Savoring Summer


Today begins our last official week of summer. The kids (yes, plural) start school next week. Both will be attending preschool come Monday, so we are savoring our last summer days and nights. Lucky for us, we will still get to experience lots of summer since the kids only attend school 2 x a week for now. 

We're so thankful for such a family-oriented summer. Ryan and I have learned the art of saying "no". It has been a priority for us to not over schedule and live in the moment with each other. We still loved seeing our friends, play dates, cookouts and more but at the end of the day, before making a decision on a potential outing, the kids and family time came first. So glad we stuck to our guns. If your calendar feels overloaded, I challenge you to try to simplify as much as possible. God calls us to do so. It's what our hearts desire.

This weekend we swam and played at Yaya and Papa's. My grandma (the kids call her Rara) came to visit as well. We cherish all our time we get with Rara. Every visit from her turns into a fiesta. Amazing food, music, bonfires and company.  

Summer nights at Yaya and Papa's

Rara dancing with her family. Love this beautiful soul. 

Ummm...let's stop and talk about this for a sec. Sis's first french piggies! 


Summarizing Summer. As we savor these last days of summer, we are thankful for the memories made these last few months. Vacations to Orlando and Brown County. Pool days, lake boating, park play, zoo trips, family meals, concerts, wagon rides, playing soccer until we're sweaty, getting covered in bubbles and sidewalk chalk, popsicles, library parties, adventures with Emily (their babysitter), days at Kendra's (their other babysitter), slumber parties at Yaya and Papa's, weekly meals with Pops, swing sets with Kinsie and lots and lots of Ring Around the Rosie. This summer has been one for the books. 

Last Summer Goals. This week I plan on taking a couple days off just to be. I want to limit my phone use. I want to increase my engagement. I want to listen to them. Learn from them. I want them each to pick an activity to do each day. I don't want to rush. I don't want to over plan. We might make mud pies. Or we might have relay races. We may even have a puppy parade through the neighborhood. I just want them to be kids. Thats the beauty of summer. 


Before wrapping this up with Back to School brainstorming, I have a quick praise. As some of you know, my mom hasn't been feeling her best. Without going into too much detail, she had a procedure done this week that we were praying would bring her some relief. And although she's not completely pain free, I witnessed her for the first time in a long time, be in the moment with her grand babies without pain on her face. You have no idea how much relief and joy this does for my heart. This woman has been the most self-sacrificing, sweet, nurturing and loving mom to Kara and I. She deserves to be able to give all the love she can to her grandkids. That's what brings her joy. They adore her more than life itself.  These photos above mean everything. Mama, you know we pray for you every day. So glad to see sunshine in you again this weekend. Praise the Lord!
Back to School Brainstorming. While my main purpose this week is to savor up the rest of summer, I also want to be proactive and start brainstorming some fun back to school traditions. Since both of the kids will be in school this year, I thought it would be the perfect time to start implementing a few. I want them to love school and get excited for it...build it up! These are just some ideas I found on Pinterest. I'm sure we will give an update on what we decided to go with. Until then, Happy last week of summer B & K!

2 comments:

  1. Not overscheduling is something I am always dealing with - summertime is always the worst because we want to get out and go go go... but one of our goals is to slow down and leave time to be spontaneous more and spend time phone free! Enjoy the last week mama!

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