It's summer time with teenagers

on Thu May 30 2024 00:00:00 GMT-0700 (Pacific Daylight Time)

with Darren W Pulsipher, Paige Pulsipher,

Darren and Paige celebrate summer with a house full of teenagers and young adults, which makes the summer busy and fun. As their kids transition into adulthood, scheduling and managing expectations can be difficult. Listen to their approach to this tricky time for parents and children.

Keywords

#parentingpodcast #teenageparenting #parentingteens #transitiontoadulthood #guidingteens #nighttimerules #householdrules #cleaningrules #respectfulchildren #familyetiquette #parentingtips #adulting #lifelessons #parentingjourney #relationships #blending

Paige and Darren just graduated, Sam. He will be headed off to BYU in the fall. Now, they are just down to one child at home, who will be a senior next year. They will ease their way into empty nesting. But what about the summer? This is a unique challenge when you have older kids as opposed to littles. Let’s delve into how they will handle the summer.

Give the kids a schedule. This was a lifesaver when kids were little—they had a schedule for the morning. Flexible in the afternoon. But what about older high school and college kids? Schedule? Do they need a schedule?
Limit screentime. When little, this is much easier. I had a jar of popsicle sticks with things to do on them. I don’t think the older kids would be interested in those sticks. Do you limit an 18 or 19-year-old screentime?
Work during the summer? Yes or no? Paige and Darren say yes. But if not, give them something productive to do. Sleeping in until noon every day is not a good way to spend three months of summer. They need productive days to feel a purpose. Internships, volunteering, taking summer classes, helping out with projects at home…
Managing three different work schedules. Calendar, Calendar, Calendar!
Family activities. Can everyone be together in the summer? It’s a question we often ask ourselves. But it’s important to make time for these shared experiences, as they create lasting memories and strengthen our bond as a family.
Follow basic family etiquette. Where are you? What time will you be home? Check in. Clean up after yourself. Be polite.

Lemonade moment of the week:

Sam graduated. It’s a bittersweet moment, seeing Sammy grow up so fast. The time has flown by, and I’m filled with a mix of sadness and excitement for his future. He’s off to BYU, with his siblings close by. We’ll miss him, and the house will feel empty without his friends. The pantry will be lonely… But it’s also a moment of pride, knowing that we’ve guided him to this point in his life.

Links

https://www.almostemptynest.net/how-to-survive-the-summer-with-your-high-school-and-college-kids/
https://www.ourfamilywizard.com/blog/4-summer-coparenting-schedules

In today’s world, navigating the intricacies of parenting can often feel like walking a tightrope. This was the focus topic in a recent ‘Where’s the Lemonade?’ podcast - guiding teenagers and young adults through adulthood while maintaining the delicate balance of freedom and safety.

The hosts, Darren & Paige Pulsipher, shared their unique nighttime rule. Once their children reach the ages of eighteen or nineteen, they must send a midnight update about their location, companions, activities, and estimated return time. If their adventures are to last beyond the initially stated time, they need to check in once more. This rule, the hosts believe, is a fine balance between freedom and responsibility, fostering a culture of transparency between parents and their offspring, promoting respect in the familial ecosystem.

Living under the same roof with their college-aged children brings its own set of anxieties for the hosts. Whether it’s the late-night worry about their children’s safety or the accommodation chaos left behind after a party, navigation through these circumstances becomes crucial. This is where the ‘we’re home text’ rule comes into play, a necessary measure to reassure worried parents about their child’s safety.

As the parents highlight, forming and adhering to rules is a significant part of growing up. One such rule stressed the importance of cleaning up after oneself. The hosts mentioned that they do not function as a restaurant, and their children are expected to clean their dishes after use. These rules, they believe, are not just about maintaining order in the house, but also about imbuing a sense of discipline and responsibility within their children, qualities that will help them cope in adulthood.

Abiding by household rules, no matter how small forms the backbone of the household culture the hosts have built over the years. Etiquette, such as voicing your departures and avoiding food on the couch, might seem trivial. Still, they contribute towards fostering respect for the rules, which eventually transcends into consideration for the parents and their efforts.

