Summertime . . .

And the living is still busy.  I guess it really should be with three little amigos.  During the school year, we're at the mercy of an intense school schedule, ballet and fall soccer/spring baseball.  In the summer, we're still busy but the slate is mostly wiped clean and we can choose our own adventures.  This summer, the kids' wish list was long and included bowling, Tae Kwon Do and gymnastics.

Thanks to a hot tip from one of my friends, I signed up all three of the kids for Kids Bowl Free even before Oliver was out of school.  This was the first summer that we tried it out and it was really fun.  Monday through Thursday they were entitled to 2 free games a day at a bowling alley that's about 20 minutes away.  You had to rent - or have your own - bowling shoes but it was still a terrific deal.  I loaded up the van, bought a "family pass" for about $25 and bowled right along with them.  Miss E was a complete handful every time we went but she was happy to tag along and wanted to take her turn and everybody else's.  By the end of the summer, Oliver could bowl pretty well even without bumpers.  See? I make sure that my kids have all the essential life skills.  Even ones (like bowling) that I never mastered.  I would also like to point out that bowling is indoors and air-conditioned, a huge plus in Southern California.

Oliver LOVED bowling.  We ultimately bought him (and Abby) their own shoes.  A bit big of course so they'll be wearing them for a while, lol.

Abby and Evelyn, cheering for Oliver.

Evelyn became quite the bowling bunny, hanging out at the lanes like a champ.

I have a basket raffle to thank for introducing my kids to the next two activities.  Just before Christmas, I won a basket at the preschool that included two weeks of Tae Kwon Do for both of the kids and a free month of gymnastics for Abby.  We used the Tae Kwon Do certificate in February (when it expired) but the kids really loved it and wanted to keep taking lessons.  For the sake of our collective sanity, I said that *maybe* we would be able to do it in the summer when our schedule was more flexible . . . and we did.

The kids learned from their Tae Kwon Do master NOT to smile when going through their sequences.  This is their mean look.

I have some awesome video of both of the kids practicing their sweet moves.  Notice Oliver on the ground?

Gymnastics was also pushed to the summer.  Abby tried out her free month and a free week of summer camp with her best friend (Thank you, Living Social) and discovered a new talent that she is still developing.  She is loving the sport and learning quickly . . . and it's air-conditioned too :)