This, of course, led to a discussion over how late they’d be able to stay up once school is finished.

“I think we should be able to stay up until at least 11:00,” Andie emphatically told me.

I stared at her. “Are you kidding me?” I said. “I wasn’t even allowed to go to bed that late in high school!”

“Well, at least 10,” she mumbled.

“The thing is, I don’t want you getting too far off of your school schedule unless there’s something special going on,” I said. “When school starts again, it’s just too hard to get back in the swing of things.”

Though this was followed by the typical adolescent plea for sympathy — “But all my friends get to stay up late, even during school!” — the conversation made me wonder how other parents handle the summer vacation sleep schedule. For real, I mean, not just the perception/claims of my sixth grader.

Assuming they don’t have anywhere to be in the morning, do you let your kids stay up later than normal during the summer? If so, how much longer? Does it depend on their age? (For instance, I would never let Logan and Cody stay up very late because they are still at the age where they almost never sleep in, no matter how late they get to bed.)

Thoughts and comments welcome!

I’ve talked about my night owl tendencies before. I lean so far that direction, if I get to bed by 1:00, I figure I’m turning in early. I know, crazy, right?

After spending almost the entire day yesterday in town (yes, it’s all very “Little House On the Prairie”), I put my groceries away, tucked the kids into their beds, and barely had enough energy to put my pajamas on, thinking I’d read for a bit. This was 10:00 p.m., ridiculously early by my standards. I needed to take my contacts out and brush my teeth, but I was so tired, I thought, “I’ll just shut my eyes for a minute and then go do it.”

I awoke at 7 this morning when Logan burst in, excited that the kids had the day off from school and thereby unable to sleep any longer. My contacts were glued to my eyeballs and I had a nasty taste in my mouth, but do you think I got up, after 9 hours of sleep? NO. I kept on sleeping, interrupted periodically by bickering kids, loud play, questions, etc. All told, I didn’t drag my sorry carcass out of bed until just before 11 a.m.

What is the matter with me? Who needs that much sleep? I just had a business trip/vacation, for Pete’s sake.

Guess I’ll just have to try to stop feeling guilty and figure that I must have needed it, for whatever reason.

Have you ever needed a vacation after your vacation? Or just needed far more sleep than you ever thought you would need?

The only caveat? I’m going to be basically unavailable from Friday afternoon to Monday morning due to astronomical toll charges to make phone calls or use the internet. Translation: I am going to be going through some major withdrawal this weekend since I have to leave an appendage (my laptop) at home.

Ah well, small price to pay for balmy weather and time with my sis and friends!

So, any entries this afternoon and evening for the book giveaways won’t be posted until Tuesday. The winners will be announced then as well. And if you need to get in touch with me between Friday and Monday? Sorry, but you’re out of luck.

Gee, I feel like I’m back in the 90s. How did we ever manage when we weren’t reachable 100% of the time??

Have a great rest of the week!

I drove over 2400 miles alone with my four kids last month to visit my parents, aunts, uncles and cousins, all without anyone losing any limbs or vital organs. I only lost my patience a few times — the incessant squabbling, whining and air-hitting took its toll, as did the inevitable question, “Are we almost there?” — and amazingly, the drive went much faster than I had anticipated.

We had some quite pleasant and interesting conversations. I learned that Cody is a truly deep thinker. The concepts he thinks about are way more complex than the typical 5-year-old. I learned that Rachel is crazy-in-love with Nick Jonas and that Andie worries more about life than I thought possible. I also learned, again, that Logan can fall asleep in a vehicle mid-bite.

It was a great experience. Not just visiting the relatives and getting away from the stress of everyday life, but the long periods of time spent with my kids, showing them the gradual rising and swelling of the land as we drove further west, and reveling in their awe at the mountains I had taken for granted growing up. It was like seeing the landscape for the first time again to see it through their fascinated eyes.

Showing them my grandparents’ old house, the house that my great-grandfather built, visiting my grandparents’ graves and the elementary school I attended was probably more interesting for me than for them, but the girls seemed excited to see parts of my past. It was fun to show them the things I remembered, even though old haunts, stores and streets were undoubtedly fairly insignificant to them.

Watching them getting to know my aunts and uncles and cousins, and particularly my 96-year-old grandmother, made me swell with happiness. At home, the only family nearby is my sister, so being around all of this extended family, as well as my parents, was bliss. I love my family to pieces and it has always bugged me that I live so far away from them.

So, it was with sadness and a few tears that we made our way back home. As the landscape became flatter and flatter, we knew we were close to home (though the hordes of bugs committing suicide on our windshield gave us a clue as well). And when we pulled into my in-laws’ yard at the last half hour of our trip and the kids all jumped out of the van with cries of uninhibited joy, I knew we’re in a good place here too.

Now that I know I can make that trip by myself, my family doesn’t seem so far away anymore.

However, the beautiful weather and virtually bug-less environment my family is blessed enough to live in now seems impossibly far.

You gotta love the good ol’ Midwest. Or at least use lots of mosquito repellent.

Where have you and your family vacationed?

I remember as a kid being put to bed in the summer and standing at the window thinking, “It’s still light out! It’s not time for bed!” I never could get to sleep while it seemed like daytime to me. With the days getting longer, it’s nice to be able to put the kids to bed after the sun goes down, if I so choose. Of course, sometimes I put them to bed early because I need a break. (Anyone else do that?)

Camping, boating, swimming, trips . . . I’m so glad we’re done with school for the year. I love having the kids home.

Too bad the time goes so fast.

What are your family’s favorite summer activities?