All the rules set forth by the parents, as strict as they may seem, are ultimately grounded in love and the intent to prepare their children for the responsibilities of adult life. They view the shift towards independent life as a preparation phase, infused with bittersweet nostalgia but envisioned with unending hope for their children’s bright future.

The hosts of ‘Where’s the Lemonade?’ have undoubtedly provided their listeners with valuable insights and actionable solutions for the parenting journey. Their discussion forwarded the idea of embracing the tartness of ‘lemons’ life throws our way, only to create a refreshing glass of ‘lemonade’, or wisdom, for future use. And remember—the journey to adulthood should be a fulfilling and memorable transition for both parents and children. With these strategies in place, you can navigate this phase with confidence and optimism.

Podcast Transcript

I know we don't have little kids,but we are going to give you some things,some tips on thingswe did with little kids.

And then we're also going totell you what we thinkwe're going to do thissummer with our very well.

You know what?

At the end of the summer,

I hope we do another episodethat says, say,yeah, that didn't happen or we did more.

Whatever. Yeah, we will do that.

All right.

Hey, wehave done episodeson It's summertime before,but that'swhen we had more kids in the houseand they weren'tteenagers with jobsand coming back from college.

So this summer is differentthan any summer we've ever had before.

Yes, we have a college kidhome for the summer.

We have a child who just graduatedfrom high schooland we have someonewho just finished their junior yearand is going to be a senior.

So we have older kids.

We do, and all three of them are workingand pretty close to full time,like 40 hours a week type of work.

So kind of crazythat starting in Septemberwe are only going to have one childat home.

And if we go backand look over the last 12 years,we started with eight in the house.

Seven,we never really had more than seven.

We had eight for a brief.

For like three or four weeks.

Yes, yes, Braveheart,but never had to dealwith like eight schedules.

Really? Seven schedules.

But yeah, kind of crazy.

It is.

And it's kind of nicebecause we're going to beentered empty nesters,but becausewe're ending with David,who is your biological child?

And I have 50, 50 custody, 5050.

So it will be like a littleyou know, it'll just kind of just.

Which means we're empty nesters.

Half of it's going.

To ease us into the empty nest.

I think you're still goingto curl up in a ball.

Well, after he leaves.

Or you mean when I'm when it just.

When it's just him and then againafter he leaves.

So half the time we're going to be alone,and then half the time we'll havejust him.

And he's super excited about that,by the way, to have all the attention.

All the. Attention.

Yeah, I know.

He is so excited.

He's like, no.

But todaywe actually want to talk aboutwhat is summer like and, and withwith all these schedulesbecause we have thingswe want to do this summer.

We want to go visit our grandkidsa couple of times.

They live in Utah,so and I've got some work trips

I need to go on.

So there's a bunch of scheduling stuffthat's going onand when are we going to see our kids?

This is ouryou know,

Sam's last summerwith us before he goes off.

So there's a lot of mixed emotionsaround this summer.

Yeah.

So we want to talk aboutwhat do you do during the summer?

What do you do with all the thingsyou just mentioned?

What do we do with the summer?

And and I know we don't have little kids,but we are going to give you some things,some tips on thingswe did with little kids.

And then we're also going totell you what we thinkwe're going to do thissummer with our very well.

You know what?

At the end of the summer,

I hope we do another episode.

It says, say,yeah, that didn't happen or we did more.

Whatever. Yeah, we will do that.

All right. We'll do that for sure.

If you are enjoying today's episode.

Check out our website at

Where's the Lemonade Dawg?

Where you can book us.

To come to your conference, your event,your workshop. We can't wait to see it.

All right, So let's take a look atschedule schedules.

I think that's the number one thing, isall the kids are busy.

We're busy,but we still have to havesome kind of scheduling going on.

Yes.

Now, when our kids were little,

I was really big into giving thema schedule of things to do.

I cannot standto just have kids waking up whenever,eating breakfast, whenever,then just watching TV or playinga video game like that drives me insane.

