I mentioned recently that we are conducting Camp Stephens this summer as a way to better manager our days and avoid hours passing with all of us still in our PJs scowling and holding garlic up at the sunlight streaming through our windows. As a general rule, it’s been a smashing success. There’ve been library and park outings on Mondays, splash parks to visit for Water Wednesday…
Retail experiments to conduct (I was personally impressed with the competitive pricing and the marketing strategy behind peddling their wares…)
There have been tadpoles and crawfish to locate under rocks in cold, spring-fed creeks…
There’ve been moths to spy on from the window seat…
… and sisters to cart around on Radio Flyer tricycles, pausing to endure parental attempts to capture fleeting, Normal Rockwell-esque backyard moments.
All in all, a right busy summer. Plenty more to come on that.
Most importantly of all to the pre-teen was a proper day of play and hugs and good-byes before the best friend shipped off for a two week vacation, i.e. the end of the world as we know it. “But we are BEST friends! Our WHOLE lives! Like, since we were TWO!”
A play date, a walk to the splash park and a pre-teen friendly snack under the shade trees helped make parting less horribly sorrowful. I picked up the new Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Puffs at Target (they’re larger and more chip-like, and very appealing to the pre-teen and teen set in their packaging, flavors and presentation) and stashed them in our swim bag along with some strawberry lemonade. After pensive first bite consideration and discussion among the group…
They were deemed a hit and two bags of the cheesiness were consumed in rapid succession. The crowd went wild. We’re pretty big fans of Pepperidge Farm anyway (Gingerman Cookies, be still my heart…) and the girls like the regular Goldfish snacks, but these puffier versions definitely hit the mark for a summertime snack…
We even sent a couple of bags along for the great Grand Canyon road trip. These, apparently, are “Goldfish Smiles.” And, we have confirmation that BFF is surviving the trip thanks to detailed postcards (I’m pretty sure pre-teen correspondence is the cutest thing ever).
So, postcards, library books and kid-friendly snacks will probably get us through this extended absence, and little sister is a good substitute in the interim. Here’s to all the rules we dodge and all the fun that makes summertime the best: staying up late to chase fireflies, visiting splash parks once a week, sleeping in, giant bags of library books and (not while reading library books, of course) licking cheesy snack goodness off our fingers.
