Summer has begun

Summer vacation has now arrived at our house.

The good things:
1. sleeping in until at least 8
2. kids are home
3. no need to shower until right before Mike gets home
4. swimming in our neighbor's pool
5. Isaac has playmates
6. sunshine
7. Emily has been making lunches

The bad things:
1. kids are home all day together and they drive each other crazy sometimes
2. it has been hot here in Michigan lately (we now have air conditioning!)
3. too much free time if we don't structure our day
4. kids don't get to see their friends as much
5. the house is rarely quiet anymore

We are enjoying our air conditioning because it has gotten hot here in Michigan. We had a good Father's Day with Mike. He received a Star Wars music CD from the kids and wireless headphones from me so he can watch TV in bed and not have to string a cord across the room. Mike requested Grilled Salmon with Ravigote Sauce (freshly chopped tomatoes, onions, green onions, parsley, oil, and lemon juice) over couscous.

We took a trip last week to visit our friends who recently moved and then drove to visit my sister and go to IKEA for some bamboo blinds for the house. The kids also got to pick out one thing each. The pictures show the fun things they got. We apparently had a chair theme. Avritt is Darth in the hanging chair. The kids have discovered that if you wind it up by spinning it in one direction and then let go, it spins really fast (amazingly fast, actually) and is a fun ride. Isaac likes his egg chair because he can pull down the cover and disappear. Emily chose a desk chair for her room.