What I did on my Summer Vacation

I'm learning that the older your kids get the more you have to plan activities to fill their time. I've certainly taken a lot of cues from my sister in law, Paula. I can no longer expect Sawyer to be satisfied with playing around the house and the occasional trip to the library or the park. But he does like those low-key activities too.
We've had a busy summer. In June we went to Earthshine Mountain Lodge with all "the cousins". It was a blast. Here they are in order oldest to youngest Cory, Hannah (accompanied by her friend Lexi), Noah, Rivers, Sawyer, Josh, Caeden and (bless her heart) Eliza. Sawyer and the boys had fun exploring, mining for gems, nature walking, sitting in hammocks, visiting the animals, fishin' and watching the grown-ups fly through the trees on the zip-line. We will definitely make this an annual event! We also went to Wrightsville Beach with Granddad and Mamilene and Mamilene's mom and dad Paqui and Eugene, who were visiting from France. Sawyer and Eliza played in the sand and the waves, gathered shells and built sand castles. Eliza mastered crossing the threshold onto the front porch and she learned to clap. On our last day there Sawyer, Dad, Eugene and Mom visited the Battleship North Carolina. What fun to have so many people to play with! Mom and Dad enjoyed the break too.
Mix in a few weeks at KJP Summer Camp, lots of great play dates, a 3 year old birthday, playing in the pool and on the slip-n-slide and going to the zoo and you've got yourself a great summer.
But now I need a vacation from this summer vacation...it's a good thing I'm going back to work in August!