One of the things I loved best about visiting Grandma’s house when I was growing up was how oblivious my parents became to things like over-sugaring, bedtime hijinks, and general childhood obnoxiousness. It seemed that we could get away with all kinds of things at Grandma’s house that would never be tolerated at home, and that was why Grandma’s house was known as the most magical place on earth. Eat that, Walt Disney.

Certain events happen every summer. You can practically check them off on some cosmic to-do list. This year we are marking the passage of time much as we have every other year for as long as I can remember:

Vacation? Planned and eagerly anticipated. A good time was had by all!

Sunburn? Not anticipated, but nevertheless showed up right on time.

Hearing “I'm bored” 10 times a day? This little gem of a chant is one I can do without, yet can count on happening as sure as the heat will make everyone whine.

Head cold, complete with fever and chills? Wait. What? Who gets a head cold in July? I mean really!

Apparently, I do.

We're leaving for our California vacation in only a couple of weeks. Hubs sent me an e-mail yesterday to remind me that there are a few remaining elements of our trip plans we still need to handle. He suggested we both do some research, and we could sit down later in the evening to discuss what we found.

Okay. Good idea.

But here's what it looks like when I do vacation planning: I sit down at the computer and open up the Disneyland website. And then I remember that it would be fun if we got my daughter a Tinkerbell t-shirt for the trip, so maybe I'll just pop over to the Disney Store website and see if there are any sales. But then that reminds me, wasn't there a big sale at Old Navy this week?

My grandmother turned 87 yesterday. In her honor, her five children, their spouses and her siblings turned out for a special birthday lunch. In between the memories of neighborhood streets and first boyfriends and having the Italian prisoners of war over for dinner (apparently my great-grandparents would just check them out of the base for the night, like a movie at Blockbuster) the old people talked about their children and grandchildren, and how different their lives are in this twenty-first century.

The conversation was prompted by an article in the local newspaper about generation gaps. If you thought the difference between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers was huge, take a look at the expanse between the Boomers and THEIR kids. (What are we calling ourselves these days anyway? I know I'm too young to be a Gen X'er, but am I Generation Y? A Millenial?) One great-aunt groused about how young people today don't work as hard as she and her husband did. Another great-aunt said young people seem to be so much smarter than they were in her day.

Dan's sister is getting married in July, and Magoo is part of the wedding party. They know he's the best one to bring the cuteness, so he shall be decked out in a tiny man suit and a small purple bow tie. The suit I have under control -- but since I'm fairly sure they do not want him to show up wearing sneakers with his dress clothes, I decided that yesterday we needed to do some shoe shopping.

Laylee went next door to play with a neighbor friend so Magoo and I could have a special date to go shopping for exciting things just for him. He was a bit miffed about being left out of the playdate fun, but felt certain that we'd have a great time together shopping for magical Magoolish items and probably rolling around in ice cream.

I am just wrapping up a week at the beach with my family. I mean cousins, aunts, nephews, my brother and my sister and her family. We had roughly twenty people in one house, and you could not take a step without bumping into someone you were related to. I would love to tell you it was too chaotic to be enjoyable, but the truth of the matter is that I love being surrounded by the people I love. The kids look forward to it every year, too.

It got me thinking about what makes a family. Is it the group of people you grew up with and started your life’s journey with, or is it the family you have created with the person you married? Is it the people you love but don’t see often, or is it the people you pick up the phone to call when you need a shoulder to cry on? I have discovered that the answer is "all of the above."

One of the best things about living in this part of the country is that we get to fully experience all four seasons.

One of the worst things about living in this part of the country is that we get to fully experience all four seasons. One of those seasons is called “summer”, though I’m suggesting that, in the name of accuracy, we should rename this season to The Fiery Bowels Of The Hottest Furnace You’ve Ever Seen. While I’m normally pretty tolerant of hot weather, this summer is especially toasty. We’ve even made the national news in recent weeks as part of a “Heat Advisory”. That’s fancy meteorologist talk for “GET YOURSELF BACK INSIDE THE HOUSE.”

In case we haven’t yet met, my name is Maggie [pasty white girl] and I am married to Phillip [The Devastatingly Handsome Chinese Man] and we have two small children, Jackson and Molly [half Caucasian, half Chinese, who don't look like their parents OR each other.] Here they are:

Jack and Molly welcome their Internet Stalkers!

I love to camp. I grew up camping with my family and loving *almost* every minute of it. (There were those few times I had to use the potty in the night and was terrified of bears, rabid squirrels or intoxicated campers I might encounter.) We spent a lot of time planning our trips and some of my happiest childhood memories are camping with my family, even driving in the car to get to our camping destinations. That’s where we bonded, out in nature away from the distractions of home.

Dan does not so much love the camping. Dan camps because he loves me. We’ve gone a few times as a family and always managed to have cold or rainy weather and at least one crying baby along for the ride. Maybe I tried to start the tradition too soon. Maybe the kids are too young and maybe I should have waited until the absolute blazing hottest day of summer. I enjoy it even when it’s cold but Dan holds a grudge against the weather. I keep trying and I feel certain that once we get it right, Dan will be hooked on camping just like my family was.

We ate a hearty lunch of pizza at the pool today. When we were done, I closed the pizza box and reapplied the sunscreen just as slowly as I could. The natives were restless and wanted me to hurry, but we had to take our time, I explained -- “because if you swim too soon after eating, you’ll get sick.”

Why did I say that? Is this really an epidemic of such proportions that mothers of every generation find it worthy of mention? Are there really ambulance drivers squealing into the pool parking lots all over this nation to pick up little Teddy because he jumped in the water before his corn dog was fully digested?