Does Summer pretty well end with Labor Day for your family?
In some ways, it kinda feels like it around here...
but then there's the stubborn side of me that just flat refuses!
Fill the blow-up pool back up again, baby! We are NOT conceding yet!
I realize I sure haven't shared as much of our most recent summer goings on as I'd have liked... I don't think the summer will ever come to a close that I won't be melancholy about it and think I could've gotten more into these few months...
Yes, yes, I do tend to take about ten pictures when one or two would suffice :P My phone kinda spit this animation out on its own and it cracks me up!
(This is as good as it gets most of the time, ya know?) :P
The night before Cooper's first day of school earlier this week, we laid in bed and talked about what he would tell his class if his teacher gave them a chance to say what they had done this summer. His first comment was Redfish. And then, he kinda floundered... and honestly, I kinda did too in trying to help him remember things. Truth: we didn't do anything overly grand this summer. We spent a lot of time in our own yard, or close to home at least. Our skin is all tan with the sun and I feel mostly happy with the summer, but, still... the only things to report are pretty well lackluster...
Like dinner out with friends at our favorite local pizza place;
lots of banging on rocks with hammers (pretending plain rocks are geodes really);
almost never having to comb hair
(this is a highlight for the boys- a day with no hair combing is a good one for them!);
fairly frequent cool boredom-buster projects, like microwaving a bar of Ivory soap and watching while it turns into this...
Cool, eh? Got this idea from Our Best Bites.
And yes, yes, my microwave is disgusting... so it goes...
A few follow-up pics from Ryder's birthday- got this fishing vest from Grandpa Bruce that he loves! He and Coop put them on and instantly have their own "Adventure Club" like in the pic at the top. They even found me an orange hunting vest that (almost) fits so I could be a member too :)
The Adventure club tends to like holding meetings at the canal on the other end of the neighborhood for rock throwing :) We also found some minnows in it and stood on the bank to catch them along the edge! Cooper was in heaven, of course :)
This last weekend we went to Keaton's first football game and then took him out to dinner for his birthday. Big 13 now! And his team was fun to watch- he is certainly an asset to them!
One thing that sure eases the bummer of summer fading away is how excited the boys are for school- could ya tell?! Ryder couldn't love his new Skylanders backpack more and Cooper dang near burst out of his skin before the first day could get here. Their excitement for the change of pace makes it so much easier to deal with :)
The night before school started earlier this week, we had our annual back to school dinner- Cooper sure seems to love this tradition! I got the idea from the one and only NieNie :) We have a nice(ish) meal and introduce a theme for the year- this was what I came upon for this year... simple and hopefully what they need and will remember. I believe this... that being kind is always a good choice. That we will never be sorry for it :)
So, nothing fancy, but a lot of good has been the mark of this summer for sure. Sometimes I just look around at all the boys and at our life, even the clutter or the basic daily stuff, and I am just overcome...
This is the Life.
And I am so Grateful. :)
