can just tell me some of your plans).

Thanks for helping us out!