Update: The giveaway winner is…CateS. Congrats, Cate!
My son is a huge fan of the Disney show, Phineas & Ferb. If you’ve got a little one, then you’re probably familiar with the show’s intro…it goes like this, “There’s 104 days of summer vacation…” In honor of that lovely 104 days, my son and I try to fill our summer with 104 special adventures. (And, last year, we actually accomplished our goal and did 104 exciting things! I’ve got a journal to prove it!)
Since his summer vacation officially began on Friday, Jack and I have now officially started our adventures. But you know the cool thing about adventures? You can find adventures just about any place…
You can go stargazing.
You can hike through the woods.
You can travel to a museum and see all kinds of cool artifacts.
And you can always find a way to experience something new in your part of the world. I’m a big fan of that “experiencing something new” so over the weekend, I got on a charter boat with my family, and we headed out to see some spots along the Gulf Coast–spots that I’d never seen, even though I’ve lived in this area my whole life. My favorite spot? The old lighthouse that is just off the coast of Dauphin Island.
Just seeing the lighthouse inspired all kinds of story ideas for me. And as for my six-year-old, well, he definitely had an adventure. The boat’s captain let my son steer for forty minutes during the trip. Talk about an adventure… 
Adventures are where we find them. We don’t always have to fly off to some exotic locale in order to have a great time. We can find adventures just waiting in our own backyards. Sometimes, adventure can be about a treasure hunt, it can be about a smores party. It can be about anything that you want.
So as you kick-off your summer, I hope that you have 104 wonderful adventures waiting on you. Fun times that will make you smile and brighten up your days.
If you’re anticipating a particular adventure, please share it with me. I’ll pick one random commenter to win either a $10 Amazon.com gift card or a $10 B&N gift card (winner’s choice).
And, finally, I’ve just got to do a shout-out for my upcoming book release (come on–reading is an adventure, too!) ANGEL BETRAYED will be out on 6/26/12, and it’s recently received a great review from Publishers Weekly. Here’s a snippet: ”Eden offers compelling characters, sizzling sex, and breakneck action…” See? Doesn’t that sound like an adventure in reading fun?
Best wishes,
Cynthia Eden
www.cynthiaeden.com
ANGEL BETRAYED–Available 6/26/12 from Kensington Brava
When you betray an angel, there’s hell to pay…
Oh what a cool mom you are
. My boys would have loved it if I had come up with adventures for every day of summer. But they did survive childhood 
.
Unfortunately we haven’t any plans this year. My 23 yr old is driving to the Keys for a week with two friends. I’ll experience it through him.
Have tons of fun!
LOL, Viki, don’t give me too much credit. Sometimes our adventures are very, very lazy (I like those kind!). And it seems like your son is definitely going to have a fun adventure!
How awesome that you are doing this with your son. We don’t have any adventures planned this summer. We are doing home improvement projects this summer.
Crystal, home improvement projects=big adventure in my book!
When my husband and I left the house today, Phineas and Ferb were on TV. I was telling my daughter (she is 8) that their summer sitter does not have to take them places that cost money to have fun. Then told them to see how Phineas and Ferb came up with ideas and they should, too. My son (who is 10) is also good at coming up with adventures and things to do with stuff around the house. I love their creativity! As for planned adventures for the family this summer – just a trip to watch the Cubs play (and anything else we find to do in Chicago) as we do every summer! Other than that we will be hanging out at home to swim and play (which is nice since we are a busy family with sports and other things through the school year). Although, taking a boat ride out to see that lighthouse would be nice, too! I am looking forward to reading your other series this summer (finished your Bound series and loved them).
Thank you, Amy! So glad you enjoyed the Bound books! And I hope you have a great time at the Cubs game! I love the way that kids can make pretty much anything into an adventure. When my son and I go bowling…it is suddenly a very, very big adventure.
Congrats on the new release, Cynthia! I can’t wait to read it.
Our first adventure this summer is to head into Chicago for my birthday. A White Sox game, fireworks and a stop at the outlet mall on the way home. The best part is that my sons and hubby will have just as much fun as I will.
Have a great summer with Jack!
Thank you, Misty! And, wow, what an adventure you’ve got planned! Have fun!
We used to camp out in the back yard and cook hobo dinners in foil… I recommend going to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry to anyone… or if you head to Indianapolis — the Children’s Museum…
CateS, I think we’re going to try a backyard camp-out! Thanks so much for all the great suggestions!
My exciting summer adventures consist of being stuck in lab all summer finishing up experiments so I can write my doctoral dissertation! (And, well, doing some scuba diving ‘cos otherwise I’d go mad). I am, however, planning an epic trip to southern Africa–safari/game drive + scuba diving + lemurs!– in the spring after the dissertation is defended & turned in.
Congrats on the upcoming new release!
Best of luck on your dissertation! And your trip for next spring sounds most epic and exciting!! What a great experience!
This sounds like you are planning fun with your son! And, congratulations on your book release. It sounds like a great summer for you.
Jan
Thanks, Janet!! Some adventures are small (a lemonade stand in the front yard!) and some are a little scary (our first fishing trip together…gah, I know that will just mean trouble…).
Reading Angel Betrayed sounds like a great adventure!
I had an adventure this morning, trying to get my cat into her carrier. Now, instead of being at the vet’s, I’m here while the cat is exploring dark hiding spots in the basement. I don’t think that counts as an official adventure, but my adrenaline is still racing.
I’ll be giving my first reading next Tuesday at Lady Jane’s Salon in Naperville. That will be an adventure. I think my adrenaline will be racing then, too.
