Mmm hmm

That's more like it. Better!!

headband, chores, lunch, bucket

It was warm yesterday. Finally. When Carl is away I have to do his chores.  It's hard for me to find the time to exercise when he's gone, so I didn't mind doing a little mowing and vacuuming. Besides, I got some sun.

Most meals are made in an assembly line around here. Seeing all those lunch plates lined up makes me smile. Especially when they come back to me empty.

We've spent a couple days getting our Summer Bucket List together.  We've done this before and it just helps us feel as though we're celebrating the summer versus just letting it slip by. There are tons of ideas out there, just google it or use pinterest. 

The kids had some input on ours. Their suggestions were refreshingly simple. Laurel wanted to "watch clouds.' I can do that. 

Our foam strips are color coded. Green for all day trips, blue for projects, orange for baking, etc. The girls take turns pulling one out each morning AFTER their morning routines and chores are finished (I'm going to ask Carl to spruce up the look of our morning routine/chore charts. Maybe I'll have a free download for you soon!?) 

I snuck one in just for good measure.

the creek

When I was growing up we lived in the forrest. There was a lovely little creek hidden beneath a canopy of evergreen and maple trees on our property. (See it here.)  I remember it being a special sanctuary for me. In the summer months, my brother would take his fishing pole, and I would take a book. Our dog would follow us down the mossy embankment along the path to the water. For hours, I would sit half immersed in the shallow water on the smooth rocks, reading. My brother would fish upstream, and the dog would splash back and forth between us both. Such calm.

I cannot remember the last day that I just idled away.

Source: modernhepburn.tumblr.com via Libby on Pinterest

It's been a very long week. A whirlwind of single parenting, teaching (I finished my last childbirth class for the summer), traveling (quick trip over the mountains and back), and- well- just managing busy days and a house with four kiddos. By myself. 

I'm tired and frazzled and I just wish I could go sit in the creek (maybe even without my bathing suit).

Hoping that there are some lazy days right around the corner...