*I was all set to publish this post on Friday and life got in the way. I wanted to share it before I post updates from our family wedding so if it sounds a little like it was written last week…it was! Thanks for understanding. 🙂
Checking-in:
Hello and happy Friday! The week after 4th of July always feels like a long one, especially when you had a day off during the middle of the previous week. We have a lot going on this week because we have a family wedding this weekend! We have lots of family in town for the event and so we have been spending lots of time altogether and also doing a lot of prep for the weekend ahead! It’s going to be a fun one.
The Pace of Summer:
While there is always this idea that summer will be a change of pace, it really is just as hectic but just in a different way. Now that our kids are getting older the activities they participate in are more frequent so the intensity for anything they are doing really ramps up. We are a “one activity at a time” family but it still adds up and there have been a lot of late nights.
It is actually quite enjoyable and they love being part of a team but there just aren’t those lazy summer evenings like I always anticipate when we are in the thick of the end of the school year rush. It is so wonderful to watch your kids participate in an activity that they practice hard at and enjoy so much and it is also a chance to socialize with other parents which I am always a fan of.
A Low-key Holiday & Choosing to Hit Pause:
I am always trying to find the right balance and once the most helpful things for has been realizing that we don’t have to do it all. I often have to remind myself of this not only with this blogging part of my life but also with family activities.
There is this pressure during the summer to do it all. On the 4th of July, there are fireworks and BBQs and parades, matching outfits and more. After having a pretty hectic last few weeks we decided to skip it all and head out for a day on the lake, with a picnic lunch, our bathing suits, and a book.
Lake Life
After many years of these kinds of things pretty quite stressful with younger kids, we really soaked in it. We lucked out with the perfect weather and ended up staying out from before lunchtime until the sunset. The kids ended up running into some friend from school on the beach and so everyone was happy and entertained. Even Buzz met some new friends and one was a black and white springer spaniel named Dixie, so cute!
Creemees For Dinner
And it isn’t a summer day without having ice cream for dinner sometimes right? My creemee order is coffee with rainbow sprinkles, in a cone. We are lucky to live close to Cookie Love which has the most amazing treats!
Strawberries EVERYWHERE!
I am lucky to work somewhere that also has an incredible garden. Kristy has a green thumb and I reap the benefits! We also went picking again because the berries just keep on coming. We picked 11 pounds in about 20 minutes…and they were all gone within 2 days thanks to all our visitors. 🙂
Summer Favorites
There is something so special about things that you can only get for a couple of weeks every year. My favorite summer vegetable harvest is definitely sugar snap peas…followed by cherry tomatoes!
A New Neighbor in Town!
while we are very happy with Buzz being our only dog child, we do love having new additions join our neighborhood! We got to meet Piper and we are so excited that she lives right across the cornfield! I can’t wait for lost of dog and kid playdates with her family. Isn’t she the sweetest?
Three Birthdays
Finally, we celebrated three family birthdays while everyone was in town and what is a better way to do it than a BBQ and an ice cream cake from, you guessed it, Cookie Love! The cookie crumbles that were outside and in between the layers of chocolate and vanilla ice were amazing. Lucas’ brother and his family live outside of Atlanta so we don’t get to see them a lot so this time together has been so special.
Alright, that is it for now, see you soon!