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Above top: Andrew Bowles plays in the surf during a family vacation. Above bottom: Gina Harper and sons Ethan and Lucas spend many hours in the pool each summer.

Summertime, and the living is easy — or should the song say the living is busy? With the end of school fast approaching, we found a few Valley moms who stay busy enjoying summertime with their children.

Renee’ Bowles, Bree Salas, Gina Harper and Deanna Enfinger — all members of The Parenting In Columbus Playgroup—have such fun activities planned, it is tempting to ask to tag along with them.

Things like going to the swimming pool are almost no-brainers for the hot, humid days of a summer in the Deep South, but these mothers also find creative ways to keep the young ones active and entertained.

Deanna Enfinger, who lives in Phenix City, has two children: Ashley, 8, and J.D., 2. She is Ashley’s Girl Scout leader, and the mother-daughter pair participates in many scouting activities, such as camping, family days and sleep overs. Enfinger recalls hermom was always a scout leader, and she enjoys carrying on the tradition.

“We go to the children’s museum in Atlanta; we have a membership there,” Enfinger said. “My kids love it — they absolutely adore it.” With her husband, Army Capt. John Enfinger coming home on leave from Iraq in May, the family will be taking a trip to the beach. They will also have a lot of family cookouts.

In addition to activities such as the dance classes Ashley will take in the summer and events with the play group — going to Monkey Joe’s and Chuck E. Cheese’s and having at-home play dates—the Enfingers will spend a lot of time hanging out with friends, jumping on their trampoline or playing in a playroom full of toys.

“Mine is the neighborhood house where all the kids meet,” Enfinger said. “We have friends over all the time.” Enfinger added, “We’re usually busy every day. I try to keep my kids very active. I find if they’re busy going places and doing things, it keeps their minds off Daddy not being home.”

Renee’ Bowles of Smiths Station has the added challenge of having sons who are spaced out age-wise, so she has to find activities that appeal to Wesley, 16, and Andrew, 8. Sometimes they divide and conquer, but there are many activities both boys enjoy.

The family always goes to the beach in Florida for a week, and they spend as much time as possible on all-day trips to the beach at Callaway Gardens. They get a special package through her husband’s work at TSYS.

“My aunt has a swimming pool, so any excuse to cook out, we cook out,” said Bowles, adding, “My entire family is from here, so on birthdays or any type of holiday we are all together barbecuing in the back yard, swimming and having a good time.”

Son Wesley is on the golf team at Smiths Station High School and often goes off by himself to play golf, but Bowles said he enjoys outings with his brother as well. “If we’re going to Stone Mountain or the aquarium, he wants to go. He plays at Monkey Joe’s. He takes his shoes off and goes at it with them,” Bowles said.

She likes the playgroup activities as well, finding them a good opportunity for her kids to meet others their age, as well as a chance for her to get to know other mothers with whom she has things in common. “We’re counting down the days until school is out,” Bowles said.

Bree Salas has three sons: Taylor, 8, Christopher, 4, and Toby, who’s 3. The family is recently transplanted to Columbus from California.

“We just moved here, so it’s going to be a learning experience,” Salas said of her family’s summer plans. She mentioned plans to check out the public pool at Psalmond Road Park. “We’ll hit Monkey Joe’s and participate in the summer reading program at the Columbus Public Library,” Salas said. They will travel to visit her family in Pennsylvania, and the boys will take a trip to Alabama to visit their grandmother.

When not busy with playgroup and other activities, the kids enjoy jumping on the trampoline at home. “Hopefully, this will run me right into next school year,” Salas said.

Gina Harper of Columbus has two sons, Ethan, 3, and Lucas, 14 months old. One of their favorite summertime activities is going to the pool. Ethan knows how to swim, and Lucas is learning, Harper said. They also play at the playground. “When it’s really hot, we like to go to the Columbus Museum, to the Transformations room down in the basement,” Harper said. Transformations is a special museum section to teach children about art and to provide hands-on activities.

They visit her husband Ian’s family at a lake near Macon where they like to ride Wave Runners. “We also like to go down by the river to eat with my husband at work. He works on Front Avenue, so we’ll go sit by the river and eat lunch,” Harper said.

They also participate in “all kinds of things” with the Parents In Columbus Playgroup. All the mothers interviewed strongly recommend joining an organization like the playgroup to broaden the number of activities in which their kids participate, as well to get to know other moms.

Like many of us in the Valley, these moms are ready to slather on the sunscreen and fire up the grill, in addition to heading indoors for exercise, reading and cultural activities.