The 43

I always strive to enjoy summer as much as possible, for myself, Wife and the boys. Well, mission accomplished maybe too well. After a fun, busy weekend, the boys followed that up with what was almost a 4-hour playdate today. We spent at 90 minutes at the pool with friends, picked up lunch and took it to the park, where we spent another 100 minutes or so. The boys by this time weren't that active (it was hot at the park) but still played. We got home and enjoyed some much-needed laziness before baseball -- first Littlest's t-ball game, then Eldest's coach-pitch game. Needless to say, Littlest was out within two minutes of saying goodnight. Tomorrow is another potentially jam-packed day. At least we're not wasting them.

(Transcribed from a notebook ...) I'm back on the hillside of Donner Park for my annual first-day-of-summer reflection. This is my fifth year doing this, but it's a little different in 2010. First, it's three days after the summer solstice -- this has been my first chance during a crazy wekk. Second, there's no visible sunset. It's been a gorgeous week, but right now, the first extended line of clouds has pulled up behind the Great Salt Lake in front of the setting sun. Maybe I'll try again over the weekend, but the clouds aren't going to stop me from writing tonight. Yes, another year has passed. It's been quite a year for our family. I've seen my sons experience such growth in the last 12 months -- Eldest loving kindergarten, and Littlest thriving in preschool (after a shaky start) and with his development in general. I wonder if between the two of them we will ever see such combined leaps as bounds as we did this past year. It's been so much f

Eldest's last day of kindergarten was today. He was so excited this morning, not because summer vacation was beginning, because after today, he was a first grader. I hope he never loses that enthusiasm for school, but I also hope he becomes enthusiastic for his summer breaks, especially while in grade school. It was a busy day for both kids, with Littlest having a playdate and a playgroup, while Eldest and I went for a hike and also tried watching the sunset. We all went for ice cream tonight, too. Twelve more weeks of summer fun ahead.

Today was quite a busy day for us, and especially for the boys. Eldest had his last soccer game of the season, both boys then had a birthday party, we came home and they ended up playing some more, then it was our street's block party, at which neither child ate much but played the whole time through. After computing our day, I came up with a number: Both boys played in some way, shape or form for at least 10 hours today. This is what summer is supposed to be about for kids under age 13. This is what we as a society have somewhat gotten away from as we overschedule and overprotect more than our parents did 30 years ago, and their parents did 60 years ago. Both boys were exhausted when they finally wound down for the night. Both needed bathing -- we decided to save the showers for tomorrow. Let them sleep and see if they can put in another 10-hour day tomorrow.

It was sort of a disjointed day today, and though it wasn't necessarily bad, it wasn't as productive or fun-packed as I would have hoped for. We had to drop the car at the mechanic this morning, then I tool Wife to work. Picked up some breakfast and put some gas in the car on the way home for Break 1. If there was going to be a time today when I would have been semi-productive, it would have been right now, but alas, I wasn't. We got Eldest from school, picked up Happy Meals, then came home for Break 2. We then took Littlest to speech therapy, came home for Break 3. We went to pick Wife up, drove to get the car at the shop, then I went to a meeting of the Wasatch Back team with which I'm running. Came home, ate dinner, taught the boys Crazy Eights, and everyone went to bed, leading me to now: Break 4. At least I'm doing something mildly contructive in this break. Tomorrow should be a little less crazy. And I don't have to work, so it will be more fun.

Hooray, June is here! My favorite month of the year is actually May, when everything turns green and the dream of summer is just around the corner. In 2010, it was anything but a dream, as 25 days out of 31 in SLC were below normal temperatures. June is my next favorite -- that first month of summer, that first month out of school, with nothing looming for weeks. Granted, I'm not in school anymore, but June for me is the arrival after months of anticipation. I know it will go fast and I'll soon be resigned to summer ending (even if there are weeks of it left), but on June 2, the possibilities for something fun, something incredible, just seem endless.