Time Apart

This weekend was a time with friends and family and a time for the kids to enjoy some time without each other. 
Saturday we went to a birthday party.  The boys really enjoyed themselves and so did I.  Mark was helping out a friend for the day so he didn't make it.  That night we all cuddled up on the couch and watched a movie. 
Sunday was the day for the kids to really enjoy some time apart.  My children all enjoy each others company, but they do get to the point where all they do is fight.  They all have such different personalities that it is hard for them to stand each other for very long.  It is half way through the summer so I figured it was time for them to get a break too.  Isaac was with his mother for the weekend, so it seemed like the perfect weekend to split up the rest.
Xavier went with Grandma Didey and my step-father, they went to Colby Cheese Days.  He came home and told me all about how to make the perfect lemonade, and his pockets were stuffed full of little stuffed animals that he had won.  Each with a story of its own.
Ares went with my sister and her boyfriend.  They really put on the miles with him.  First they went to Tim's Hill for a hike, then off to Marshfield to the zoo, then last was Cherokee park.  He came home completely exhausted and ready to crash.
Marshall got to stay with Mark and I.  We took him to the store and let him pick out his birthday present (a new swing set).  We went for a drive in the country then to the video store to rent any movie he wanted to.  When we got home, the 3 of us sat in the nice cool house and watched his movies. 
When all 4 of the boys got home after supper they were all happy to see each other and we didn't here any fighting the whole night. 
Today has been a different story all ready.  The older two are already bickering and beating each other.  It was short lived, but I know they all really enjoyed spending the day with people very special to them.
Thank you Grandma Didey, Tom, Monica, and Justin for helping give the children a break from each other.