The Brady Bunch

Ya, I know it's been awhile......................but I guess that's what happens during summer vacation when you have a large family. Time passes like a blurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr cause you're spending all of your time keeping everyone happy and occupied - and if you're lucky like me, you're also having a blast in the midst of all of the chaos.
July was the month of exercise. I chose to challenge myself with one of those "bootcamp" classes, while I kept the boys active in swimming lessons (except my eldest whose already gone as far as he can for his age and was working full-time anyways). I truly enjoy some kind of schedule, at least for part of the summer, and that's what swimming offers - a daily form of exercise, along with something to get us out of the house once a day, thus eleviating the "I'm bored" syndrome. It worked like a charm, and we all felt very fit when August arrived.
August was the month of holidays and family. A week by the lake where I had the boys on a cooking/cleaning rotation for dinners, which gave me a real break, and ten days with my step-daughter and her step-kids(who are the same age as my kids - yes, very confusing), which was the highlight of my entire summer. I agonized for months about how I was going to handle a family of 11 for 10 days, but although it was a little overwhelming in the cooking/cleaning department, it was so fulfilling emotionally, that the memories of it will stay with me for the rest of my life.
My boys had never really met these kids, and therefore I wasn't sure how personalities would mesh. There was alot of potential for disaster, as typically when you put a bunch of kids together for an extended period of time, they tend to get sick of each other and hence, fighting occurs. There was none of that! The kids acted like they were long lost cousins, and developed such a bond with each other that my step-daughter's kids didn't want to go home at the end of 10 days. It was one of the most beautiful things that I've ever been a part of, and in case anyone out there in cyberland is a step-parent and is reading this, I just want to encourage you to remember that kids are just kids. No matter what their parents have done, no matter how they became part of the family that they are in, if you fully accept them for who they are without involving the judgement of their parents mistakes, you can be a part of a beautiful experience like this as well.