At the end of every summer, I write a reflection on how it was, what we did, and the overall feel of that particular summer. You can read all about last summer here.

Last year, I wrote about how especially the early days of summer felt hard and overwhelming as it was my first summer with 3 boys! This summer, just a year later, felt entirely different. I’m not exactly sure why. Each boy was a year older and I was no longer nursing a baby or training for a marathon. I am obviously pregnant this summer, which adds a different dynamic, but thankfully finally started feeling more like myself energy wise at the start of summer. It wasn’t until, now, towards the end of summer, that I’m starting to slow down and be more affected by the heat. I’m also officially in the 3rd trimester, which is crazy!

This summer wasn’t extravagant or marked by any major family trip like last year’s Kauai trip, however, it held so many mellow days that I actually felt like I could enjoy and savor. We seemed to quickly fall into a good, summer rhythm. This seemed to be the first summer Hudson diligently worked on his summer workbook on a daily basis. I had just one earlier day in summer where I needed to remind him about getting this done first thing and after that he completed his 15-minutes of work without even being prompted. I really liked this Summer Bridge Activity Book. It was the perfect amount of structure to keep him sharp and ready for 2nd grade!

Our summer days quickly fell into a good rhythm of slow mornings, local outings, and afternoons spent in the pool and playing outside (a lot). And also a lot of playing inside. Hudson was especially into playing games this summer. I can’t even tell you how many games of chess, checkers, Chinese checkers, and monopoly we played together over summer. Thankful for these simple days of summer. I know they won’t always be this simple and I know I won’t always have SO much time with these sweet boys. Beyond grateful for it.

Here is a quick list of some of our summer highlights:

• Started off my summer with a trip all by myself! It was just about 24 hours away, but was so nice to have some time solo and get to be there to look celebrate my good friend’s engagement! I even got to sneak in some time with my hometown best friend and we had a lovely hike and lunch.
• We spent a large majority of summer hanging at our pool. The older boys are becoming really great swimmers. Hudson worked a lot on his stroke and ended summer swimming with such better form. This was also the first summer Declan was in the pool on his own. He wore these floaties and quickly became obsessed and super comfortable in the water. We are still enjoying pool days now in September and he happily jumps into the pool on his own. A true water baby.
• Older boys enjoyed two VBS camps. One at our church and another with friends at a different church. This was Thatcher’s first year getting to go to VBS and he loved it.
• Did I mention we played a lot of chess? Hudson and I even got to sneak away during nap time early on in summer and had a coffee/chess date.
• We went to an Angels baseball game. It was hot, but we had amazing seats right behind home plate. Hudson’s highlight was that I caught a T-shirt for him.
• I finally caved and let the older boys get summer buzzes. They had been asking for weeks and they convinced me it would be a fun summer tradition. They were just as handsome with their buzz cuts, and now at the tail end of summer, their hair has grown back.
• Lots and lots of beach days with family and friends. Boys especially loved boogie boarding this summer and Hudson even stood up on a surfboard!
• After a day of going crazy at home, I took the boys out to the Science Center and we had a great time. They had a sports exhibit the boys enjoyed. And for souvenirs, H got baseball checkers which became the game we played A TON. T got a rocket-ship!
• Lots of library trips/shows/summer reading. They got little dart board as their summer reading prize from one library and T even won 4 tickets to Raging Water from a summer reading raffle at another library. The last week of summer before school, we took the boys to the water park and they had a blast.
• We took beautiful family photos on the beach with L’s side of the family
• Celebrated things (Lance’s birthday, our family friend’s party, nephews birthdays, dad’s birthday)
• And speaking of celebrating, L and I celebrated 10 years of marriage in Ojai, which I wrote all about here.
• Soccer camps
• Peach cobbler
• And more beach! Especially at end of August and early September where weather has been so nice and warm.

That’s a wrap on our summer. Proud to have actually finished typing this out on the last day of summer. Tomorrow starts fall. I finally feel ready to turn the page on summer and jump into this fall season as we prepare to welcome baby girl! Let the pumpkins come out.