School's out!

School's out!

Let freedom ring!

We did it!

It was a long school year with a lot of changes, but we did it...and boy, are we excited! Each year at this time, two songs echo in my head. The first is a record my dad would play every last day of school, "School's out for summer! School's out forever!" The other is one that was played over the intercom at the public school where I taught; on the last day of school, after the last student vacated the building, that perfectly suited Hallelujah Chorus would ring through the building and all the teachers would sing, laugh, and dance through the halls.

So, what will the Weavers do now, you may ask?

Josephine just finished 1st grade, and is devouring chapter books by the hundreds. Her plans for the summer? "I'm going to read all day!" Borders and Barnes and Noble have great summer reading programs that she can't wait to start, and the public libraries are her place of choice.

Adela just finished Pre-K, but is already half-way through the kindergarten material. She's going to go outside all day and swing and dig in mud, and only come inside to draw and watch movies.

Thessaly is ready for lots of cuddle time, being held by me and any other person who will focus all of their attention on her.

Eben is disappointed that he won't be able to tear up anymore school books or plop down on top of someone's writing. His big endeavor will be walking (may God help us all!).

And the teacher? Well, I'm going to clean out those boxes in the garage (you know they must be full of vitally important items, since we've gone nearly a year without them) and all of the flat surfaces that have mysteriously disappeared under layers of "things." I'm taking that 2010 challenge of ridding your home of 2010 items of clutter; right now, I'm still hovering at 350, so I need to get on that. Plus, I figure I'll have less cleaning to do if there is less to clean (at least my optimistic and perhaps naive mind taunts me with such visions).

In other plans, we are traveling this summer. We have a trip planned to Arkansas to see all of J's family, where we will swim in the cousins' pool, feed the grandparents' chickens, and pray the kids hang on for dear life as they try dare-devil stunts from the rope swing. Then in July, we're traveling back to good ole' Atlanta to visit our old stomping ground and see dear friends, and then on to FL to catch up with V's side of the family and reminisce of "before you were born" and "man, we were just kids!"

We're hoping Eben's a good traveler because the last time we drove this amount, he was snoozing as a 3 month old. We also have no intention of stopping at Cracker Barrel this time around (as that cost a hefty emergency room visit and several days down and out for me).

The best part of summer is work hours will lighten up, and we'll get some good Daddy time.

So, let the sun-tanning begin!!! School's out for Summer! and Hallelujah!