Lezlie’s Take:
Have you ever heard of a company called Events and Adventures? This company encourages people to
Meet a Community of Dynamic Singles and Get Together for Group Social Events
While Junkets and Jewels doesn’t have a lot of “events,” we are big on adventures! We include the kids in a lot of these, but sometimes we just want to do the adult thing. Am I right?!
When Allison and her brother were young, my parents had a golf/weekend house that we would visit. But somehow the caregiving always rested solely on my shoulders, and Rick got to play golf with my parents most of the time. Bummer for me!
As I have said before, my daughter and her husband are so lucky to have two sets of parents who are willing to take the kids so they can have some grownup fun (like two weeks last summer in Italy!). And this week in the mountains of New Mexico have been no exception. We have been able to share the caregiver responsibilities so that everyone gets some quality time! I feel it’s SOOOO important that you don’t lose yourself as an adult just because you have kids! Wouldn’t you agree? So here’s a recap of our ability to “make hay while the sun shines”, so to speak!
Allison’s Take:
Summer with a 3 and 5 year old…. I’m lucky enough to have summers off, since I’m a teacher. Come May, it’s the only thing I can think about (sleeping in, days in pajamas, finishing all the crafts/projects I’ve started and haven’t had a chance to finish). But then we get to July, and it’s more like “what on earth am I going to do today to keep the kids from tearing up the house, and still attempt to finish some of the things I’ve started?!”
One thing we’ve done a LOT of is pool time, playing outside, etc. But then the thermometer hits 105 by lunchtime, and it’s no longer a good idea to even BE outside, much less spend any amount of time letting the kids run off their energy. So then what? I tend to think I’m a pretty organized/structured person. So I get on Pinterest looking for 
“indoor activities” or “painting with toddlers” and get super excited pinning fun ideas to keep the kids busy (and hopefully quiet for at least 10 minutes). But as soon as we start one of these “super easy” activities, one of them has to go to the bathroom, the other wants a snack, the dog needs to go out, and the phone rings. So while I’m taking the 3 year old to the bathroom (yay potty training…), the 5 year old decides to do some “creative painting” (read-the walls, chairs, table…), the dog throws up on the carpet, and the phone call goes to Voicemail (sorry honey, whatever you needed to tell me will have to wait!). I never knew how important flexibility and patience were until I had kids!!
With the temperature climbing daily, and the kids getting more and more antsy inside, we (well, I) decided to make the 10 hour trek to Ruidoso. The whole time I’m packing, preparing, etc, I’m thinking “ok, you can do this. It’ll be worth it when we get there. How many more games can I delete to load movies on the iPad? How many snacks do we need? Yup, better add more!” So we got here with mostly no issues (that last hour had me CRAVING that gigantic glass of wine I poured as soon as I walked through the door to the cabin). The first couple of days we spent letting the kids play outside, explore nature, and pretty much just unwind. I went against my natural OCD instincts and let them enjoy unstructured fun. And it was great! They kicked the ball to each other, practiced skipping rocks in the creek behind the house, and studied all of the “nature” they could find.
One of those days dad was kind (read-crazy!) enough to watch the kids so Mom and I could play golf. Man, I forgot how much I love to play! Usually it’s Jeff that gets to play, while I stay home with the kids. Mom and I had a great time working on our game (and swinging a LOT!). The weather was amazing, as were the views. It was some much needed “me time”.
After 2 days of unstructured activities, I was ready for something a little more structured, and with the high being in the 80s, it was time for an outdoor “adventure”. We took the kids to the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site to have a picnic and do some hiking. Again, the views were AMAZING (although there was a storm rolling in that had us a little anxious!), but we got to see some of the most amazing Petroglyphs and teach the kids a little bit about history. If nothing else, we wore them out (me included, as Kendall decided about halfway up that she wasn’t going to walk anymore…)
All in all, we’ve had a great summer so far, although by the end of the day I’m MORE than ready for the kids to go to bed! We’ve got some more memories to make before school starts (and PLENTY more wine to drink!)
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