The Mrs. has been home all summer. I have yet to discuss why here on OWTK, but sh*t got ugly with her family and as a result my dear wife needed desperately to take a leave from the soul-sucking cubicle farm. That’s the short version. And that’s all you’re getting.
The coincidental upside of the flaming bag of poo her relations flung onto our doorstep in late spring was that she got to spend every single warm summer day at home with her daughters…and her husband. Certainly the former was more exciting for her. I can be a tremendous pain in the rear, after all. But hey, you know what, so can the children. Okay, let’s agree to call it even then. Where was I…?
Oh yeah, that it was THIS summer was even more pixie-dust-perfect because, you see, the Mouse is about to start full day kindergarten — like on Monday, yo (!). And much like the intentional timing of my own at-home life to coincide with the run-up to the Bear’s kindergarten inauguration 4 years ago, the Mrs. has done her best to soak up all of the extra moments, snuggles, smiles, and adventures that came with the unexpectedly beautiful summer of 2012.
We have had a crazy beautiful summer. Lots of road trips, short & long. Lots of time hanging out with friends, old & new. Lot of great live music; indoors & out, and adult & kindie. Plus, a bit of baseball, a touch of camping, a dash of amusement park merriment (all outside, if you’re keeping score at home), and all of it together as a family. ‘Twas not unlike a Norman Rockwell painting, only with more up-to-date wardrobes, and no pipes. If there was ever an ideal example of the “all things for a reason” mantra, this summer was pretty much it.
Our Summer of ’12 Family Highlights in no particular order:
- Watching the Bear, in the semi-darkness of the Wolf Trap amphitheater just outside of Washington D.C., fall a little bit in love with Brandi Carlile while her sister slept soundly on a pillow which rested lovingly on her left arm.
- Me singing (solo) and playing triangle live on the airwaves of Sirius XM Radio.
- Spending quality time with a some great families, and watching my children play lovingly with theirs.
- …and while doing so, witnessing the Bear absolutely OWN her title of Little Mommy while interacting with several babies and toddlers. Man, do I love that heck out of that girl.
- Mouse reading, READING!, out of nowhere. Who in the hell taught my kid to read without asking?!? She picked up some brand new early reader books and SHAZAAM started sounding out every word and reading cover to cover. I’m so proud of that little monster.
- Getting to spend another few hours in one of my favorite places on Earth.
- …and, in a related note to the above, riding on several very old, but very new-to-me carrousels, including one where I mounted an outside horse and grabbed every single ring (11 in total), then handed each of them to the grinning Mouse who was riding on the next horse in. And one that still charges 5 cents (!) per spin (the original price from a century ago.)
- Finally seeing Coal Train Railroad perform live. So great.
- Watching Stephen Strasburg pitch in-person, in wonderful Nationals Park, with my girls.
- Riding on my first ever Ferris Wheel. I’ve long been enamored with them, but never dared to climb aboard one, until this summer.
- Camping, like, really camping, for the first time ever — outside and everything!
- …and before we retired to our tent…listening to one of our favorite bands record a special for Sirius XM radio around our campfire. Lucky, we are.
We accomplished all of this using our Subaru Forester and not a single DVD player, Nintendo DS, or iPad in the car. The Mrs. dished on our favorite ways to occupy kids in the car (or the plane) without the use of an electronic device (gasp!). Add to that nifty list, the newly invented game of Playmobil people “mountain” climbing with the assist of Wikki Stix
surviving (no, scratch that…what a cheap Parenting Magazine approach to that kind of sentence — not my style) enjoying the friendly confines of vehicular traversing with your kiddies.
Sometimes though, when dealing with the giddy joy of a new adventure — say, having a camp-out with a favorite band, playing their mini-marshmallow chubby bunnies game, eating WAY too many S’mores, then camping under the stars in a tent for the first time evah — a little one’s belly can pay the price. Thankfully, there’s the the #1 Pediatrician Recommended Brand of such things.
Now, while I freely admit to needing occasional assistance in the digestive health department, my kids don’t really ever require this kind of thing. They eat great, lots o’ fruit and veggies every day, and rarely ever complain of belly aches. They have, on at least one occasion, selected carrots over cupcakes. No freakin’ kidding. Where did these girls come from??
Many kids may have digestive issues and for them, there is Culturelle. Consider packing a package of the probiotic kid’s chewables for your next crazy beautiful family adventure.
*I was compensated for this post. All opinions expressed above are honest and unbiased, as always.
