CARPE DIEM

School ended this year, the same as usual...


With adorable school programs...


End of days craziness...


A few "so longs" to beloved teachers...

A fond farewell to Junior High...

And an "oh so dramatic surprise goodbye party" for a BFF. 

"...like I am totally gonna miss you so much Kilie, I'll text you everyday, we so need to hang out at the pool, you are such a babe, I love you so much, this summer is going to be so legit, lets have our moms drive us to the mall and we can get some new clothes, and get some mani-pedis and some feathers in our hair, and like never help our moms out all summer...K? I think yes...TTYL..."  

So before I knew it, and before I really wanted it...
                                         Summer was here and my kids were all mine.
yep, all mine...

Just recently I was reading an article titled...
"100 things to do with your children before they're grown"
Number 52 suggested that we "watch a sunrise together." 
I actually couldn't ever remember sitting and watching a sunrise with my kids...
 So we decided that #52 would be a great way to kick off our summer. Simple enough, huh.
Yeah well, 5:00 am doesn't happen very often around our house.

A few days ago was the fateful morning.
We woke the kids up at 5:00 am, carried most of them out in to the cold, dark night and... come on, we just couldn't help ourselves- we decided to mess with them a little bit.

You should've heard their collective "YAHOO!!" when we announced that
we were all going to Disneyland!

It was only when we started to drive up a nearby mountainside that Brett looked up from his blanket and said; "what the heck are we doing?"

To ease the tension in the air as we sat in the cool, quiet of the morning and broke the news that in fact Disneyland was a hoax...I brought along some juice and apple turnovers for the kids to eat while they pouted.
We took the opportunity while the kids were held captive in the car to talk about having goals and ambition this summer and to not waste their summer away playing video games, and sleeping in.

As the sun peaked up over the eastern ridges above Rock Canyon, I declared our summer officially begun and announced our theme for summer 2011:
                                               "Carpe Diem"


                                         "Seize the Day"
It was a beautiful morning, made better only by the fact that we did it!
We watched a sunrise with our kids.
They may may never be able to say that they traveled the world, swam with dolphins, visited the Metropolitan museum, Golden Gate Bridge, attended a Major League training camp, or watched a Space Shuttle launch.
But at least we can cross # 52 off our list.   
We chilled in the car a bit, eating and talking and shivering.
I thought about our summer ahead...oh the possibilities.
Brett was still sulking about the whole "fake Disneyland" thing.
He was probably thinking "why couldn't I have been born into a normal family?"
Dean said we needed to hurry up and get our "Carpe Diem" on
before he needed to leave for work.
 So he kicked all the kids out of the car and insisted that everyone enjoy the moment before it's over, doggone'it.

We drove home shielding our eyes from the bright welcome of a new day.
I wish I could say that we went right home and followed our summer theme, cleaned up the yard and house, read books, made travels plans, planted a garden etc...
Instead, the minute Dean left for work, I curled up in a blanket...locked my door...told the kids to try not to hurt each other or at least keep it down and then I went back to sleep.
Seize the day indeed.
                               

Comments

Diana said…
I love this post so much Hil.
What a wonderful memory for your family--to teach them how great it is to be w your family at hardly any cost at all. That's the greatest picture of Dean throwing little Canyon a la Michael Jackson --up in the air. You should send the pic of RJ and Wade whooping for joy in front of the school. That's the greatest picture. I am so proud of you and love you and your fam dam so much I can't stand it.
Rachel said…
Hillary, I love, love, love your blog. You are so creative and have a way with words. I get inspired to do things I never even thought of doing by reading about your sweet family. Thanks for sharing!
SevereTown said…
That husband of yours is one good sport! I have to say he must get all kind of things from you for all the stuff he does.

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