Nashville - I'd love to rent a houseboat in the future, but I don't think I'd ever relax considering the ages of my kids (especially the little one). The Dells might be a good option. We used to live in WI; my older boys may get a kick out of going back, especially since we always talk about how our middle one was born there. I've always heard of the Outerbanks, but I know nothing about it. Joanie - Our older boys do pretty well in the car, although I know this would be a longer drive than before. Again, it's the little one who worries me a bit. I'm liking the suggestions that are coming in for places closer to home, so maybe the ocean will have to wait. dlm - I love the west side of the state too. We went to South Haven in August a few years ago and the water was still cold! Maybe I'm just a sissy! I have a feeling that if we can't decide on someplace new, then the west side may be our destination. Thanks for the feedback so far!

Vacations are when a programmable thermostat is great. You can set it for various days and times. If I left on Sunday and came home Sat I'd tell it to keep it about 84 during the week, day and night. Say 84 on the weekend, except you can choose wake,leave, return, sleep. I'd choose 84 then if you think you will return at say 7pm set it to "return" at 3:00 at 72 degrees. It will be nice and cool when you walk in! We have done this for vacations before. You can get them fancy and not so fancy. It is great to have anyway if you are all out of the house all day. You set it for sleep, then maybe change it for just before you wake, then in the summer set it higher until shortly before you are scheduled to return. In the winter we sleep with it pretty cold, then it turns on an is nice when we wake up.

Do you require them to do chores each day, and if so, what and for how long? Depends on what needs to be done. They all help with dishes daily. They straighten up their rooms often and are told to pick up behind themselves. A few times a week they clean bathrooms and vaccuum and dust. How late do you let them sleep? I do not wake them up unless we have plans. The latest any of them have slept on their own this summer is about 10ish. Do you have their friends hanging out at your house everyday, or are your kids at friends houses? Both, though I like their friends here so I know what they are all up to. And we have a pool so a lot of the time their friends want to come here. Do you require them to read, or brush up on math each day, or just have fun? Summer IS for fun! But most days we all read a little bit. I will turn off tv's and radios and we will all sit on the couches with books and read to ourselves. I also bought age appropriate workbooks for the summer. Every few days they work in them on math skills and reading strategy skills. I also had them in a month long readers theater program where they met one night a week to read a play. At the end of the month they put on a play with the other kids. Do you have them in camps, or volunteer jobs, or paying jobs, or just do what ever they want every day? They are too young for jobs (ages 6, 9, 11, and 13). They all are in one volunteer program where the older 3 read to younger children once a week. The youngest is paired up with a different older child and gets read to once a week. It is through our public library. The older two are also helpers at the library and spend an hour one day per week helping reshelf books and doing paperwork for the summer reading program.

All I can say is that I empathize and feel your pain. I logged on here to lodge a similar complaint. My DSS 14 hardly ever wants to visit as ordered EOW (unless it is his birthday, Christmas, etc.) He lives 2 hrs away w/ DSS 12 and BM. He came last weekend (his dad's birthday) and sent text messages almost constantly for 2 days! I was ready to throw his cell phone out the window! On Day 2, the day he was to go home, he acted like he was in pain or had a burr up his you-know-what all day. He wanted to get home to his friend's sleepover birthday party Sat. night which DH had scheduled our weekend around but DSS was upset because he wanted to be there earlier in the afternoon. So he made the whole family miserable through his cousin's high school graduation and swim party afterward, refusing to swim with his cousins and bros, keeping a stern look on his face and not talking except to mumble when spoken to. I'm almost certain that coming for a whole week is out of the question for him this year, and doubt DH will ask, although I believe DSS 14 will go with us for a week to the beach, but at this point, even that is uncertain. It breaks DH's heart but he will allow him to do whatever he wants. DH has not and will not tell him, "No," or force him to do anything. BM allows him to do whatever he wants, and DH is afraid if he makes things difficult for DSS 14, he will refuse to come altogether. I think there has to be some happy medium, but as a SM of 9 years, I learned years ago to KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT because I can't win. So, I do come here to vent. So I guess the problem in my situation is, even if DH can force DSS to come (and I believe he can), is that really worth it due to all the misery inflicted upon the rest of us from his bad mood. I'm just hoping DSS 12 doesn't hit this in the near future!