Precious Days..

I heard her say today, in the car, "I'm really excited for school to start!"
I was mostly happy but a little sad to hear her say that. Happy that she is looking forward to a new year (with seemingly no anxiousness), but sad that "the summer they were 5 and 7 years old" is over in two weeks. So what do I do?



Jam the work into any quick moment I can grab.
Stay up late to get caught up on house stuff.
Run before they wake up.

And enjoy every minute of this month!

Picking fruit.
Going to the park.
Wearing jammies until 10 a.m.
Meeting friends at the pool.
Getting their very own library cards.
Staying up way too late.
Going to baseball games.
Going to the beach.
Meeting friends for slushies.
Nothing on the agenda but making friendship bracelets.



At the beach on Thursday, after picking fruit with Meema and Boppa, she laid out her towel in the sand and said to herself, "This is the best summer day."

At the pool on Friday, he asked me to snuggle with him in a towel and he whispered to me, "You are the greatest mom of the entire world."



I hope they remember all this. I hope I do, too.
Because these are precious days, my little kiddos.
And that's why I do it.



Mom loves you more than anything on earth. Never forget!

Shining...

This past Tuesday, five year old Tommy played his Flag Football game with Coach Daddy. Tommy...You. Were. Hilarious.

Highlights included:

Watching you grab multiple flag on defense and pumping your hand in the air when you would grab one.

Watching you congratulate every player for their touchdowns.

Being very serious, but excited. Looking over at the crowd with a serious face while we screamed and cheered like crazy.

Paying attention to Coach Daddy for the entire hour and being a great listener.

Being the leader that ran ahead each time and helped the other kids know where to run.

Not minding when Coach Daddy asked you to run last so the other kids would get a chance to run before the game ended.

Being completely oblivious to the fact that everyone was amazed by you.

Suggesting the next morning that you write a "Get Better Soon" card to your best buddy, Sam, who burned his hand the night before and had to miss the game.

Camping with Friends...

Six families ventured off to Pentwater, Michigan this past weekend. Twenty-nine people surrounding each other in the woods for four days? Ambitious. An unknown adventure? Absolutely!

It could not have gone any better. The weather prevailed, the children were wonderful. There seemed to be a nice balance of fun for both the adults and children.

Lucy was kind and motherly to the little ones, and reignited friendships with little girlfriends at other schools that she doesn't see much of anymore. Tommy found new baseball, football and "woods-hunting" buddies.

We rode the MAC Dune rides, swam in Lake Michigan, had dance parties and a bonfire each night. We made friendship bracelets, laughed until our stomach hurt, and ate and drank way too much.

Some fabulous memories were made with some old friends, and some newer friends that I am so happy we have befriended in the past couple of years. I think we all found ourselves having moments of gratefulness over the weekend and loving that we all made the trip happen. Best of all, we created a new summer tradition that the kids (and adults) will always remember. Sweet success!