Signs of Summer

It's so close, we can almost smell it! Summer is nearly here! While Owen has been stuck in his school grind, Hadley has enjoyed her free time, as well as a swim camp. She seems to be improving by leaps and bounds and was pretty excited to go every day!

Speaking of free time... For both our sanity's sakes, I decided to use a daily checklist this summer to keep the kids being productive and entertained, while training them to self-form their days without mom's intervention. It has really been a life saver these two weeks, while Hadley was missing her brother. She LOVES being responsible and checking things off herself, and it's laminated, so we can use it over and over again. (Owen's list is pretty much the same, but in limbo until he's off from school.)

It does seem like summer is finally here, despite being half-in, half-out with kids in school. The sun is shining, the garden is growing, and flowers are blooming, even in our own yard! We love it!

We did have another freak hail storm, which pulverized the garden and some of the flowers, but it seems like they'll survive!

Other signs of summer? Kids lounging poolside. Oh yeah!

And 5ks. Owen and I ran one with friends. It's called the Great Inflatable Race, and the 5k course had inflatable obstacles (think bouncy houses with logs/boulders/walls to get over/around, steep walls to climb, and slides on the other side) interspersed throughout it. We were expecting the boys to run part of it and walk mostly, but they ran the whole thing, incredibly! Mom was the tail of this group, for sure!

We had a lovely brunch downtown after church last weekend and strolled around the River Walk to enjoy the beautiful day. We love shorts season!

Owen spied this duck hiding in a downtown planter box. I guess she was on a nest, and she was being so still that the rest of us had walked right past without even noticing her! It must be summer time indeed!