I think it drives them insane too.

I don't think they actually.

Enjoy they don'tthey don't know thatit drives them insane, but it might.

You know,

I think they like having things to do.

Havingyeah we so wefrom I think from the very first summerthat we were together,we gave the kids a schedule.

Now, as a blended family,you cannot make the other housedo the same schedule that you're doing.

We did share the schedule and say,hey just so you know.

This is what we're doing.

It would be niceif it was consistent and,you know, do you have any input?

But would you like us to change anything?

You know, likewhat's an input that you have?

And I don't remember ifif it was implemented or was.

Part of it was implemented. Yeah. Yeah.

It was appreciated, I think. Yeah.

So it was like up at 8 a.m.,which was not a problemfor the little kids.

I mean, we're talkingthis is when they were,you know, six, seven,eight, seven,eight, nine, you know,so wake up at this time, have breakfast.

I think that

I let them watch a showfor like 30 minutes after breakfast.

And then it was, youknow, clean your room.

We had reading time.

We hadthey were typing hi typing clubs,typing club.

Yeah.

They had to do typing clubfor 30 minutes.

They had to do reading for 30 minutes.

They had to do a chore of my choosingfor 30 minutes.

So it was scheduled out until noonis how we did it.

Well they had swim as well.

We have to swim over the summer.

So they always had to swim in the morningfor like 45 minutes.

I don't know.

I thinkkids thrive when there's a scheduleand they have somethingto look forward to.

And then we left the afternoonfor playtime and doing what you wanted.

Yep. And they had friends over.

I mean, we werethey had friends overin our swimming poolalmost every day when they were little.

So the afternoonand we let them have, you know,

I think an hour of screen time,you know, I don't remember exactly,but I think it was like an hour of TVand maybe an hourvideo games, you know, in the afternoons.

Well,and that goes to our nextour next pointbefore we get to our next pointon screen time,what about with our adult childrenthat are at homebecause we have two adult childrenat home, officially adultsbecause they're 18. 18 and 19? Yeah.

Are they really adults?

We'll see.

What does it mean to be an adult?

They can take care of themselves.

They can wake up on time. They can do.

I think that they both do that.

I think they can.

They can, Yes.

Yeah, Yes. Yeah.

We just have to let them do that.

Yes, for sure.

And so whyhow is it differentwith schedules with teenagers?

Well, we don't have a schedule like that.

You have to wake up at eightand you've got to do this by this time.

Andwhy don't we do that for our teenagers?

I. Yeah.

No, I would never do that.

And I don't remember whatage what age we stoppedbecause they, I, I very I think.

It's when they got a job.

Well I very muchwant the kids to be independ entand I don't want to have to scheduletheir whole day for them.

I want them to figure that outand be responsible for themselves. Right.

Like that's our goal,to get the kids independent.

But what if they aren't?

Well, and we certainly see that we do.

Have some that aren't as responsible as.

Others.

Yeah, and yes, given if theyif we just let them,would they sitand be on the TVor on video games for 5 hours straight?

Absolutely.

Absolutely. They would do that. Okay.

So when they're teenagers,is itmore guidelines than a set schedule nine?

You know.

Ten, it'syou've got things that you need to dotoday.

You got to make sure that they get.

Done right now.

Like I said,all three of our kids work and soeverything is kind ofaround their work schedule.

They're all working full time.

Soand then they do want to come homeand just chill. So I.

And that's okay. Yes.

I would never have likeas soon as they walk in the door,be like.

As long as the room is clean.

Don't do that.

No, that's not true.

You can go look at those rooms.

And are they clean?

Absolutely not.

They were clean yesterday,but today they're not.

One of them was clean yesterday.

Now all three are not clean at all.

I am not also not a stickler about that.

Occasionally I will sayall right, it's pretty bad.

Let's let's do something about that.

But, yeah, I just.

I want them to learnhow to do these things on their ownand how to schedule. But.

So you're asking me for our childrenthat might still sitand watch TV for 5 hoursor play a video for 5 hours.

Are we going to say something?

Yes. Yes.

Yeah.

Yes.

Now, are we going to sayyou cannot do that?

No.

We will have a more adult conversationwith them as we have many times, you.

Know.

And say, hey,

I don't think this is the bestuse of time, you know, for 5 hours.

Right.

Like, I understandyou want to relax, understandyou want to have fun,but let's, you know,let's see if we can dosome better use of time.

And we haven't had that problemonly a couple of times. Yeah.

When people think school's over,

I don't have to work.

Yeah, right.

You know, this week

I don't have work this week? Yep.

You turn into a jellyfish? Yep.

Are you still there?

You're still listening.good. You can check out.

Where's the lemonade Talk for more episodesas well as advice and.

Tips and tricks. There you go.

All right.

Let's talk about limiting screentime as kids, as little kids.

And then also we talked a little bitabout teenagers.

Right.

Let's talkspecifically about little kids.

What how what strategies did we useto limit screentime, especially during the summerwhen there's not as muchas things that they have to do? Yeah.

I mean, I if I remember correctly,

I think we

I think we already mentioned this.

We gave them an hour of TV on their ownand we gave them,

I think, an hour of videogames on their own.

Now, if we watched a show as a family.

That didn't.

Count, that didn'tcount towards their screen time.

Now, did I sit there with a with a clock?

And were wethe parentsthat they had to put in their codebecause they do have thatwe were not those parents.

We are not those parents.

We just said, hey.

So the hour was an arbitrary hour.

Yeah, it was likeand did they take advantage of ittoo long? I'm going to.

Yes, they absolutelydid take advantage of it occasionally.

And I wouldyou know,

I would threaten them and say,if you're going to take advantage of it,then you're notgoing to get 30 minutes and. Yeah, yeah.

But you have to do something.

And this is something you did that

I thought was brilliant.

If you say, Hey, no more screen time,you know you're doneand you don't give themsomething else to do,then they're sitting therelooking at you like,

What am I going to do? Yes.

So you have the popsicle stick jar?

I did.

I had a jar of popsicle sticks that hada bunch of different activitiesthat they could do.

And it wasand sometimes it was funnybecause at first I was like,whatever stick you grab,that's what you have to do.

I change that, right?

I change thatbecause sometimes would be like,you know, go play with Play-Dohor go paint a picture.

And I'm like, sometimes I'm like,

I don't want to getall the paints out or,you know,something like that or

But it was it was like, maybe go play,go playa go, go do a puzzleor, you know,

I mean, godo some coloring,just all different kinds of acting.

Go play with go do a water act.

Pick up rocks in the backyard. Yes.

Like there was all kinds of act,and I can't remember all of them,but they were all different thingsthat the kids could gosome like go bake,you know, go bake some cookies,just things like that.

You know,my mom had something similarthat she did with us.

And I grew out in the countrya little bit.

But I remember my mom, there weresix little kids under the age of ten.

There were six of us, and we must drive.

Drove her crazy.

So she used to get a pile of rocksdelivered at the beginningof every summer,about a cubic yard of rocks,a river rocks.

And she had us move the rocksfrom the front yard to the backyard.

And then and we got paid a penny, a rock.

So if we were reallygetting on her nervesor we were, you know,causing a ruckus,she'd go, okay, it's rock,it's rock time.

So we would go out and move rocksfrom the front to the back.

And then the next summershe didn't have to buy more rocks.

We just moved the rocks from the backto the front of the housein the flower and love it.

So a lot.

You know, that sounds kind of silly, butall ofus kids growing up,we knew that we could makea little extra money.

It was something to do.

Yeah, we had fun doing iteven though we complained about it.

I think kids really enjoyhaving having some structure, right?

Yeah, I agree. I agree.

And we always had that too.

We had a little thingthat you could come to pageand ask her for a chore.

There was chores they had to dothat were unpaid, right?

That just part of living in a family.

And there's chargesthat they could do,like washing the windowsor something like that where they couldearn money.

And so, yeah.

But we don't do that for teenagers now.

No, no, no.

And like yesterdaywas yesterday, the day before

I was cleaning the garage.

And I'm like, you know,hey, you're not working.

Come and help me. And you know.

This.

Yeah.

And then get out there and help and Yeah,because they know what to expect.

If you are enjoying today's episode.

Check out our website at

Where's the Lemonade Dawg?

Where you can book us to.

Come to your conference, your event,your workshop.

We can't wait to see you.

Okay. Work during summer.

This is a big debatebetween a lot of parents of teenagers.

Should I have my my child workfor the summer?

This is their time off.

This is my time to spend with them.

There's a big debate overwhether you should make your teenagerswork or not.

We both, luckily, were cut from the samecloth.

Yup, we both workedwhen we were teenagers.

We were second the very second.

I could. Yes.

Yeah.

I mean, why did you work?

Well,it was expected in our familythat as soon as you could.

So I think I was 15 and a halfwhen I got my first real job.

Yeah,but I had always worked with my dad and,you know, got paid money.

So as soon as I could get a job away,you know, away from my parents, I did.

And yeah, I wanted to have my own money.

I hated asking my parents for money.

I hated it.

It was just it was justsomething we were growing up with.

You know,you work when you can work, you work it,you make money and you pay your own way.

Well, and I was raised the same way.

You know that.

That, hey, as soon as I could work at 14.

Well, even before that,

I was working on the far rightand my dad would hire us out sometimes.

So, yeah, to me it was a natural thing.

So I'm, I'm gladwhen we merged our familiesthat that was never in question.

Our teenagers had to workto pay their own waybecause with ten kids,we can't pay for college.

There's no way that we can payfor four years of college for our kids.

We could,but we would be living in a tentor something.

We'd have to sell our house.

So but we do help out where we can.

Yeah, try and give our kids opportunitiesto work even when they're in college.

If with one of our sidebusinesses or something,if they can do something,we give them that opportunity, right?

So we both definitely believe in.

I think there's a lot to be learned.

Andfor working for someone,

I think it's a growing experience.

I agree.

And if not and we've seen thiswith our own kidsthat were one of our kidsdidn't work this weekand he turned into a slugfor the first day. He was like,

Honestly, I will stay up till threein the morningand wake up at noon or and, you know, nowhe's starting to work again.

And it's like, shocker,

There was onlythat was only three or four days.

I can't imagine a kidnot having responsibilityover the summer.

I mean, that must be hard.

Getting back into real life.

Yeah.

And then like, sleep till noon every day.

That just would not fly with us,

Neither one of us.

Luckily, we're both like that.

Like that? Yeah.

And if you don't have a job,

I'm going to sleep till noonand then watch TV for a few hoursand play video games.

Then go hang with my friends. No,

I don't think that that is the best use.

But that's just us.

That is us.

We do not think that is the bestuse of teenagers time.

But if you don'twant your kids to get a job,at leastgive them something to doto be productive.

Do you likehave them volunteer a couple of daysa weekat a food bank at

I mean, there's so many things

I RC at lasagna lovethere are so so many opportunitiesin your area just go to what is it?

Just serve.

Just serve dawg.

It will give you so manyso many things they can do.

There's even things they could do at hometo volunteer,have them take a summer class,have them, you know,help out with projects at home.

We've had our kids do thatwhen they aren't working.we need someone to paint the fence.

I mean it.

You know, whatever it is.

But yeah, an internship.

Have them do something productivebecause a whole summer ofbeing just unproductive.

I don't think that's good for teens.

Well, it's not.

And we and there's plenty of statisticsout there that show.

On the lack of motivation of 20something year olds and there'sand that's always been therebut the numbers have growndramatically over the years.

So now's that now'sthe time to teach kids the importanceof keeping that productive.

Yeah. Be productive.

Are you still there?

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You can check out where's the lemonadetalk for more episodesas well as advice and.

Tips and tricks.

There you go.

Okay, Let's talkabout how we're managingall these schedules.

We've got five adults.

Wow.

Four and three quarters. Yes.

Because they've had 17 and a half. Yep.

We are all have different work schedules.

They're not consistent becauseof the type of work that they do.

They're on shift work.

Yeah. Our kids.

So how are wehow are you keepingtrack of where everyone is?

I have three words for you.

Calendar, calendar, calendar.

We have all of our kidspretty much every Sunday.

We say, Did you get your schedule?

Put it on the calendarso that at least we knowwhere they are,what's happening when they're workingso that is so

I can't even imaginenot doing the calendarlike I can't imagine.

Well,and another thing that we do on there,there are some family activitieswe're doing this summer as a family,right.

That they need to know aboutwhether it's a weddingthat we're going toor family reunions or whatever.

We put those on the calendars.

We remind the kids,ask for that time off, right?

Yes.

Sometimes they have to knowtwo or three weeks in advance.

So understand your kids schedules.

They do have jobs.

They do have responsibilities.

Get on the calendar early.

If you're going to do anythingas a family,make sure that you are,you know, putting that on thereso that they can see it, remind themto check their calendarsat work and things like that.

Calendar is a greatskill that they need to learn.

And you have to be very risky.

You want your kidsrespectful of you,you have to be respectful of your kids.

So you can't just say the daybefore some activity go,

Hey, tomorrowwe're going to this family thing.

And they're like, Well, I'm working.

You didn't tell me.

And you that is that is not respectingyour child or their workor their schedule.

So because, you know,we'll just call in sick or justyou know what I mean?

That is that is not cool.

So you have to be verywhen you have kids workingand especially when they get

I thinka couple of ourkids have two or three weeksat a time that they get scheduled out.

Yeah.

So you have to be so organizedand go, okay,this is the time in three weeks

I need you to ask for this time.

And sometimes you're goingto miss a family activitybecause we didn't know.

We didn't know.

And they have to work and.

Well, this is exacerbatedwhen you have blended families. Yeah.

Where there's co-parenting going onwith another parent as well.

So, yeah, sharing thatcalendar, sharingwhat activitiesyou have planned for the summer,a family activities is just as importantto share with your exas it is with your kidsso that you knowyou can work on schedules together.

And absolutely it'sit's amenable to every. Yeah.

Okay.

Last one followed basic family etiquette.

Now you may be goingwhat does that even mean?

And doesn't everyone do that?

No, I don't think everyone does do that.

And

I'm talkingabout like for our 18 and 19 year old.

Right. They're 18 and 19.

They're adults and they like to sometimessay, I'm an adult.

I don't need to I don't need to check in.

I don't need to letyou know where I'm at.

I don't think these two kids know that.

They have it.

But I know some of their friends say.

That they have never said that,which I'm really grateful,you know, for them.

Butmaybe it'smaybe they don't say thatbecause they already knowour expectations. Right.

So do we tell themthey have to be home at a certain time?

No, we don't.

We actually aren't those parents.

We are the parents of at midnightwhen you're older,like 18, 19 at midnight,you need to check in with us.

You need to tell us where you are,what you're doing, and who you're with.

At midnight.

And when you'll be home.

What do you think?

You'll be homeif you're going to be later.

If you say toand it's even going to be laterthan that, check in again, right?

Send a text and say, hey,we're going even longer.

But which I think is hilariousbecause when they go offto college in the fall,we don't know where they're at.

So why is it differentwhen they're living with usthan when they're living away?

It's I, I feel it, too.

But why is it that way?

Well, because they're live in our house.

And if I wake up and go,look, Sam's not home.

I wonder where I worry now at college.

I don't worry because I don't I have no

I don't know where he is.

I have no clue what he's doing.

So there's no worrybecause I don't knowwhere he's supposed to be.

So when they're.

I think that's. Funny.

Don't you think that's funny?

I mean, think about it.

They're far awayand I don't know where they're at,and I don't care anymore.

But you do care. But you don't.

Because we still know.

We don't work on that. We're not.

We're not connected with themthe way that we are. So, yeah.

