Even though it still feels like summer, the school year has officially begun, so it is time for my annual summer reflection. I do this every summer. You can read my reflection from last summer here.

This summer held a lot of ordinary days with a few wonderful unexpected blessings.

This summer taught me that a “good summer” is not defined by the big vacation you went on or how many summer activities you crossed off your list. A “good summer” simply can’t be defined. It’s a feeling. It’s balance. It’s about reading the pulse of your family and planning accordingly.

We had a good summer. It was the one where we made the most with the time at home. We spent tons of hours out by our pool (purchasing a few fun pool floaties at Target at the start of summer was a good idea). We had lots of play dates and meet-ups with friends. We soaked in family time and made some good memories. It also felt like the perfect summer to nest and get ready for our third boy! We bought the boys bunk beds (highly recommend this brand) and transitioned the boys to share a room together! By the end of summer, I had lots of Target runs to get storage bins and get things more organized. While this might not sound “fun,” it truly was a refreshing way to start the school year. I feel very ready for baby + everything that is to come this fall. This summer left me refreshed and ready for this next season. That alone is a mark of a summer well lived!

Here are a few of the major highlights:

1. Preschool Grad + Starting Kindergarten Summer started with Hudson’s preschool graduation (how did that happen so fast?!) and ended with him starting kindergarten at the SAME school I went to kinder at. I definitely had a few tears throughout our summer as I reminisced on all the time we had together these past 5 years. It’s hard to let go, but I think we are both ready for this new season and change. He is loving it and I’m loving the extra time I have around the house and the one-on-one time with Thatcher.

2. Afternoons at the Pool

For most of winter and the spring, our pool was an empty pit. It got super gross and green so we drained it. Our brother-in-law, owns a pool repair company and he brought our pool back to life for us to enjoy this summer. We spent almost every single afternoon out by the pool. It was so fun to watch the boys enjoy the water and not need to even leave our house!

3. Learning Time + Summer Reading

At the start of summer, we got this Scholastic Kindergarten prep workbook from Costco (you can also purchase it on Amazon here). We did a small amount of work in it every few days. It was not a thing we ever spent more than 15 minutes on and there were days we definitely skipped it all together! It was a nice way to give some structure to our summer mornings and keep some of his letter and number skills sharp. I also incentivized him by telling him if he worked on it consistently throughout summer, he could pick out a small Lego set. Legos are the best motivation for this kid.

The summer reading program at the library is always a highlight for us as well. It’s a great way to motivate the boys to have at least 20-minutes of reading per day. Each boy picked out a fidget toy as their prize.

4. Adventure Days + Doing New Things

I always make a big, long summer bucket list. It’s nice to have for inspiration and while we definitely did not get through the full list, we crossed out some fun things! We went to the Noah’s Ark exhibit at the Skirball. I would highly recommend this!! We went with my mom and it was such a neat interactive experience for both boys. We went to “Camping in the City” at Pretend City. We did this with my mother-in-law. It’s been a while since I had been to Pretend City and it made for a fun outing. I will say the camping part was not as impressive but as a whole, the boys had fun and enjoyed lunch after at the Irvine Spectrum. Some of our other fun adventure days: summer movie with friends at the theatre (we went with H’s preschool buddy and saw the Paw Patrol Movie), the Yankee game at Angels Stadium on Lance’s birthday (boo Yankees lost), discovering a new hidden gem, Valmonte Farms, and ending summer with a family outing to the Griffith Observatory.

These bigger adventure days were paired with all the simple joys of summer found at home: almost daily water balloon fights, s’mores in the backyard, homemade lemonade/ice cream, bubbles and chalk.

Lance and I also celebrated our 8th anniversary! We even had a nice kid-free time when the boys had a fun sleepover at nanny and poppy’s. Summers often feel crazy and busy, and I was very thankful for some good time with just Lance and I!

Summer 2023, you were a good one. Like always, you flew by. I am finding myself in mid-September, ready to let go of summer. I am slowly getting ready to welcome pumpkins into our home (not quite there, but getting closer). I am ready to welcome a baby boy. I am ready for slower days at home and newborn snuggles. This summer, gave me a pause, and it reminded me the importance and blessing of family. I am ready to tackle on this next new crazy season of 3 boys!