The countdown....

The countdown is on in our house....Noah starts school on Monday and we are all anxious to see how he does. As I said before, Noah will be going to summer school from 8-12, Monday through Thursday until July 20th. We drove to the school yesterday so he could see where he will be going. He and Anna will both be going to Pelican Elementary for summer school. Kindra will have her classes at the middle school, which will be a great opportunity for her to get used to the middle school before she starts there in the fall. Of course she's annoyed that I signed her up for summer school, but she's been so bored hanging around the house this last week that I'm sure she'll have a good time since she'll be seeing some of her friends at summer school.

We haven't really done much this week. A few trips to the park, one trip to the bowling ally, the girls had swim class on Thursday, Pavan took Noah and Anna to see Cars last night. The weather has been beautiful, in the 60s and 70s, so I can't complain. We had our carpet cleaned on Monday, met with our attorney here at the house on Thursday, and had the house sprayed for ants (something we have to do every year.....the ants that invade our house are so big I worry they could carry us off while we're sleeping!!!) on Friday. Next week will be more busy, which will actually be nice. The children get restless when we just sit at home all day long, and then they start getting on one another's nerves. Sibling rivalry is not a pretty thing!

Next week will go like this....

Sunday Anna has soccer practice in the evening.

Monday summer school from 8-12. Anna soccer game in the evening.

Tuesday summer school from 8-12. Anna swim class in the evening. Pavan on call.

Wednesday summer school from 8-12.

Thursday summer school from 8-12. Kindra swimming late afternoon, Anna gymnastics, Kindra has a girls fun night at the church. They are discussing dressing modestly, and are having a fashion show of each girl's favorite outfit. Also having a crazy fashion show with lots of silly clothing and accessories.

Friday....nothing at all! We'll probably go bowling, or to the children's museum in Eagle River....never know what we'll find to do!

This afternoon we are going to tour the girl scout camp, which is located between Tomahawk and Merrill, near a small town called Irma. It should take us about 45 minutes to get there. They are having tours, games, snacks, and the waterfront will be open for swimming. Of course the high temperature is only 65 here today, so I think we'll pass on the swimming!! It will be nice for the girls to tour the camp before they go down for the week, I think they will both feel a lot more comfortable going to camp when they know what to expect.

One more thing, then I'd better get going. We are going to a craft fair and car show in about 30 minutes, it's near the courthouse here in Rhinelander. All of the craft vendors must have handmade items in order to take part in this particular craft fair.

Ok, here's my thought for the day. This is something I first started noticing around the holidays, and it's getting worse every year. I'm sure you all have noticed how retailers have started displaying Christmas items earlier and earlier every year. It's to the point now that as soon as they take down the Halloween decorations and costumes, they start putting up all the Christmas items. Well, now they are doing it with other items too....my main complaint being children's clothing. Some of you may know that a few months ago I was having a terrible time trying to find long sleeve shirts and long pants for Noah and Amaya. It was March, it was cold, and all the stores were selling summer clothes. Now, that might be appropriate in other parts of the country, but not here!! We still have snow on the ground until May, and if your children outgrow their winter clothes after February, watch out!! I had to search online to find clothing for them to wear until it warmed up, and as you can see, we actually need warm clothing up here year round.

So, yesterday I went into JC Penney to exchange a pair of shorts I had purchased for Amaya a couple of weeks ago. They were too big around the waist, and when I put them on her, they literally fell right off. Anyway, we went into Penneys and guess what.....all of their children's summer clothing is on clearance!!! You know what that means.....they are getting ready to put out their fall and winter clothing.....and it's only June!!! It just started getting warm here within the last few weeks. Now I'm not sure what to do....should I load up on bigger summer clothing in case the children grow?? Or just wait and see what I can find later?? It's very frustrating, and I just thought I'd let you all know how crazy I think it is.

Have a good weekend. I am going to take some pictures at the camp today, and will try to get online later tonight or tomorrow to put the pictures in the journal. I also have a few other pictures of Noah and Amaya that I will save for then....

Rebecca