Empty House

My children are just about done with summer vacation, although I doubt they will admit it. While they have had fun seeing friends, riding bikes, doing sports camps, swimming, etc... they are becoming impatient with each other and with the lack of structure the summer provides. When June rolls around we are all so excited for no mandated routines/bedtimes/mealtimes, etc... However, too much of a good thing is just that. Now that it is August, we are ready for school to start. Currently, we are knee deep in school supplies and physical forms, not to mention the miles of 'to-do' lists that still need to be checked off.
All of my children have been wanting to go to my parents' in Missouri, especially Bryce, and I finally managed to juggle schedules and find relatively free time for all of the them to go. That, coupled with bad behavior due to summer boredom, led me to call my mother and beg her to take them! Thankfully my mother is a professional grammy and did not hesitate to take them in. She is a more patient mother than I, willing to play endless games of UNO, monopoly, and clue.....she allows any child who wants a baking turn to pick out a recipe and try it....she takes dinner requests...she conducts tea parties... My father has a friend who owns a cattle ranch and he takes the boys, especially Bryce, to help out. Bryce loves doing all kinds of farm work and Parker is a willing participant when he knows the four-wheelers will be used. Tomorrow my parents are taking them to Silver Dollar City, an amusement park in Branson, which is a favorite activity for my kids. It is so nice and comforting to know my parents are available to cure the 'end-of-summer-blues'.
With the children gone, my home is so quiet! Especially when Dave was out of town for work when the kids first left, leaving just me and Licorice (the dog). Now he is home and it is so great to have person-to-person conversations! Now that the kids are getting older, Dave and I have to resort to several phone calls throughout the day, because they will pay attention to anything we say when talking at home or in the car together....which is ironic since they can't hear us at all when they are asked to do any household chores!