Summer is coming to the House of Hills. It’s the last week of school, which means that starting next week the Princess needs to be busy ’cause Mommy has to work. I am SO blessed to have an AMAZING job that allows me to work from home often and have flexible hours. However, the work still has to get done, and that’s hard to do with an adorable Princess wanting to hang out with you.

So, we keep our Princess busy during the summer. She loves camps and meeting new people and being busy and visiting family and going to the pool and… Anyway, here are ten of the things we have planned for the summer – some to keep her busy – some to enjoy her.

1. Camp All American – The Princess went here one week last year and LOVED it. Even more awesome was that she kept picking up her Bible to read what they had studied for weeks afterward. It’s an amazingly organized camp (which this Mommy loves) and includes pool time every day (which the Princess loves). She is going two weeks this year with some friends from church.

Camp 2009

2. Callaway Gardens – Super Grandma and Gramps take the older cousins to Callaway Gardens EVERY year. This year they are going for a week with four kids. I think they’re insane. They say they’re just having fun. What’s super cool about this trip is that my Princess is going to Callaway and doing the same activities that I used to do the same week each summer that I used to do them. It’s pretty neat, and they have a BLAST.

3. Edisto Island – We will take our annual family vacation to visit My Sweetie’s dad and step-mom at their home on Edisto Island, SC. My sis-in-law and her kids will come too so there will be TONS of cousin fun.

Three Cousins Summer 2009

4. Daddy Days – My Sweetie has Fridays off (since he works on Sundays) and so Fridays are Daddy Days. During the school year, he gets her off the bus and they hang out until I come home from work. This is a day I MUST go to the office as I’ve been asked to leave by the Princess if I’m home when she gets home from school. During the summer, they get an entire day of together time, which is awesome since both of their love languages are quality time.

Building a fort

5. Super Grandma – My mom (otherwise known as Super Grandma) takes the Princess for a spend the night several times during the summer (and almost every Monday during the school year). What is great about the summer is that they spend almost a full 48 hours with each other per visit doing various projects, reading, playing cards, and having fun together.

6. Pool – The Princess is old enough now that she can frolic in the pool without assistance. What that means to this working mom is that I can sit in the shade and get some stuff done. I also have AWESOME neighbors who will sometimes take the Princess to the pool with their kids so I can stay home on the computer.

7. Museums – Living in the Metro-Atlanta area, we are blessed with some great museums. One of the Princess’s favorite is the Imagine It! Children’s Museum. I think she’s getting too old for it, but she insists not. We might also visit the Tellus Science Museum this summer. We went last year and had a great time. They have a great deal of interactive stuff for the kids to do too.

8. Braves – We’ve already been to one game this year, but I’m sure we’ll go to at least one more. We are also planning to meet up with the older cousins and go to a Gwinnett Braves game. These minor league games are so much fun, much cheaper, and easier to get to.

9. Mommy Days – I purposely plan several days throughout the summer where I know I’m not going to work while the Princess is awake. I work before she gets up and after she goes to bed, but not while she’s awake. Those are Mommy Days – day we spend together. We might get our nails done. We might go to the library. We might go out to lunch. We might go to a water park. We might lay on the couch, watch movies and eat popcorn. Whatever we do, we’ll do it together and create a memory.

Pedicure on a Mommy Date

10. Hmmm…. That’s all I’ve got. Have you got any ideas for what to do with the Princess this summer? I’d love to hear them!

Linked up to Top Ten Tuesday at Ohamanda.com