As I look back and reflect on the summer it has had its ups and downs. Overall though it was a good fun and successful summer. I started the summer by laying out our schedule. It was full almost from the start between baseball for Gideon, gymnastics for Cecilia, and several already planned trips. But we had set a goal when buying our camper last fall to try and go camping at least once a month during the summer and so we put some weekend camping trips in there and then also added a week long trip on the only week we had left between end of activities and start of school.

I tried hard to be intentional about enjoying the time I had with my kids since I know it is going by really fast. I was working during the days so the afternoons and evenings and weekends were the time I had. Looking back I feel I did a pretty decent job of making the most of that time.

Some of the highlights of the summer for me included:

• Having fun at Great Wolf Lodge with the family. Riding the slides with the Gideon and Cecilia one at a time most of the time. Thankful for my mom being able to come watch Ephraim so I could focus on them.
• The multiple camping trips. None without some sort of excitement: The first one being early May when and it being right after returning to work. I thought I was a little crazy but it turned out to be good as it forced me to take time and relax in the outdoors one of my happy places. Our second trip in early June was marked by a fridge that popped open sometime during the drive and drained our battery. So while the older kids fished with Adam, I drove an hour into town with Ephraim to get a new battery. The third trip, my mom and grandpa came along. We went fishing again although we still didn’t catch anything. That trip was marked by forgetting plates so we ate from bowls instead. The fourth trip was the annual trip to the Sand Dunes with my parents and brother. I got up early with Gideon to hike to high dune, then we played a little in the water before the girls took a trip to attempt to hike Zappata falls. We didn’t manage too because the crossing the creek was more like hiking up the creek and the water was too cold for that. Then my parents, Adam, and the older two went for fireworks while my brother and I stayed back. Me so I could put Ephraim to sleep and my brother so he could get extra rest.
• Simple afternoon fun: Running in the sprinklers, bike ride to the park with Gideon, art with Cecilia, painting with water with Ephraim and Cecilia, and just enjoying spending time outside watching them playing and listening to Ephraim giggle.
• There was also the baseball games where Gideon did really well and had lots of fun.
• Cecilia learning to ride without training wheels
• The rained out Sky Sox game which we are going to try to go to again Labor Day weekend.
• Girl Scout camp with Cecilia where I got to enjoy the weekend with her and meeting some of the other moms
• The trip to New Mexico with visits to Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, and Bandelier. Plus fishing at the stocked pond so the kids finally caught something and were so excited.