The Summer Of...

July 31, 2021

The Summer Of...

At our house we are always deeming the season "The Season of fill in the blank". For example, for many years straight it was "The Summer of the Waffle Cone"--named by Douglas. As you can imagine, we ate a lot of ice cream those summers. We say this silly saying all the time. It is whatever we are obsessed with, craving or busy doing at the moment. And it is always changing, just like the seasons. With August and the end of our summer quickly approaching, our little saying got me thinking about this summer. What would this be "The Summer of...."

Two titles come to mind. The first title that comes to mind is "The Summer of Determination". Miss Em leads this one off with her determination in softball and swim. The girl and her team started off looking like bad news bears. Not going to lie...those first few games were torture to watch (sorry girls). They ended up winning third place after one heck of a ball game, and Em can proudly say she met her goals of hitting the ball and scoring. Auggie, Bennett and Theo win for best spectators as long as there were snacks, and I let the big two run around with buddies. Em finished her first swim season off strong too. From her first meet to her last she improved immensely. During her first meet she swam Freestyle in 34.15, Breaststroke in 42.24 and Backstroke in 36.43. During her last meet she swam Freestyle in 30.21, Breaststroke in 38.66 and Backstroke in 27.83. She also helped her team in multiple relays. Told you she improved!! She was determined (with a little push from mom and dad) to go off the blocks and to get mean in the water. And she did just that! At her last meet there was a special event...the Parent Relay. Sign me up! I had to be the worst on the team, breathed harder than I have in a long time, lost my goggles, and could barely lift myself out of the pool after my down and back. But now I just want to be on a swim team! I also have a new appreciation for the work Em has done this summer. Go Mermaid Girl Go!Determination has played a big part of my own summer. I have been determined to do something that is good for me consistently and enjoy it. So this has been "The Summer of Running" for me. I am proud to say that as of today I have ran 71 (and a half) miles just this month. My bucket list has always had a half marathon on it, and I am determined to keep this up and do one in the fall. It feels doable now. I could not have run this much without my partner in crime Ammon, biker shorts, cold showers, a grateful heart for this body God gave me and Doug for letting my run schedule trump his. This picture is after I made the big kids ride their bikes on one of my runs. Lets just say we are all a little ready for cooler weather.August Samuel was determined to do lots of things this summer it turns out. I asked him (after explaining what determined means in the first place) what he was proud of accomplishing this year. He was proud of himself for learning and trusting to swim without floaties. He has been able to swim for forever but seemed to not ever trust his own ability. That all changed this past week. He officially told me he never wants to wear floaties again and then took it one step further and went off the diving board! When I think back to this summer it will be him in his goggles. Big goggle guy this one. Auggie was pumped to play ball this summer. Any kind. He told me back in the spring that he "just feels good out there" and anyone watching him would believe that. He had basketball camp, soccer camp and played t-ball this summer (when the rain didn't ruin that). He told me he wanted to hit a home run and win every game; technically he marked both off his list (I think we are all winners in t-ball...don't tell him that). The last thing he told me he was proud of was going to counseling and thinking about his "homework" that will help him (and us) figure out how to manage yucky feelings like anger or anxiety. I realized after our short conversation that our Auggie Boy showed lots of determination and bravery this summer. He tried new things that would normally push him out of his comfort zone and had a blast doing so. Proud of you Aug.Bennett, as always, was determined to do exactly what his older siblings do. This means riding his bike without training wheels (now going a million miles an hour while still yelling "wait up guys") and swimming without floaties (which puts me at so much ease). Bennett is scared of nothing. No stranger, no speed, no height. Nothing. Owning a pool and swimming often...I had to get this one taught. Our weekly Newton pool visits turned into Lessons with Mommy and in the last few weeks it finally clicked. He wanted to go off the diving board a month ago, and I finally let him this past week. Now he is sad that we don't have a diving board at home. The rest of his summer has been spent talking, trying to keep up, wishing it was his birthday, sometimes taking a big nap and sometimes not, playing dress up, being barefoot and filthy, asking for a snack, drinking my coffee, asking me to read him a book and talking some more. Everything felt like a first with him this summer. This plus his over the top joyful attitude made this summer extra fun.Pretty sure this one is only ever determined to have all of our attention...and he succeeds every single day. Now with some new tricks. This summer could also be remembered as "The Summer of Close to Home Fun". We really didn't go anywhere. Our schedule seemed to stay busy with games, meets, practices and just regular life. Instead we found all of our fun close to home. Kiddos are easy to please and a night spent at a park (especially the new one at the lake) or a day spent at the Newton Pool gave them a summer full of memories. Here they are at the new park. We are in love.Kids put "take Daddy to the pool" on their bucket list, so we headed to Champaign to try out a different spot. The big three never stopped smiling this day.We went to the farm (according to Auggie not enough). Susie would hold Theo all day if he wasn't so darn heavy. Also he looks exactly like Doug's baby pictures here.We ate ice cream. It was not "The Summer of the Waffle Cone" however. Douglas decided to switch it up this year. We mini golfed and Em had sleep overs with cousins. Mini golf went surprisingly well for these two (and their baby brother). And we swam. And swam. And swam. You could find us at the Freeze for lunch every Thursday (thanks Nana for spotting me a few bucks when I forgot cash..multiple times) and then at the pool until supper time. We took a friend or a few cousins every time and these were by far some of our easiest and most fun days of the summer. I hope these simple, close to home days of fun are what they remember the most. I know I will. This summer could be lots of other things too. It could have been "The Summer of Em's Hair" (she will hate me when she sees this someday, but her summer hair could have its very own blog post), "The Summer of Comfy Clothes and No Baths", "The Summer of Neighbor Kids", "The Summer of the Messiest Basement" or "The Summer of Up Way Past Bedtime (even though we say the kids should go to bed early every single night)". These are just a few funny ones that come to mind.