Two weeks down, two left to go then Dog Days of Summer: I can kiss you Goodbye!

It's not like I want summer to be over per say, but I do really need a break from all this time off from school. I love my kids, I really do, but have you seen that commercial with that guy at Staples mouthing the words to the Christmas tune: "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"? And he's pulling his lazy, sand and sunshine zombie-fied kids behind him on a couch attached to a rope behind him? The one where he's doing pirouettes and grand jetes down the aisles with a huge dopey grin on his face?
That's me.
Yes, that was me last week as I shopped for back to school stuff and back packs and I am not ashamed to admit it.  I was even so gung ho that I got everything labelled and in the back packs, ready to go for the first day of school...which is in two weeks.
We completed the back to school theme this last weekend with a trip to Edmonton to shop for school clothes, dance stuff, and do some general merry making.
We watched the Sea Lions, ate gourmet cookies, and swam in the pool at our hotel.  We did Galaxy Land and Chuck E Cheese's.  We put on a lot of miles, which was good for me due to the gourmet cookie shop where I splurged on a massive homemade Nanimo bar.
As usual the hours spent in Galaxy Land gave me a headache, and one over tired little girl.  We promised the kids we would relax in the pool and hot tub when we got back to the hotel, but had to break it when we saw the pool full of people and the hot tub closed for maintenance.  I have to say I love hotel rooms but not when we have the kids.  No one sleeps until very late, and the fighting over who is looking/breathing/hogging the blankets/foot is touching me/farting on me/can't see the TV until I am ready to scream is not worth it in my opinion.  In fact the night always ends in someone getting a spank on the butt.  Hence the fact we only go once a year with the kids.  This suits me just fine.
This year I didn't find the annual school shopping trip as bad as last year, which ended with me breaking down and crying into my lunch at the West Ed food court.  Maybe the kids are maturing a bit, but boy is there ever a long way to go with dealing with Miss Jacelyn's whiny and stubborn attitude.  But that is a whole other can of worms that I'm unwilling to get into today, so I will save it for the therapist. :)
When I hear my friends bemoan the fact that school is just around the corner, I always either:
a) get envious, or
b) think they are completely nuts.
My kids need structure, and the routine of school days.  They are out of sorts without them and so summer seems to drag on endlessly for the kids no matter how busy we seem to be.  Yes, I am ready for the fall without a doubt.  And with the last two weeks of August bereft of any activities, I will be looking around town for things to do to fill the days.
On the other hand, I will miss my lazy afternoons with the kids spent at the park, or just hanging out in the backyard listening to music.  The ballet plays that the girls put on for me are always entertaining, and Brandon has found a love for reading this summer and likes to spend an hour or so at a time curled up on the other side of the couch from me lost in Greg's world from "Diary of a Wimpy Kid".  In fact, he's managed to read the entire series since Christmas, even if some of them weren't in order!
I'm looking forward to the times we can spend an entire day in relative harmony...oh say in 5 or 8 years.