Summer Musings

It has been an up and down kind of summer thus far. We have had some high highs, and some very low lows.

We were fortunate to have two vacations this year.

One at our local beach... 

and one in North Carolina with my in-laws.

We have spent lots of time at the pool and playing outside.

We've really been lucky and had nice hot weather in NJ.

We've run a 5-k ...

...and gone for long hikes.

 

We have one more month of summer vacation here in NJ and we plan to get the most out of it!

End of Summer

This summer felt particularly short. It was slightly shorter than normal due to an early start date and a long year last year due to all of our NJ snow days. But it felt even shorter than that. We spent the last few weeks and days trying to get as much out of summer as we possibly could.

The Pool

The aquarium

Sidewalk Paint

Running through the sprinkler

The Park

And plenty of fun at home... 

Now, it seems, we have to close the book on another wonderful summer. Just nine more months until the next one!

Where has the summer gone?

Just a little under two weeks left and our summer will come to an end. It still feels like it was a couple of weeks ago that school let out. Hard to believe it's already winding down. It's been a good summer. The cool weather didn't allow us the amount of beach and pool time we are accustomed to, but we made the best of it.

There were trips to the library,
 

the beach,

 

soccer camp,



some fishing,



the pool,

 

local museums,



some play dates with friends,



Outdoor festivals,

 

and lots of time at the park.

   

When the summer comes to a close I always get this melancholic feeling. First of all because I LOVE summer and I hate the idea of cold and snow coming my way. But also because the end of summer means the end of having my kids with me all day every day. I know, I know... it sounds crazy. How can I WANT them home all day? It's not that they don't drive me insane, because trust me they do. But I love knowing what they are doing. I love the slow schedule and lazy mornings. I love getting to hear all the funny things they say during the course of a day. I just love having them with me.

It also makes me sad that we never cross enough off of our Summer To Do list. We get to some but not all of the fun and exciting things we have planned. I try to take a step back from that and realize that what kids need more than anything in this busy, over-scheduled life we have, is undirected play time. Time to read and play and run around outside. They need to use their imaginations and forget about homework and practice and clubs. And we parents need that too.

So our summer is winding down and we hope to suck the marrow for these next two weeks. The last trips to the ice cream stand and the park for a while. It will be bittersweet but we'll try to focus on the sweet!

Who wants to go to the zoo?

We woke up last Monday bored, a little stale in our summertime routine and with an extra friend for the week (Will). It was nice outside but not quite warm enough for the pool. We are trying to be frugal this summer so any place expensive was out. That's when it came to me... the free zoo! It's a bit of a haul (almost an hour and a half each way) but other than the cost of gas it's free!

So I asked who wanted in and three hands went up immediately. Jack really had no clue what we were all so excited about. We made the drive and thankfully all of my ducks cooperated.

I was pleased that they decided they were going to get along. 

Only this gal was physically exhausted... 

So it meant pushing the girl while hauling the boy. 

It turned out fine and it wasn't too hot so we all survived. 

I think they had a great day and even better I got credit for being the spontaneous one. ;D

The Park

We are all in love with the new fancy playground our township just built. 

We had an old beaten up wooden one for years and years. 

They finally got around to building a new one and it is fantastic. 

It's pirate themed and there are so many spots to climb and jump and run. 

It makes me want to play! 

And we were so impressed that at only 1 Jack can climb rock walls BY HIMSELF. ;D