Am I The Only Parent That Loves This Aspect Of Summer?

There are so many things to love about summer, but this one is maybe one of my favorites.

Our son, Jacob, finished up his year as a fifth grader last Friday.

He has a lot of things he's looking forward to doing. Hitting the pool, the drive-in theater and seeing his friends are all on his list.

I love seeing the sun shining, then walking by the television to turn it off.

"Go outside!"

Usually Jacob will roll his eyes, but after some coaxing he's usually agreeable to get on his bike to ride off and find the neighborhood kids. The other night he took off and I walked up the street later to see what they were up to.

There were three of them playing a tiny game of kickball. One kid would kick and the other two would chase the ball down while the kicker would sprint around the bases.

When we went home we make him shower before he settles in on the couch to watch tv.

Around 8:30 or 9pm I went out to put my stuff out for the next morning and to check in on him. Sure enough...

Remote in hand... he was out cold.

Me and my wife, Lisa, are tearing up an old flower garden that was filled with a bunch of lava rock. I set a bucket on the table and told him, "every bucket you fill with rock and dump behind the house will earn you seventy-five cents. A hundred buckets and you'll have $75... enough for a new Nintendo game!"

Jake's face lit up and off to work he went.

The rock project lasted about 30 minutes, but last night he was out like a light.

I LOVE this time of year. Get those kids out of the house and active this summer!

~Chris Farber