If you had plans of one last beach trip, Hurricane Earl has done away with those. But the weather this weekend promises to be beautiful! So take advantage of this long holiday weekend and get out with your family and enjoy it. Maybe a backyard campout is in order. Pick up a couple of flashlights and some trail mix and head out for a night under the stars, inspired by our Father Life columnist. Or if you're a little more adventurous, take those tents to one of our state's beautiful campgrounds. We also have lists of bike trails and parks on our Outdoors Triad page, and plenty of ideas for fun places to go on our Day Trip Directory and our Calendar of Events.

Whatever you do, have some fun with your family. Getting back into the daily grind of school after the summer break has taken its toll on everyone. It might seem silly to have a day off this soon in the school year, but we all need a little rejuvenation to catch our breath and start it all over again on Tuesday!

What are you reading? It's a question we regularly ask kids, but what about the parents? Now that school's back in, I've seen Facebook posts of friends saying they're excited to have time to read again, and book lists for parents whose kids have gone back to school. It's almost as big as the summer reading lists preparing people for vacations! So if you haven't found a book yet, we've got a few resources to help. After all, reading yourself is one of the best ways to encourage kids to read. And we all know how important reading is for kids, helping them increase their vocabulary and expand their imagination.

Always a good source, the most recent New York Times Bestseller list is full of good choices and familiar names, from Stephen King and Barbara Kingslover to the very popular series by Stieg Larsson, whose "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" will be made into a movie soon.

For a wide variety of reads, from classic to quirky and cutting edge, check out this blog, Caroline Bookbinder. She's a great critic and a voracious reader.

And there's always the Oprah Bookclub! She's got a list of must reads, sometimes maybe a little heavier than what you're looking for when trying to escape from everyday life, but there's such a big variety here you're sure to find something.

But what if, even with the start of school, you still hardly find time to read, between loads of laundry, homework and shuttling kids to soccer and piano? One of my favorite things to do recently has been to revisit some of my childhood favorites and read them with my children. There's nothing more heartwarming than experiencing the ups and downs of "Charlotte's Web" together. And if you haven't read the Little House on the Prairie series since you were a kid, it's worth reading them again. It's a whole new world when read through an adult perspective!

And remember, there's always magazines! This month's issue of Piedmont Parent is packed full of great articles, and even better, it's free! 

School's back in, and those lazy summer days that started off with blueberry pancakes or French Toast and strawberries are long gone. (Even if that was just a dream, it's more of a dream in the summer!) Now we're lucky if there's time during the morning rush to throw a pop-tart or Nutrigrain bar at our kids in the backseat on the way to school. This year, change that rushed routine and make breakfast an important part of the day. It's something we hear all the time during EOG season, but it's also an important back to school message. Kids are more alert and learn better when they've had a good, nutritious breakfast. And starting the day off with a little fuel is good for adults too!

The "Got Milk" campaign has gotten behind the breakfast push, adding a "Milk the Moment" blog by the Meal Makeover Moms with tips on how to make sure kids have a good start to the day, one that includes a serving of milk or dairy. That's a pretty easy one, especially if your kids like cereal. Throw in a banana and a slice of toast or a whole wheat bagel and you've got it covered. If cereal's not portable enough for you there are plenty of other ways to get a good breakfast fast. Try a breakfast smoothie, made with yogurt and fruit. Or slather some peanut butter on whole wheat toast and stock up on milk in individual containers. Even if your kids refuse to drink anything but chocolate milk don't worry, it's still loaded with calcium and Vitamin D.

For more easy breakfast ideas, check out our Back to School Central. Scroll down to the food section and you'll find links to breakfast recipes as well as after-school snacks and lunch box help!

Yesterday my daughter rode the bus for the first time ever. There were a lot of things I was worried about with her starting kindergarten, but this wasn't one of them. We know her bus driver, he's really nice, and the little ones are so taken care of. Plus, she's only on it about 10 minutes! But Sunday night, my husband sat her down and had a talk about school bus safety. Smart, and something I hadn't thought of. And when he mentioned there wouldn't be seatbelts, she started to cry! That was something I didn't expect, and made me realize something. No seatbelts on school buses wasn't a big deal to me, growing up in a time when booster seats were non-existent and the "Buckle Up" campaigns were just beginning. But how do we explain to our car-seated and booster-seated kids that they're still safe on the bus?

Actually, kids are statistically safer riding in a school bus than in their parents' car. Partly because they go slow, and they're big and yellow, so less likely to get hit. But also a lot of study and work has gone into designing the seats, which are big and padded and made to "compartmentalize" the kids in case of an accident.

Of course, there are plenty of advocates fighting to get seatbelts on buses. The National Coalition for School Bus Safety states that research and crash testing on side impact and rollovers shows seatbelts would reduce injury.

As with any debate, there are plenty of pros and cons. Seatbelts might help reduce injury in the few accidents that occur each year. But they would also reduce seating capacity, it would be expensive to retrofit buses, and more kids are injured around school buses (walking to and from) than actually riding them.

Do you think buses should have seatbelts? Is that a reason you keep your kids off the bus? If you have no choice, and your kids are bus riders like mine, it feels good to know that those big brown seats are designed with safety in mind. There are plenty of things to worry about, but I'm crossing this one off my list and we convinced our daughter not to worry as well. But it is a good time to do a refresher course on bus safety, especially about walking to and from the bus! Click here for bus safety tips.  

A few months ago I never would have expected to say something like this, but in some ways it looks like Tiger Woods is once again a good role model. At least, in part Tiger, and a lot his ex-wife Elin. After being through the wringer in a very nasty, very public divorce, the two have created a co-parenting plan, and both have hopes of doing what's best for the children. It's easy to find ways to criticize this, saying it's always easy on paper and of course, it's even easier when you have the money he has. But at least they're trying.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, a tragedy this weekend in Arizona has left 5 dead, one more injured and two young children without their parents, and the suspect in the killings (who shot himself) was taking his kids from his ex-wife, who he was embroiled in a custody fight with. The actions were horrendous, but they're also an example of just how emotional child custody cases can be.

We all love our children more than anything in the world, and will do whatever it takes to keep them with us and keep them safe. But sometimes, marriages just don't work out, and it's better for so many reasons for parents to divorce rather than staying in a marriage that doesn't work and doesn't make them happy. If that has to happen, fine. But the important thing is to try to act like an adult. Deal with your problems however you have to, but leave them behind when it comes to the kids. Parent together as much as reasonably possible. That doesn't mean you have to have the same rules in each house, or even the same traditions. It means communicate with each other. Keep each other informed on events and happenings, anything that might be going on in the child's life. And realize that even though you'd like to spend every waking moment with your child, so does your ex, and you're both equally parents.

It can be one of the hardest things you'll ever do, but in the end it's the right thing. Luckily there are plenty of resouces available to help parents who are struggling with co-parenting.

To get started, sign up for co-parenting classes with Greensboro's Family Life Council. They're set up for people who are recently separated, but the information will be helpful no matter how long you've been divorced.

You can also check out his book on how to make a shared parenting plan at Co-parenting.com.

And of course, there are plenty of books out there with advice from all sides of the issue. Here are a couple to check out:

Co-parenting Survival Guide: Letting Go of Conflict after a Difficult Divorce.

Mom's House, Dad's House: Making Two Homes Work for Your Child.