By SARAH WELCH and ALICIA ROCKMORE, getbuttonedup.com

Getting your well-oiled school-routine machine back into working order is not easy. During the summer months, kids get used to waking up later, everybody gets used to more varied schedules (with lots of time for physical activities) and there's no homework to contend with, freeing you all up to do more things.

There's nothing quite like college. There are so many incredible things to look forward to: football games, intellectual debates, fraternity parties, late-night study halls and pizza runs, group projects, service rallies and a newfound liberation that comes with fleeing the nest.

Are you looking to get hitched without all the fuss of a yearlong planning cycle? Do warm, sandy beaches sound like the idyllic setting to tie the knot? A mountain chateau in the Rockies? Or how about a Southern-belle affair at an antebellum mansion? If these or other fun venues appeal to you, then a destination wedding may be the way to go.

Hot, steamy summer days are here for a short window. Get out and enjoy the summer heat before the cold, dreary winter returns. Turn on a sprinkler and cool off, hit the pool, enjoy a Popsicle ... or try beating the heat with an activity that's a little more out of the box. Here are five unusual ways you and your family can beat the summer heat.
1. Visit an Indoor Water Park

Remember when making beaded bracelets was your favorite childhood pastime? Or how in high school you adored painting abstract landscapes? Did you ever tinker with woodworking or building models?

In the daily scrum, preventative medical treatments are often relegated to the very back burner. Things like dentist check-ups, annual doctor visits, mammograms and prostate checks are often the very last things to make it onto busy schedules.

Why spend a fortune traveling to an exotic locale this summer when you could have a perfectly delightful "staycation" at home?

Negative self-image. Fantasy-induced over-spending. Marital tension.
A new kind of airbrushed fantasyland is wreaking havoc on our homes and our psyches: org porn.
"Org porn is that glossy, airbrushed fantasy world where everything is pristine, serene and perfectly in order, sort of Playboy, but with chore charts and name-plated cubbyholes," said Sarah.

If you're interested in hosting an eco-friendly wedding, simply start by having the ceremony and reception at the same venue -- thus eliminating all that driving for everyone. If you are taking your vows at a religious venue, find a reception venue within a mile or two of the ceremony - or better yet, one you can all walk to.

Sarah offers this account: