Where'd you go, summer?

Here it is, the very last day of summer vacation. I've spent the last week+ at home with the kids, and the week before that we were in Florida (Daytona and a quick trip to Orlando). This summer has felt both fast and slow at the same time. It was a new experience for all of us to have the summer babysitter rather than a full slate of camps all summer long.

I think for Amy, having Jessica as a summer sitter was 100% perfect. They have similar temperaments and a lot of overlapping interests - both of them would much rather be inside watching TV or playing a video game. I think they talked and talked all day long. Jessica told her all about "Doctor Who" and The Sims video game. Amy played Minecraft for hours. She didn't quite get all the outside time we wanted her to ("We forgot to go out" - what??). But ultimately I think she will probably always remember the time she spent with Jessica this summer.

For Reed, I'd say the summer was what he wanted for the most part. He logged many, many miles on the new bike he got for fifth grade promotion - the back tire is worn down! He wore his Crocs every single day of summer (except when we went on hikes and things like that) and has the corresponding tan line to prove it. He played hours and hours of Civilization and lots of X-box too. He wasn't so much interested in interacting with Jessica, or participating in the outings that Amy wanted to do. But he made do. He only ended up with 4 days of real summer camp (at Kings Dominion!) since his flag football camp was canceled due to low enrollment (such a bummer). He had a week of "Lions Leap" which was a half-day program to orient the incoming sixth graders to their new school, which was really terrific. But mostly he was at home. Where he likes to be.

Tomorrow is back to reality for both of them. One is very excited (that'd be Amy) and one is complaining (that'd be Reed). I hope we can all handle the transition back to the swing of school life!