What we did with our summer vacation

We took a break from schooling at the end of June and started back up again almost 3 weeks ago. During our short break.....we spent a lot of time outdoors. We also went camping three times this summer....twice by ourselves and once with friends. We had a great time on each camping trip which were all in different Vermont parks.
Cal and Lily both celebrated birthdays this summer. Cal chose to spend his day fishing....would you expect anything else from him? Lily chose to spend her day having a tea party with her two close friends. It was such a cute day. They all dressed up and used real china for their tea while eating special snacks!
Leah learned how to ride a bike this summer! She is very happy about that.
James learned how to mow the lawn on his own this summer! Dad is very happy about that.

We also were able to (and still are trying to) preserve and can some fruits and veggies. They look so pretty stacked on the shelves with this year's maples syrup.

We were fortunate to be able to spend a variety of days with a lot of family members this summer....for both some sad and happy occasions.

The biggest event of the summer....the older three learned how to swim...finally!! They took lessons for two weeks straight and did a great job! Cal was bumped up a group and can swim underwater, learned several different strokes, and can even dive! Leah learned how to swim without a bubble and James can swim confidently in the middle of the pool with his head fully underwater!

The older three also took tennis lessons for five weeks out of the summer. They not only learned a great deal, but had fun together and with several friends. Mom and Dad also took tennis lessons, but Mom has yet to win a set while playing Dad....someday!

We had a great summer, but we were ready to get back into full swing with our schooling. While we're still doing some "summery" things, we're also back to our regular schooling routine. It's so nice to return to a routine after the summer each year.