S/O: What do you feel you did well this Summer?

[randomkid]

Spin off of the Summer regrets thread. I did post there, but realized I am pleased with the way some things went this summer.

I didn't take DD to the library once this summer. That is also in my regrets post. I do regret it a little bit, but mostly I don't care because I wanted her to have some time to relax and her summer workbook from school was almost too much.

We took our vacation at the very beginning of summer - 2 days after school let out, we were gone! We have been taking our vacations at the end of summer and it always felt like it would never get here. I am also pleased that we actually took a vacation and left the state! We had the best time and DD had so much fun. It was probably the best vacation DH and I have had in years and I know it's the best one we've ever had with DD. Thanks to my parents for their vacation cabin in NC or we would not have been able to afford such a great vacation!

I did very well with DD's summer camps this year. I think she had the best time this summer and the camps were all good and mostly affordable - only one was a bit costly, but we were able to do it since the others were so reasonable. I think I'm finally getting the hang of this summer camp thing.

We cleaned out a corner of DD's room and moved a desk into that corner. She loves it and so far it has been great for helping her focus and get her homework done. I was also able to get through a lot of junk with DD this summer and we threw out, donated, etc. a lot of stuff that she really didn't need anymore. We are not done, but it was a good start.

So, all in all, more positives, than regrets this past summer! It went way too fast!!

[elephantmeg]

DS really soared in terms of independence. He was home with me most of the summer (I work night shift and last summer he went to daycare both the day before and the day after I worked, this summer he just went on the days after I worked). He was really great on the days I had to nap!

We did lots of library time, story times etc.

We did lots of the $1 movies

We played lots of legos/dolls. We hung out with cousins.

And for the first time they spent a week at my parents' house without us!

We went to the beach with family

DS did a week of day camp at the local community college (robotics!) and DD did a week of dance camp.

I LOVED this summer! Especially considering I only took 1 week of vacation time (the week at the beach!)

[zukeypur]

We had the most organized move, which made an extremely hectic situation much easier on us all. Thanks to the BBB for allow the advice!

DD3 was potty trained (well, mostly) this summer.

DD1 went to every camp possible and spent time with as many friends as possible before the big move.

DD2 had more play dates than ever this summer. I'm glad she got to spend time with so many friends.

[Twoboos]

Although I started the regrets thread, I am really glad we took the trip to visit DH's family. It costs a fortune and is a total PITA to get there, but we saw DH's grandma who is 92 so we probably don't have too many more chances to see her. Plus DDs bonded with their (2nd) cousins which was huge. We got to visit with DH's cousins which is always fun - everyone is around the same age and we all have a good time together.

The kids loved all of it, and have consistently said it was the best part of the summer!

[Sweetsunshine]

Despite having some regrets, I did sign the girls up for art and soccer camps. They both had a great time and still talk about it. They were only week long half day sessions, so not stressful. It kept them busy and they did make some new friends.

[hillview]

Kids had a great summer. They did chores every morning and evening (well 90% of the time) and read every morning (90%) -- got DS2 into a good routine and think DS1 learned he might actually LIKE reading. It set us up for a good routine. They had a sitter most of the summer which was generally a success. We went to the cape, saw cousins, and visited NYC. All and all pretty great IMO.

[maestramommy]

Well, we went to CA to visit my family for a month. I traveled to there alone with the kids, and it actually went fairly well. So I was very happy about that. Also, this wasn't planned, but when we got back from CA we still had almost a month of vacation and nothing going. After two days of Jen Hatmaker's end of summer (yeah it was bad) Dh and I decided the kids needed a routine, and they also needed to be put to work. So that is what we did. Every day they helped me put the flower beds back in shape. 30 minutes a day before they could do anything else. For 2 weeks they pulled weeds, then for a week they helped me moved dirt away. Last week they started helping me shovel gravel in. There were many bitter complaints during these sessions, esp from DD2 the first almost 2 weeks. And there are still many days where they act as if they are child labor in a sweatshop. But they do the work. We're keeping it up as long as homework hasn't started and on days they don't have dance after school. Today DD1 and 2 got off the bus, ate their snack and just started working in the front while I was still setting up the back. The way Dh and I see it, this is a work in progress that is decades in the making. But for today, I'm happy with the way it's been going.

[elektra]

Well, July was a bit of a bust because the kids got really sick, but besides that setback, We did Disneyland, 2 weeks in Hawaii, beach camp, a few CA beach trips, movies, Sea World, a Dodger game, BBQ's, lots of swimming at my dad's pool, a day at a fancy resort, and some reading and relaxing. So really a lot of outdoor stuff.
We did zero playdates with friends but we did attend one birthday party and had several family parties.
I love Summer and while I am looking forward to school starting- I love the warm weather and being outside with the kids. DD made no progress with reading but she is getting quite good at paddling into waves and riding them. :shrug:

[AJP]

I traveled solo with the kids to cape cod several times and it went pretty well for them even though it was stressful for me. We managed ok at the beach which was a huge improvement from last year. It involved what should have been an 8 minute walk (for an adult) with a stroller, two walking 5 yr olds (no sidewalk), a beach bag, soft sided cooler, one chair, one umbrella, and a bucket full of toys. When I was feeling mean I let them take their boogy boards and carry them since they insisted it would be fine. Lol.
We did a farm meet-up with friends from the area and one visiting from Europe, A few Sunday outings with DH and lots of time with cousins on the cape. I enjoyed silly things like ice cream before dinner and all day pj days.
I feel like we didn't do enough planned outings, but I wore myself out with all the cape trips with 3 DC and a dog.

[AngB]

I feel like we had a pretty good summer. We got a zoo membership and made at least 4 trips to the zoo, plus several visits to Purina Farms and also Grant's Farm. We had a nice weeklong vacation and a really fun Chicago roadtrip to see Thomas the train (thanks for the advice on that BBB!). Plus lots of trips to the library and other fun playdates. I feel like I am FINALLY getting into the groove of having 2 young kids (they are 18 months apart) and going places with them without it being too chaotic. DS1 is starting to listen a little sometimes and help, which makes a huge difference. (Not counting today when he laid down on the ground in the parking lot b/c he didn't want to leave...2 year olds.)

[candaceb]

My biggest success was arranging a babysitting swap with another mom from nursery school. Our kids were in Kindermusik together since they were 5 and 6 months old, so I have known her for a long time. We did a couple of swaps during the school year and when I started to panic about how I was going to maintain sanity all summer, I proposed a weekly swap to her and she thought it was a great idea. I had her daughter every Tuesday for 3 hours and she took DS every Thursday for 3 hours. It was a win-win all around. The kids love it, the moms love it. I really don't know what I would have done without those 3 hours, especially since the teenager who was supposed to come once a week ended up being too busy for most of the summer.

[ZeeBaby]

We had a really great summer. DH and I went to Turks and Caicos for a wedding and I went to Barbados with my girlfriends. The girls visited cousins in NYC, MD and MA. We went to Dutch Wonderland. They also had swim lessons and worked on workbooks over the summer to help DD1 get ready for K. DD2 just wanted to do what big sis was doing, which worked our great with her working on some skills for preK.

My mom visited for a couple of weeks and my nephews visited as well. It was great to have the girls spend so much time with family. I am overall pleased.