LOL, Edie, if your adrenaline is racing, I say let’s count it as an adventure!! And the Lady Jane’s Salon event sounds awesome! Have fun!!!
I love what you say about adventure being where we find it. And I’m SO excited to read Angel Betrayed. The cover is gorgeous!
The only adventures we have planned for this summer is going down to South Carolina to frolick at Folly Beach. Not having a working vehicle really puts a damper
Raonaid, I hope you have fun at Folly Beach! And I sure hope something good happens soon and you’re able to get a steady vehicle.
I don’t have any official summer plans/adventures, but I think I am headed up to San Francisco this weekend. It’ll be interesting, as we’re packing as much into two days as possible.
Fun!! I’ve never been to San Francisco! What a great adventure!
I’ll be flying to see my brand-new nephew next month and dealing with the airlines and airports is always an adventure.
I calculated that I didn’t have 104 days of summer vacation when I was a kid. My school system didn’t let us out for that long. I was gypped!
By the way, I always thought the protagonist of Phineas & Ferb was Candace.
Good luck with the airports–and congrats on your new nephew! And, you know, you’ve just brought up a great point about Candace. I love her character.
Zoos. I love taking my big kids and G kid to the Zoo!
Karin* Tabke aka Harlow!`s last blog was …CAPA Winner!
Fun!!! Zoo adventures are awesome.
Cynthia–what a grand cover! Almost as lovely as your summer plans with your son. I’m envious; it sounds like you’re going to have tons of fun. I think I’m headed to Maine at some point this summer to visit the old family summer house. A little bittersweet, as we have the house for sale, but I’m eager to see how the island has changed in the past years since my childhood.
Amy, I wish you a great trip up to Maine. And I do hope the island is as wonderful as you remember it being from your childhood. (And thank you for the cover congrats!)
Wow, Jack is lucky to have such an amazing mom! My son is only 15 months old so I have a few years to go before his first “official” summer vacation
but I’ll certainly keep this awesome tradition in mind when he does!
We’re not doing much this summer but one thing I’m really looking forward to is going to my mother-in-law’s summer beach house for a week, just me, my husband and our son (no mother-in-law yay!). We’ll of course spend some time there when she is there too but I can’t wait for our week alone there in early august. Other than that I’m mostly looking forward to friends and family visiting us and us visiting them all over Sweden
Happy summer!
Aw, thanks, Annika! And I hope you and your son have a lifetime of great adventures! Have a terrific time at the beach house!
I cannot wait until I get my hands on this book. The cover is gorgeous and I am so looking forward to seeing if Sam is as “bad” as he seems *wink*
LOL, thanks, Leagh!
I love Phineas & Ferb, though I have no children to use as an excuse
In August, I’m relocating to Israel for 10 months to teach English. It’s a crazy adventure that I recently discovered and I knew that I had to seize the opportunity! You could say I’m really looking forward to it.
I’m also looking forward to your next book releases. They’re total crack to me, so thanks for that.
No excuse needed, Elisa! I love that show, too, and I watch it even when Jack isn’t around! I hope you have a wonderful time in Israel! What an amazing adventure! (And thank you!)
My adventure this summer is to find a job, and try to have some kind of fun in the process!
Good luck with the job & with the fun!
First off … congrats on your release, Cyn. Love the cover and will definitely have to check it out.
Love your adventure ideas. I told the little darlin’ that since we can’t swing a weeklong vacation this year that she should chose day trips that either she and I or hubby, she and I can take. We already have a day at the State Fair planned as well as a day at the Summerfest Grounds here in Milwaukee. Summerfest is a huge music festival that lasts ten days. Very awesome. Someone suggested a mommy/daughter Kohler Day Spa which sounds really cool. We can also do the zoo, go to the beach and find other car trips through travelwisconsin.com.
It may not be a full vacation, but it should be lots of fun coming up with ideas.
Thanks, Liz! And I love all of your plans!! Sounds like one very busy summer!!
My son loves the show “Phineas and Ferb” too! Thanks a lot for sharing your summer thoughts and giveaways. What was the coolest part of your summer?
-Greg
Greg`s last blog was …female psychology
So far, the coolest part was our trip to the haunted fort on nearby Dauphin Island. Didn’t see any ghosts, but exploring is always fun!
Congratulations on the book! What a great adventure. We don’t really have any plans.
Thank you! And I bet some cool plans will develop soon! I think the best adventures are the ones that just happen!
I’m anticipating flying to California in July to visit my sister. While I’m there, we’re going to go to the RWA Literacy Book Signing, which will be a fantastic adventure for both of us, especially considering that my sister has bad knees and may have to rent some sort of scooter. But we’re determined that she’s going to get to go and we’re going to have fun.
I hope you & your sister have a terrific time at the signing!!
Ah yes, I think I’ve seen every episode thanks to my son. But I had never thought about using it to our advantage! What a great idea!
Cynthia, I love your 104 adventures idea. Must try that with my kids (although in Australia we don’t get close to 104 days of holiday – for which I’m kind of grateful, lol).
I love the cover of Angel Betrayed. Huge congrats with the new release! I loved the first book in the series and look forward to this one.
Michelle Diener`s last blog was …Temptation Bookstore Signing
Monday my family are headed to New Orleans! It isn’t the first time I’ve been, but it’s the first time I’ll actually be able to relax and explore the city, and I am so excited!
What a fun thing to do with your son! My little brother LOVES Phineas & Ferb– I’ll have to tell him about that
I am so excited for ANGEL BETRAYED!!!!