Green River Star -

As I was typing up the community calendar for next week a sudden realization hit me -- there’s only one month left before the kids go back to school.

What?

I think “That can’t be right. They just got out of school.” However, a quick double check of the calendar only confirms it.

I start thinking about my mental checklist of all the things I wanted to do with my boys this summer and I start to panic. Then I realize I may not have gotten to do all the things I wanted to do with them, but they have sure been busy.

My boys, John, 6, and Matthew, 8, have attended soccer and basketball camps, swimming lessons and Vacation Bible School. They have also played at numerous parks and playgrounds, visited the library almost every week, enjoyed riding their bikes and splashed around at the splash park.

They’ve been to the movie theater and I’ve taken them out for ice cream a couple of times. This doesn’t even include the special events such as Flaming Gorge Days and the National High School Finals Rodeo. They have also taken quick trips to Salt Lake City and Jackson. I guess even though I haven’t been able to take them to everything I wanted to, at least they have two grandparents who are more than happy to take them to places.

It’s tough being a working mom. The struggle of balancing a career and making time for family is difficult. For me, it gets even tougher in the summer when they aren’t in school. I want to spend as much time as I can with them.

That’s why our recent vacation was so amazing. Yes. Being in a car hour after hour was a real drag, but it’s not everyday you get to swim in the Pacific Ocean, visit Disneyland and Legoland.

As I look forward to the month ahead, I am going to literally cram as much as I can in it. I want to spend quality time with my boys and my husband. We still plan on going fishing, hiking and camping, but we also want to go to the Sweetwater County Fair. It’s always looked forward to by everyone in the family.

I have one more planned week of summer vacation to spend with some of my family from Minnesota who are visiting and I’m sure we’ll be able to check more things off of my list while they are here. Here’s to one more amazing month of making lifelong memories with my family.