Rhythms of life

I always think I am going to get "things done" during the summer. No routine, no where to be at specific times.But here I am, a few weeks before the summer is over, and no sign of moving forward on the things that I was going to definitely move forward on. It's not like I have been idle, just not crossing off the expansive list of things that I dream of doing. This summer, for example, I was going to get caught up on memory keeping. Well, we've been making lots of memories. And my hard drive is getting more full of pictures. But nothing has been collated. That's for sure.

We celebrate 2 birthdays in July. We've been camping 2 times...and I finished 2 quilt tops. I guess it's a "2" month. Maybe I'll get 2 scrapbooks done in the last 2 days of July...NOT.

We've hosted our first party at our new house. So nice to start seeing our house become our home. It's lovely. I've been riding around our new neighborhood(s) early in the morning with my little early riser. We're still swimming at least 2x a day. It's the highlight of the day for most of the kids. Serves as a good motivation to get some chores done.

And now, my thoughts turn towards getting some people ready to go back to school. Abbey will experience all day school for the first time. She'll love it. People are needing new shoes, jeans. It gives me such satisfaction to sort, get rid of the old...make space for the growth. Susannah is so ready to go back to school. And Jesse is showing he really does want to go to Kinder next school year. "Mama...what's 6 plus 3...it's 9! Mama, what are lights made out of? What...Why...How!" Yay for expanding and growing minds. I love it.

I am so ingrained in the new school year being a new year. It's amazing how the rhythms of life become so habitual and instinctive. Believe it or not, even the thought of another baby has flashed through my mind since Maggie is at the age where it has become the routine to be with child again...but I digress. In a couple more weeks we'll try hard to get some little ones to go to bed before it gets dark...and get them up earlier than they want (they've been sleeping in till around 9)..and start all over again. We'll be back to the familiar drop off and pick ups...and another year will be underway....

Weekend at the coast

Going to the coast is one of my favorite ways to get away from real life. Last week we got to go to a wedding there too. It was quite an adventure to find the requisite things that we needed for the trip in a garage full of boxes. But we did...and had a pretty good time at it. The big girls were flower girls in the wedding, so we got to be a part of it all. It was quite a long day following Maggie around as she socialized with everyone and explored every facet of the wedding decorations, food etc. I was beat after it all. But we still had a good time. After almost 10 years of being married, it's fun to see others just embarking on the adventure of marriage. I'm thankful for the lessons I've learned, hopefully the better person I've become and the family God has blessed me with in this marriage. I've gained children, but also been blessed by the in-laws and extended family I have gained. We spent some time at the beach itself before and after the wedding...sand is also always good for the soul!
Just the two of us!
Abbey dancing with the groom
Sisters
Thank goodness for lollipops!
The flower girls with the bride and groom
Baked beans
Cameron Diaz?
Watching in awe at the first dance
The sky is falling
Doing the job
Waiting for the proceedings to start

Walking down the beach with a sleeping babe
Family hands!

A prized whole sand dollar
The fam!
A beach baby