What Else Did We Do While the Big Girls Were Away?

When planning to send my big girls away with Grandmas for the first two weeks of summer, I wasn't concerned with them missing us or getting homesick too much,  I was most concerned with ME missing them!  Those girls are my right hand helpers.  During the school year, I mostly survive the evenings only because the big girls can entertain the little ones while I cook dinner or do our 5 o'clock house pickup.  How was I to make it through two weeks without their help?!

Somehow we managed.
I didn't cook.
We ate a lot of kid food.
We followed our strict, strict nap and bedtimes.
The only store we went to was Costco(because you can strap two into the cart)
And I enrolled Cayden and Gracie in swimming lessons at a really neat park that in addition to its pool had a playground, splash pad, and skate park.

It was our saving grace, something to get us out of the house for a couple of hours a day.  I was afraid that Gracie wouldn't be too fond of all the pool time, but on the second day she asked me excitedly, "You mean we get to do this Every Day?!"

Cayden was the superstar of his class, with his cannon balls, back floats, and underwater bubbles.

 We also got in a few bike rides(even though it was the hottest July ever recorded).  Our biggest achievement was riding to swimming lessons one day.

 A few after dinner park trips helped with the evening grumpies and stall till bedtime.

Going without the big girls meant we could go to the preschool playground in peace without big girls complains.

Awe, lovely naptimes.

Finally let Cayden out of his toddler bed and into a big bed.

Car rides, stories, laundry, yucky tummies, haircuts, and nail trims was all in our everyday.

Not too exciting for the first weeks of summer, but the best we could do without our big sisters.