Sweet sweet summertime... and also a lesson on FOMO.

You guys, it's happening.

The Back-to-School ads are buzzing, the daylight is getting shorter, and the nights are getting cooler.  Whether we want it to or not, the slow decrescendo of Summer is in full force.

Did/do you suffer from Summer FOMO (fear of missing out)?

I do.  I'm constantly feeling like we're not doing enough, but then also struggle with feelings that we're gone all the time and doing too much.  Sometimes I just long to be home.  And then when we're home, I'm longing to be doing something.

I was visiting with my grandma a few weeks ago, and she had asked me if we had a summer vacation planned?  I hung my head, and said "No..."

I've been thinking about that conversation ever since...  Are we the only family that hasn't taken a vacation this summer?  According to my friend's feeds on social media, yep.  Yes we are.

And then I spin myself into the rabbit hole of WHAT THE HECK ARE WE DOING ALL THE TIME THAT WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE ALWAYS BUSY, BUT THEN I CAN'T THINK OF A SINGLE FUN THING THAT WE DID ALL SUMMER.

Do you feel me?

Ultimately, I know that feeling is a big fat lie.

And I can even prove it, from the camera roll on my phone.

Seriously, pick up your phone, and scroll through your camera role.  Suddenly, you will see that you've had plentyyyy of fun this summer, even if you didn't go on the 7-day road-trip beach vacation that you are pretty sure all your others friends went on.

Here's a peek at how we Summered this season:

We ate ice cream at least 3 times a week.

We played in the water.

We did a little baking.

We saw lots of animals.

We did some fishing.

We discovered lots of parks.

We went on lots of rides.

We joined the Growing Kewaunee Reader's program & logged over 100 books!

We had a couple "Firsts"...

First concert.

First time going poop on the potty(!!!!!)

First time eating at P.C. Junction.

We collected rocks & then painted them.

We saw Thomas the Train with cousins. 

We went on lots of walks, and sometimes with friends!

We collected beach glass. 

 We picked strawberries.

 We went to the parade.

We helped daddy fix stuff, wash his truck & get in shape for elk hunting out west.

We went to the fair.

We went to the butterfly exhibit at Green Bay Botanical Gardens.

We went to Soar on the Shore.

We watched movies in the Big Bed.

We explored our nearby neighborhoods. 

We ate lots of delicious summer-time food.

And, most importantly, we spent lots of time together as a family. <3 

Our summer may not have included an epic summer vacation, but looking back... it was pretty darn good.

Let's soak up this last week of summer good... (and eat ice cream every night!)

Ellis Everard, Class of 2035

You know those questions that you answer on your Senior Survey in high school?

Well, a recent photo shoot I did with Ellis basically look like his senior portraits, and so I thought it would be fun to ask him some rapid fire questions, totally unprompted, Toddler Survey style:

How old are you?: 2 (but holds up 3 fingers... )

What do you want to be when you grow up?: A farmer & I'm going to drive a blue tractor.

What is your favorite food?: Rice. Grapes. Chicken and rice.

What is your favorite color?: Blue! I like blue.

What's your favorite thing to do?: Ah, build a barn.

What's your favorite animal?:  A cows. A blue cow.

Who is your best friend?: Umm, Kaner.

Who is your best friend at daycare?:  Ingrid.

What is your favorite toy?: Umm, Bethany.

What is your favorite show?: Suba Sup Game. (for the record, I have NO idea what this is)

What is something that you are good at?: Shooting my big arrows.

What is your favorite book?: Ummm. Thomas the Train book.

What is your favorite place to visit?: The giraffes.  And the cows.

How do you help others?: Umm, Ellis and Momma and Daddy!

What is something you dream about?: Ah, tractors.

What's your best memory?: Umm, sheep.

Happy back-to-school season, friends.  Peace out!

#gardenlife: Our Little Gardener

We were about 3 weeks behind planting our garden this year because it basically rained every day in May and every day for the first half of June.  Talk about depressing...

Our garden area was under water for a long time, and I was beginning to wonder if summer was ever going to come, and if we'd even be able to have a garden this year.

And then one day, the storm clouds parted and God gave us sun!  Along with hot, sticky humidity... there's the Wisconsin summer we longed for!  So we quickly got to planting.

Fast forward a few weeks, and we have growth!

We just picked our first round of sugar snap peas, along with a few zucchini & cucumbers.

New this year, we hired an a "garden assistant".  And by hired, I mean we feed, clothe, and provide shelter, and in turn, he waters our garden.

Meet Our Little Gardener:

Overall, he does a pretty darn good job.

Occasionally we catch him watering his own hands, or even drinking the water.  But after a gentle reminder that he's here to water the plants, he quickly returns to the task at hand.

I think we'll keep him :)

 

Other garden posts you may like:
Our First Garden and an update.
Round #2 and an update.
Round #4 -- baby Ellis!