Summertime

Summer means....being able to sleep in, the kids are out of school, colorful flowers, picnics, afternoon rain showers, watermelon, a relaxed schedule, a family vacation, grilled veggies, suntan lotion, swimming, shorts, many hours of daylight, craft projects.....Ah, I love summertime.

I've come up with some "Challenges" for us this summer. I started with O'Donnell Family Reading Challenge. The challenge is to read at least 1 hour a day and after 20 days you receive a prize. So far, Hannah is the only one to complete 20 days of reading. She got new sheets, a 'fluffy' comforter for her bed (which she has been begging for) and a new pillow sham. She has now started over...

Our other one is Today's Challenge. We've only done this a few times, actually, I just came up with it after reading the Sanctuary book. Our 1st challenge - How long can we go without speaking a negative comment? We all did pretty well, actually Jacob did the best. Our 2nd challenge - No more than 2 hours of tv (including video games, movies, tv shows) and no more 1 hour of computer time. I am very guilty of letting Hannah and Jacob watch tv for far too many hours during the day while I work. So far today they have played 2 board games, complained a little, and walked around the house - opening the refrigerator numerous times and then shutting it. Right now Hannah is painting the rooms to her dollhouse. Jacob has already played an hour of video games and says that he is saving his other hour for Jon & Kate, Plus 8.