This Summer

This summer Mike and I sat down with each kiddo and made a summer goal. Some goals were academic. Some were emotional goals. Some were social. But either way those goals haven't really been met. I'm realizing we're not really goal people. We're more, "We should do..... Oh something shiny!" This mind set doesn't work for many. Honestly it doesn't work for Mike but he loves me so much that he just rolls with it.

So these past few weeks have been busy. I took our kids to the mall for the 1st time.  Huge milestone for Lily and Ducati.

Hailey had an eye doctors appointment so everyone got to experience the magic of a MALL!
We went to Hotdog on a Stick for lunch. Went on a mini shopping spree at Bath and Body works. I liked that we went during their semi-annual clearance sale so EVERYTHING was on sale.

 But Hailey was very happy to get glasses. The first thing she did after she got her glasses was read a book. She tells me, "WOW! I've really missed a lot!"

Mike had Father's Day a day early. The kids tried their best to show Mike how much they love him. There was homemade cards, a few new art pieces, and their best to give quality and not quantity gifts. So with a budget they went shopping and got him a few new summer clothing pieces which he hated. So it was the thought that counted. :)

My neighbor/friend helped me plant tomatoes this year. And so far they are growing!! This is the first time I've grown something on purpose and it didn't die. So everyday we're going out and finding new yummy tomatoes and just eating them off the vine thingies. :) As a family we are enjoying gardening. Our kids love to weed the garden and water the plants. So we might expand next year and add another fruit. But 1 plant this year was enough for us to give it the care it needed.

We gave up our Costco membership. Nothing special but still good for us since we never went unless if it was for gum. So on our last shopping trip Mike loaded up on gum. Then hid everything!!

On the 4th of July we kept it small since we're not big fans on crowds. We had a BBQ with a small group of friends. Had all the kids playing in water which caused our yard to overflood into the neighbors yard. At least he doesn't have to water his yard. :)

Afterwards we went to city fireworks and WOW! We love them! Sure street fireworks are fun but to be able to feel the fireworks explode. To have that feeling in our chest... it's awesome!
Anyways to prepare for the wait we packed up some water, snacks, crafts, and a blanket in some backpacks. The firework show was amazing! Ducati didn't remember seeing such huge fireworks since she's only seen them from the distance. So she was staring up into the sky the entire time.

I'm so glad we went. But the next day I was regretting it. The backpack I was carrying didn't feel heavy at the time but oh my! I felt it the next day. How can chips and bananas cause so much pain!! So for the next few days I was in so much pain I couldn't get off the couch. I hate having back issues.

This of course caused a wrench in my plans but thankfully my kids rolled with it.

 

This gave us a chance to catch up on some reading, go see Finding Dory (TWICE), eat some forgotten freezer meals, and play on the second trampoline Mike brought. Yes- we now own 2 trampolines!


We've also:
-visited Mike's brother and his family.

-been adventuring with my sister in law (I'll post later)

-gone to the dentist for a chipped tooth

-updated our living room furniture from "Yikes" to "Good"

-purchased a new fridge since our original one died. This was a learning experience since I never purchased a new appliance before.

-taught our kids about budgets and savings so they are on board for saving for next years vacation

-Mike is signing up for college. Paralegal Studies to help bridge him into becoming a lawyer.

-Dejunking our house from top to bottom. It's been a process but so worth it.


So our plans this summer sort of went off into a different direction. But that's OK with us. Life plans change all the time; that's what makes Life interesting.