Summer Daze

I must admit I've been feeling guilty for not blogging this past week. I kept telling myself I would get to it, because I do love having this blog to document our life. Just last night Ryan crawled into bed with me and we read some of my blog posts from 2009, when I was newly pregnant with him. It was so special.

And I decided feeling guilt about not blogging regularly is quite silly.

It's summer and I've got 4 young kids to keep alive! Some days I literally spend all my time cooking for them and cleaning up afterwards. Now that we are past our VBS camps and the 4th of July, we have a couple weeks of minimal plans before we go on a little family trip. During this time I'm striking a balance between lots of fun activities with my kids, and trying to keep the house in some sort of order. Some days I am super on top of things...….and other days it just feels like chaos. (Andrew is the messiest and most curious 2 yr old I've ever had!)

First up, we got some new patio furniture! Adam built our beautiful backyard deck last summer so it was definitely time for some seating.

I recently bought these Brain Quest summer workbooks from Amazon and they are SO great! They are specially designed for kids to work on in the summer, in between school grades. They come with a treasure map and stickers, so they can see their progress along the path. They include reading and writing and math and science....but it is all super fun and colorful, so it doesn't really feel like work. So far my boys really enjoy these workbooks and I would highly recommend them!

We have a few home projects going on. Adam painted and wallpapered my living room shelf and I love it!

We are also trying to pick out a paint color to make the walls feel more cohesive throughout the house. We are trying to find the perfect "greige" color. (gray/beige)

Adam has had a few health problems lately that landed him in the ER, so we've been trying to focus more on our health. This means early morning wake up calls to exercise, and lots of healthy meals full of fruits and veggies. Exercising is always interesting when your kids are awake! Especially when they take your picture without you knowing.

My Dad is really good about getting us out of the house for a hike or creek exploring. We recently went to a park in Loomis and climbed down into the creek. Ryan tried unsuccessfully to catch a tadpole. Hikes are especially fun when you follow them up with a Taylor's milkshake.

 And finally, my 5th child. My summer vegetable garden looks crazy right now. I've got 6 ears of corn growing, lots of jalapeno peppers, and a few tomatoes. My zucchini plant is huge but so far has only given us 2 zucchinis. And my cucumber plant only gave me 1 cucumber! Honestly, I love those early morning hours before all the kids are awake when I get to water my plants in peace. It makes me daydream about living on a property with a huge garden and lots of outdoor space. But then I remember how blessed we are to be where we are, and I try to appreciate everything I have right here, right now.