I'm BAAAAACK! - Summer 2014 in review {{GIVING BACK}}

Sorry I've been gone for so long. :( I like to take the summer off from the computer as much as possible while the kids are out of school. That means no blogging, very little email checking, and other social media. I posted ONE photo all summer long on fbook! ONE photo!!! That's hard since I'm such a shutterbug.

Anyway, I thought I would start my first post back with a summer review. We didn't take any glamorous vacation or hit any beaches this year but we did do something amazing......VOLUNTEERED! I know, sounds like work and you are right. Hard work and my boys loved every minute. I found out they actually love manual labor. Who knew!? Any free time outside of my job I took them all over the place and most days they wanted to know if we were volunteering. {{sniffle}} They are so sweet!

SUMMER OF GIVING BACK - 2014

Working in a garden that benefits the homeless

Making 4th of July decorations for the ER halls at the children's hospital

Removing graffiti

Sorting formula for the CPS workers

Animal shelter

Food bank

Fitting kids with two sets of new clothes and a backpack with school supplies

Handing out toiletries to the homeless

Garden that benefits the homeless

VERY hands on food pantry

Library EVERY week all summer except one

Reading to the Feline Leukemia kitties

Food bank

AND I'M STILL MISSING A FEW ACTIVITIES...whew!

I was asked once why I like to volunteer with my children and I said, "We are giving back to our community, they are learning valuable lessons like hard work, caring, compassion, selflessness, empathy, generosity, gratitude, etc. I think parents would want to instill these values in their children. Plus, I get to spend quality time with them. It's the ideal activity!"

We also had other fun around town.