July/August

As expected, our summertime has flown and my last update was June.  Once Alex wrapped up baseball season, we headed back towards family to celebrate the 4th of July.  After that we headed up north for nine days where we celebrated both Laura and I's birthday with family and friends.  It was our only 'family' vacation per se, so we enjoyed a few days to ourselves between visitors. Each of the kids enjoyed time alone with grandparents and family, which also gave them a break from each other, and allowed Jason and I to have some one on one time with each of the kids as well so I truly think the summer gave us the best of both worlds.  Highlights of the second half of the summer include cooling off in many of the community pools in our area and Wazee Lake, the kid's favorite.  We visited Bookworm Garden's,a family favorite, and then checked out Kohler-Andre State Park for the first time.  We loved it so much that we made a point to go back for a second visit.  We hiked at a few of our favorite lookouts, and tried a few new trails at Hixon Forest in La Crosse.  We checked out the Root River Bike Trail system which is another hidden gem not far from home.

When you read all of the activities, and literally I had to look at the calendar just to know exactly what we all accomplished this summer-it sounds as though we were incredibly busy, almost too busy. But in all honesty, we weren't; it was very relaxed with many days of just relaxing at home or with family build in between outings.  I'm very blessed to have a husband that works so hard, and provides for our family to be able to spend the summer with my children, he is the reason we have the ability to go back and visit family as much as our hearts desire during their time off of school.  He is content not going back to visit as often; however, he recognizes that it is something that the kids and I enjoy/need to do as we all continue to transition into a life of living at a distance from family.    

Here we are, a day before school starts. . . and as I look back on this summer, it hasn't really been one where I find myself pulling my hair out and ready to ship them back.  I'm sure the fact that Alex spent almost an entire month back with family greatly helps with the 'getting sick of each other' factor, but there were many individual activities they were able to participate in as well which helped to break up the monotony.  The only thing I'm really looking forward to with the start of school is getting back to a routine, I think I can hear my house cry just a little bit for more organization and cleanliness. My very routine personality craves it; however, summertime is always an opportunity for me to live on the wild side because I know the memories and time together will be remembered long after the house was clean, laundry was done, fridge was full, and dinner on the table.