Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Fitting It All In

I'm starting to get to that point I get to every year. That panic point. I start thinking of all the things that we wanted to do over the summer but haven't had time (or good weather) to do it. I think about how quickly the summer flew by in a flurry of baseball games and running around and here we are just weeks away from a new school year. I start worrying about all the "must do"s still on our list: football practices and games almost every night, school shopping, school orientations, along with a ton of other meetings and responsibilities that are beginning to pile up. And I wonder how we will fit enough fun summer memories in there to keep us warm over the long school year.

I also feel a new sense of panic when I think about Joey getting older. How many more years will he still want to hang out with his entire family over the summer? How long do we have before he isn't so excited to go on field trips and adventures with our family? Will this be the last year? Panic!

Thankfully, the weather cooperated this past weekend enough that we were able to cross off a few fun trips off of our list.

On Friday the kids and I went to Bookworm Gardens. This is one of our favorites and it is in our very own city. And we finally had a warm sunny day to enjoy it.
On Saturday we all went up to Green Bay to Bay Beach, an amusement park where all the rides are either 25 or 50 cents. The kids LOVE it there. We all do.
The kids were extraordinarily well behaved. It was amazing. And I loved to see all four of them hanging out together, running from ride to ride. The boys were especially attentive to Grace, trying to include her in to the fun as much as possible.  It was very sweet.
We even got a family selfie on the train ride. Score!

After many, many hours at Bay Beach we had dinner at one of our favorite places to eat in Green Bay. Kaleidescope. If you are ever in Green Bay and need a fantastic place to eat I must insist on this place.

We got home very late on Saturday night and had a difficult time getting up for church the next day. We were all tuckered out.

But that didn't stop us from taking a trip down to the Milwaukee Zoo. We hadn't been there for a while and we figured it was about time we got back. The weather was perfect. High 70s and sunny.
We actually only had a few hours to look at all the animals because we were unaware that the zoo closed at 5 on Sundays.  Oops! We still managed to see all of our favorites: bears, monkeys, giraffes, tigers, gorillas, birds. We had a great time.
The kids were extremely good again. This time because I promised they could take their wallets and pick something from the gift shop but only if they were very well behaved. They definitely were well behaved. 
We stopped at another restaurant on the way home and were thoroughly and completely spent by the time we got home.

I can safely say that we took advantage of our weekend and filled it with fun.

Now if only the weather could warm up a little more to get some swimming in before school starts I think we'll be all set.

7 comments:

betty said...

All looked like fun! It is amazing how fast this summer went and I don't have kids in school any more. Time really is flying by! Enjoy the rest of it and I do hope you get some swimming in!

betty

Bijoux said...

I get a bit depressed this time of year, knowing winter is around the corner. Ugh!

All your activities look like things my kids would have loved at that age. Bookworm Gardens looks interesting! I wonder if it is similar to Storybook Forest in Pennsylvania?

lime said...

sounds like a really great day all the way around. thanks for sharing it with us. i am remembering the days and missing them!

Riahli said...

Oh my goodness! My head is spinning thinking of all you packed into a weekend! Sounds like you guys had a blast though! I wish we had a garden like that around here!

Anonymous said...

glad to know I'm not the only one having a panic attack this time of year. Looks like you guys have fun and look fabulous all over Wisconsin!

Wisconsin Girl said...

My kids start school is just over a week and I can hardly believe it. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep them busy all summer and now here I am, wanting more time to be with them doing summer things. It feels like school just got out a couple of weeks ago! We've had a lot of fun this summer though and it looks like you guys are doing the same! What a fun, action-packed weekend you had!

Unknown said...

You need warm weather? In August? Come on down! ;)

Love all the fun and photos!!

Words To Live By

Be grateful for each new day.
A new day that you have never lived before.
Twenty-four new, fresh, unexplored hours to use usefully and profitably.
We can squander, neglect, or use them.
Life will be richer or poorer by the way we use today.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could;
some blunders and absurdities crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day.
You shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be
encumbered with your old nonsense.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson