What will we do today?

The day after we returned from our 10-day California trip, Julie woke up and asked, "So, where are we going today? What are we doing fun today?"
Exhausted, jetlagged and just overall worn out from vacation, I smiled and said "Absolutely nothing."
Julie looked at me in complete shock, as if she had somehow heard wrong.
"What do you mean nothing?!"
Like a lot of other kids, Julie and Johnny are so used to being on the go that they really don't get the concept of just hanging out and relaxing. I realize they get this from me. I always want to explore and learn something new. I am constantly looking for ways to expose our kids to new experiences. I have a list of all the cool places I want to take them this summer in Chicago...not to mention our three weeklong vacations in different states.
In the midst of all this running around, I think we might have lost the ability to just be.
So, last week we took it easy.
We played school inside the house on a rainy day, and the kids got lost in pretend play. Julie was Mother Goose and Johnny was Father Goose, which morphed into a game of Mommy, Daddy and baby.
On a sunny day the kids rode bikes outside, looked for potato bugs under rocks and covered the driveway with chalk messages. Another day we hit the local park and swimming beach, and we roamed the village farmer's market for the first time.
It was nice to stay local and not feel rushed or pressured to be some place fun, exciting and new.
A perfect break before we leave for the East Coast for another 10-day trip.