Tag Archives: Summer

Summer at Home

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Julie

Summer is one of my favorite times of the year.

We get to put away the pencils and backpacks and trade them in for swimsuits and sunscreen.

Good-bye alarm clocks and car pool!

Hello swimming pool!

At our house, we like to swim until our hands and feet turn in to prunes.

It is the only way to beat the Texas heat!

We are in the season of our life here at Lilacs & Longhorns, where life is busy. At times, it’s too busy.

We have schedules and calenders full of activities.

We are busy driving to and from music lessons, soccer practice, birthday parties, sleepovers, sporting events, etc.

As a result, our summers at home are something to be treasured, delighted in and cherished.

It can be easy to forget to take a moment to treasure the present moment.

Especially when squabbling between brother and sister is at an all-time high or the same song played on the piano over and over again gets on your last nerve.

Someday, we won’t have our summers at home together. The kids will get older, they’ll be spending more time with their friends, they’ll get summer jobs and then – before I know it – they’ll be out on their own. I know it will go by quickly. After all, weren’t they just babies a short time ago?

So, when the fighting and the summer doldrums set in, I try to remember what summer is all about — what it was always all about for me as a kid.

It’s a time to relax and enjoy the outdoors. It’s a time to rejuvenate from a busy school year. It’s a time to spend with family and friends. It’s a time to just “be.”

Spending time in our back yard with my kids helps bring me to the present moment. I start to relax and enjoy the fullness of life.

We can be silly, lazy, sleepy, active and playful right here. We can eat popsicles and ice cream while dangling our feet in the pool. Or we can see who can make the biggest splash or the highest waves. Sometimes we make up silly games or have water wars. And, sometimes, we just chill and read a book or take a short nap on the porch.

It’s a great spot to soak it all in.

As I reflect on all that I have and how blessed I am with my little family, I am certain there is no place I’d rather be than right here, right now.

I am so happy to be spending my summer at home.

To read more stories of summers at home, I hope you’ll visit the other blogs on the Summer at Home tour this week.

Here’s a complete list:

Wednesday, June 18th

On Sutton Place

Stone Gable

My Soulful Home

Thursday, June 19th

Country Design Style

Cedar Hill Farmhouse

Lilacs & Longhorns

Friday, June 20th

Thistlewood Farms

At The Picket Fence

Jennifer Rizzo

Saturday, June 21st

Our Southern Home

Southern Hospitality

Debbie Doos

Veronica Roth

Finding Home

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POSTED IN: At Home Tours, pool, Summer, Summer at Home, summer with kids

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Gearing Up for Summer Boredom

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Julie

My kids have only 8 days of school left and they can’t wait until school is done for the summer!

If you’re like us, the kids are happy and occupied until about mid to late July. Then, boredom hits.

What to do?!

After scouring the Internet and looking through activity books, I came up with this little bucket last summer:

It’s filled with craft sticks that each have an activity written on them.

Whenever the kids complain that they’re bored, I tell them to take out a stick from the bucket — no peeking!

You’ll notice that most of the activities are fun but there’s a chore or two in there as well. There are even some educational activities. The addition of those have made my kids think twice before they tell me they’re bored.

Here’s what’s written on my “boredom sticks”:

Build a fort
Play a board game
Ride scooter or bike
Make book marks
Have a dance party
Hot rock art
Make kool-aid Popsicles
Draw pictures
Paint
Water balloon pinatas
Pencil mosaic art
Play “Hide the Thimble”
Make your own board game
Make home-made snow cones
Plan a field trip
Balloon ping pong
Make paper airplanes
Play with the cat and/or dogs
Hopscotch
Raise money for charity
Tie-dye shirts or pillow cases
Marshmallow gun fight
Use binoculars (go to park, etc.)
Nature scavenger hunt
Art Project
Nerf war
Make water balloons
Drive-in movie night
Jump rope
Lemonade stand
Sport of your choice
Go Ice Skating
Sidewalk chalk
Learn magic tricks
Go swimming
Go on a picnic
Learn origami
Build something
Play catch
Blow bubbles
Find a snack recipe and make it
Run through the sprinkler
Find good dinner recipes
Play on the swing set
Read a book
Go to the library
Do a science project
Write a letter
Do the dishes
Wash your bike
Vacuum
Learn how to type
Scoop poop in the backyard
Weed the garden
Clean your bathroom
Dust
Wash car
Clean litter box
Practice spelling
Practice math facts
Clean your room

A few of these chores have opportunities to earn money. For example, we pay our kids $1 for every grocery bag they fill with weeds when weeding the garden.

This year, I will be adding “puppet show” to the jar. Last year, my son found a site that taught me how to make home-made muppets and I ended up making 5 or 6 of them and they put on a lot of puppet shows.

(I plan to share about muppet making in another post. It’s actually very simple!)

Another idea to add to the bucket is to make a movie. The movie programs on iPods and iPads are amazing. My son has made some very cool movies. I think I’m also going to add “pitching a tent” or “camping in the backyard.”