What are YOU doing this summer?

I just realized that this is the last week of school!  Oh .. my ... goodness!

I LOVE summer!  I live in Ohio; it's always cold and/or dreary .. except for the summertime!  I live in the city .. there are all kinds of fun and free things to do.

Arts Festivals, performances in the park, carnivals, ethnic festivals ... you name it, you can enjoy it for free or almost free!

I love summer because I get to spend more time enjoying my kids, too!  THIS summer, however, will be a bit different:

My Not-So-Bebe Girl Autumn is going away to take some college classes this summer, and then she's going to Korea for a work/study program,

I wish I could go with her, but I've only been working again for a little over a month, and money is tight and I can't take time off yet :(.

Where did the time go?  Yesterday, she was a cute little 8-year-old starring in Aladdin, Jr. at our local community theater:

and now she's one year away from college and turning into a young lady!  Well, shoot, let's be honest, she already IS a young lady .. sigh....

My Bebe Boy James is going to be busy, too!

Soccer camp:

Vacation Bible School:

Last year, I let him go to the Boys and Girls Club down the street during the day, but I actually went down there once during the school year and spent more than 10 minutes.  I know that not ALL Boys and Girls Clubs are the same, but THIS one!!  Children running around, pushing each other, hanging off of basketball hoops, cursing ... with minimal to no supervision?  Not for MY buddy!!  I didn't send him there to get RID of him, I sent him there so that he could safely play with friends, do crafty things, and socialize. 

This year, he's been going to daycare (for the first time ever in his life; I've always had a friend or family member watch him, because he WAS such a huge handful).   Every time I walk in THERE, the children are sitting quietly, watching a movie or doing a craft, or playing a game together. They have a summer program and he wants to go .. they'll get to go on field trips once a week, and do crafty, fun things the rest of the time.  I'm making his dad pay for it!  LOL!!  So he'll be busy, too!

AND .. HE'S almost as tall as his two youngest older sisters!  (They're fidgets, that's why!)  But he's only just turning 10, and I can see the man he's turning into.

From this:

To this:

in like five years!  I swear, the older I get, the faster they grow up!

We're all (Big Bebe Girls and Grandbebes, Not-So-Bebe Girl Autumn and Bebe Boy James) going to take a drive up to Niagara Falls this summer as well.  The first time I went, I was nine and I still remember it.  It was so much fun, especially riding in the Maid of the Mist!

The last time we all went together, Bebe Boy James wasn't even born yet!  So I think it's time!

What about YOU?  What plans do your and your fam have for the summer?  It will be over sooner than you think!