So they need to check in.

What time will you be home, Right?

That kind of thing.

Tell us where you're going.

We are big at checking inwhen they come home.

If it's really lateand they think that we're asleep,they're supposed to send us a textthat says home, right?

So that if we do wake up, we can lookand they're home. We don't have to worry.

It's also clean up after yourself.

This is not a restaurant.

There is no one on duty here.

There's no maid on duty.

There's no butler on duty.

So if you go in the kitchenand make something,you better clean that up.

And I, trust me, sometimes they forgetstill after metelling them for the last 13 years.

Well, yep.

After yourself.

That's something you have to remind them.

That's something very unusualabout our family.

We don't have choresfor cleaning up the kitchen after dinner.

Everyone or lunch?

Everyone cleans up the kitchenuntil it's done.

Yes. It's not 5 minutes.

Someone else's job.

So it's very interesting to see ourour adult kids,even when they come back from school,that theythey've kept some of some of themkept the good habit of

I just clean up after myself.

Yeah, some do not.

And it's interesting to see the.

Yeah. Do not leave a dish in the sink.

Like I don't want to seeyour dish in the sink.

I don't.

So open that dishwasher, put it in.

That's all you have to do.

But yeah,we do have one child more than other whodoes still have to be reminded.

And I will not put it away for himeven it would be so easyfor me to pick that up and put that away.

No, he needs to be mine.

So I just go in and he is like.

He's fine doing it.

And he didn't mean like he justhe just does not have the awareness.

The awareness.

Well,the other thing on awareness iswhen you are living with people,it is customary to say,

Hey, I'm leaving youinstead of just escapingout of the house.

Yeah,and I've noticed a change in in our boy.

Both of our boys, they'll just leave.

They won't say, Hey, see you later.

Yeah, sometimes.

And we'll text and be like,

Did you just go somewhere? Yeah.

And they'll be like, sorry.

You know,

I thought you were doing something.

So, you know,but yeah,just let us know that you're leavingand be polite. Ihere's another one.

When you're kids from from college,we have a rule.

You don't eat on our couches.

You eat in the kitchen.

That's still the rule.

Like your kids don'tget to come home from college.

On the couch is a modified rule.

If you have enough money to replace the.

Couch, that is our. Rule.

You can sit on the couchand do whatever you want. Yes.

So none of our kids, they always go,yeah, I'm not paying for this couch.

Yes, they don't want to,so they know that.

So yeah, justjust because they're away at college,that doesn't meanthey get to come homeand not follow the house rulesthat you've always had.

There's nothing wrong with sayingthe Houserules are still the House rules,and we're all going toabide by those rules, right?

Yeah, I like that.

If you're still hanging in therewith us on this episode,you've gotten this far.

Go to Where's Alumnae?

Dorgan Send us a little messageor say, Candy.

A real a candy. Yeah.

Okay.

Our elimination over the week.

A sad day, but a happy. Day.

I know Sammy graduated from high school.

I am.

So it is unbelievablethat our little Sammy just graduated.

I know.

Like,

I mean, it was just yesterdaythat he was the cutest little boywith these little glasses and.so cute.

But here we are.

He just graduated.

He's working this summer.

He's going to BYU,which he's excited about, right?

Because he's got four siblings there.

He is excited about that.

So I'm going to miss him.

So the lemon is that he's leaving.

He's leaving.

But the lemonade is that he's leaving.

He's no, no.

He's progressing on in his life.

He's be an adult progressing.

Awesome. Yes.

And I will miss his friends here.

I love when the kids are here.

I love I'll miss, you know,the pantry being emptybecause his friends redid it.

I'm going to miss it.

I really am.

We're going to save so much more.

We are going to save a lot of money.

But I love

I love when they come inand just go straight for that pantry andget their stuff.

If you like today's episode.

Give us five stars on iTunes, Spotify,

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And check out our blogat Where's the lemonade Talk.

Where you can leavequestions and comments.

Add. But most of all.

Go out and make some lemonade.

You bet, baby.