Tim and I are both up, drinking our coffee and reading the paper. The kids are still asleep. They will continue sleeping until I have bellowed, "Time to get up!" a sufficient number of times (usually 3-5 times)...or until the dog whimpers loudly enough or licks their faces enough to rouse them.
This is the difference in summer for adults and teenagers.
Once the kids (aka the lazy teenagers) have risen, they will slowly shuffle into the kitchen and eat a bowl of cereal. Clay will grab the sports section of the paper and will pore over it as though his life depended on what is contained in that section. Once Clay has a bowl or three of cereal his brain will begin to function and it will be safe to speak to him. Paige will wake up with her hair looking like a rat's nest, but will appear with a smile on her face - she is our Little Miss Sunshine.
After eating, both kids will read the comics and leave their bowls in the sink and the cereal containers sitting on the counter until their father or I will remind them to clean up after themselves. They will then argue about which one of them used the cereal last, whose turn it is to feed the cat, whether it is supposed to rain or not, who is smarter, and whether or not the sky is blue (among other things).
At this point I will ask them both to go make their beds, get dressed, brush their teeth, etc. This will take Paige about 15 minutes. It will take Clay 10 minutes if he is allowed to go fishing... if he has other things to do it will take him 1-2 hours with constant nagging on the part of his father and I.
Once the morning chores are finished (which sometimes takes into the afternoon) the kids will most likely spend some time in the pool...where Clay has been known to entertain us all with his pterodactyl impersonation.
And where Paige will do acrobatics underwater, pretend that she is a mermaid or a whale, and sometimes will even swim laps.
When the kids become tired of swimming, they will move inside the house where Paige will read a book and Clay will watch the World Cup.
While the kids are swimming, watching TV, or reading...Tim and I will be working in the yard (Tim), doing laundry (me), running errands (both of us), etc.
At some point in the late afternoon, when my nerves start to get frazzled and it seems that the pterodactyl screeches and other goings on around our house are getting to me, my wonderful husband will be seen doing this:
Marriage really IS a partnership.
