Commence countdown...

As I type this the kids are in the backyard pool swimming and cooling off after a long gymnastics session. And they're screaming at each other. Or rather, Wonder Woman is screaming at Homerun Kid.

"Give me that....now!"

That now part is nice and drawn out if you can say it in your head with me right now...

Thanks for indulging me. Very nice.

We're just two weeks out from starting school again...and I have sneakily begun counting down the days in the midst of our other countdown to vacation. Cannot begin to express how excited we all are for the vacation...except for when the kids are fighting, like now. In moments like these, I secretly wish it were another cruise just for husband and me. No fighting. No screaming. Nice long naps and lots of sunshine.

And yet I know we are all going to have the best time as a family. Enjoying being together and forced to work things out. Close quarters requires (and forces) at times that we all just get along.

It's been one of those days here. Lots of fighting. Shed tears from not just more than one child, but all three. When all three of them cry, you know it's been an impressive day in our house.

I am knee deep in the midst of curriculum planning. I haven't procrastinated. I've been working on it all summer, but the really time consuming part is now. The planning. The writing. The scheduling of every piece of work.

I feel the need to sit at my table and finish as much as possible each day, and I do love what I'm doing. But in those moments I forget to enjoy the day with my children.

So as the countdown commences, I decided to take a bike ride with Superman today. He is now (as of June 6, 2013) officially a no-training wheels bike rider. And he's fast. Like Superman fast. And sometimes he has laser-beam eyes when he rides. But no cape. Cause the cape might get stuck in his tires/spokes and that, my friends, would be a tragedy (and it might cause an accident or bleeding).

And it was hot, I tell you. Hot. Before noon. I broke a sweat, and I wasn't even pedaling that hard.

But it was fun. And it was wonderful. Something we both needed...an activity for the two of us. Lovely.

We will have plenty of summer left once school begins, and I know there will be much more swimming, bike riding and so much more as we round out the summer season.

For now, I am thankful for the countdown...and for the moments we are having. Good, bad and ugly. Happy, sad and mad.

14 days...