Throwback Thursday – Almost Summer!

Hi and Happy Thursday.  I am so happy that it is almost summer.  Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had a wonderful school year for Ian, but we are all ready for the summer. We are fortunate that he is at such a great school.

We don’t have that much planned for the summer and that is nice.  A few trips, plenty of time at home, time to visit with both friends and family, and reading lots of books as part of our library’s summer reading program.

I do want us to go to a few parks, have a picnic or two, have time to swim, enjoy ice cream treats, play games, take walks, go on bike rides, and possibly go to the beach.  We will mainly have a staycation this summer with a few short jaunts to other cities. We are not yet sure of exact plans and we are fine with that.

This photo was taken last May at a baseball game.  Ian brought along his stuffed tiger friend with him. The tiger is wearing the hat we got from ice cream at the ball park.  Perhaps we can attend a game this summer.  That would be a lot of fun.

What are your plans for the summer? Any fun trips or activities?  In addition to that, I also look forward to some days at home with nothing scheduled.  That will be so nice. Since I work at home, I can be flexible and sometimes work in my pajamas or shorts.  What a blessing for the summer.

Today I am thankful for:

• End of school fun activities
• School friends
• Ian’s love of learning
• Ian’s school, teachers, and staff
• The PTO at Ian’s school
• Summer days and nights
• Slower paced time
• Lazy days at home
• Activities when we want to do them
• Time to rest
• Walks and time to exercise
• Homemade cookies
• Ice cream treats
• Our library’s summer reading program
• Cookouts and swimming
• Long evenings
• My guys who I love
• Dinners out with girlfriends
• Special moments with loved ones
• Game nights with my parents
• Visits with cousins and siblings

I wonder what this summer has in store for us?  I cannot wait to find out.  Have a great one!

One Week Until School Starts

What The? Just one week left of summer? How is that possible? Where did the time go?   How did it get here so fast?  So I have to buy school supplies to buy this week?  No more late nights during the week and sleeping in?

It seems we just started our summer and now it is nearly over.  My time flies when you are having fun!  And we had a lot of fun and a great summer.  Hope your summer has been great as well.

It is hard to believe that one week from today, Ian will start 2nd grade.  He is starting his fourth year of school and that is amazing to me.  He loved preschool, kindergarten, and 1st grade.  And, now for 2nd grade.

I wonder who his teacher will be?  We should find that out in a day or two.  I wonder what friends will be in his class?  I hope several that he has known and he can always make more.

We love school so the transition will be good.  I just always want more summer and more time to enjoy one another without our normal commitments and schedules.

We have had a great summer and have done so many fun things.  We have made memories, spent time with many loved ones, and have so enjoyed a relaxing schedule.

This photo was taken in the mountains in California.  Here are Ian and I in the meadow on our amazing visit. That was a great day and one of our many fond memories.

This week we will purchase his school supplies, get back on our school schedule, and get our minds back on school. Still we will enjoy the last few days of summer with games, swimming, and plenty of other activities.

Some of our summer highlights were:

• Monopoly games that took days to finish
• Treats from the ice cream truck
• Flying on a jet plane
• Singing around the piano with my family and friends as my aunt played for us
• Swimming with my brother, sister, and our families
• Holding hands with more than 20 family members before a shared meal
• Having Ian play with his cousins and friends
• Completing some great books
• Pizza at a favorite place in town
• Going to a minor league baseball game
• Seeing our skating-in-slow-motion friend and skateboarding dog at the beach
• Laughs and memories with many loved ones
• Celebrating the life of a friend who passed away last summer
• Having Ian finish reading “Charlotte’s Web” and then build a Lego set of the characters in the story
• Celebrating my parent’s 50th anniversary in two different cities
• Celebrating my hubby’s birthday and several other loved ones as well
• Taking time each day to enjoy each other’s company and truly listen to one another
• Having Ian complete nine books in our library’s summer reading program

I wonder if I can savor this last week of the summer of 2015?  I plan to do just that and enjoy all of the memories that we made.

Throwback Thursday – Balboa Park

Hi and Happy Thursday.  Can you believe that we are less than a week until the end of June?  I sure can’t!  The month has been flying by.

We have had a great month and a great summer.  We have been busy with the family business, activities for our family, parties, and Ian finished his books for the library’s summer reading program.  In fact, he read 4 more books than were on the original list for an independent reader.  Yeah Ian!

We have also had time to sleep in, play games, swim, enjoy ice cream cones, visits with friends and family, walks in the morning (before the humidity), a few nights out to a favorite pizza place, play time at home, and our slower pace.  It has been great and quite relaxing.  After a busy year, that is exactly what we needed.

We are looking forward to an upcoming trip to San Diego, CA, for a family reunion.  This is one of my favorite cities to visit and I cannot wait.  We haven’t been there for a while so we are very excited.

These two pictures are from several years ago when we went to the Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park in San Diego.  The park is full of museums, lovely gardens and grounds, and great restaurants.  And, the San Diego Zoo is part of this park as well.

Balboa Park is one of my favorite places to visit while in San Diego, along with the beach and Seaport Village.  There are so many things to see and do at all three places.  Let the fun begin!

A few things I love about the summer:

• Waking up without an alarm (for the most part)
• Ice cream cones on a hot day
• Swimming
• Watching Ian enjoy his books for summer reading program
• Extra time for lazy mornings
• Games in the evenings
• Movies during the week
• Beach time with family and friends

I wonder what summer fun we will have today?  I am looking forward to finding out.