This weekend marks the end of summer holidays for us and back to the structure of a school and work week and all that is inolved with that - schedules, homework, lunches, sports practices, waking up early etc. Not going to dwell on that yet though...
All photos in this post are from my iPhone and my Instagram album!
The boys had a pretty relaxing summer which was what they needed. We try hard to make sure they have balance and downtime during the school year but with the sports they want to do and the homework that they have, some days are a little hectic. The boys had lots of time this summer to sleep in and hang out at home if they wanted to. They often took off longboarding together or went swimming in the afternoons. Neil got things on his list done and I think he relaxed a little too. I had a frustrating July and a more productive and balanced August. I tried to enjoy time with Neil and the boys when I could, got outside and spent time with friends. I actually got a good chunk of writing done and feel okay about where I am with my dissertation as I head back to work.
I would say that overall, I am feeling content about the summer. At peace with it all.
Although it wasn't as full as many of our summers have been in the past, we still travelled, spent time together and tried new things. So just for the record...
Travelling:
Wood Lake in the Okanagan with my sister and her kids
Edmonton for a family reunion
Oregon for our annual trip
Things we did for the first time:
Colin fenced in the Canada Day parade.
Adam did a rowing camp.
The boys added wakesurfing to their sports repertoire this summer.
The boys did paintballing and shot pistols at a shooting range.
I made kale chips, focaccia and blueberry leather.
Colin saw the giant Ukrainian egg in Vegreville (the rest of us had visited there before).
We did crazy slides at the water park at West Edmonton Mall.
Neil did a solo overnight bike ride to Burlington.
We rented a boat in Horseshoe Bay and took it out on the ocean.
We ATV-ed over the sand dunes in Oregon (last year we ATV-ed out to the beach).
We went to our first Vancouver Canadians game as a family.
The boys tented in the backyard with friends.
We grew purple potatoes!
Our highlights:
Colin - Everything we did at West Edmonton Wall: the waterpark, the rides, the shooting and hanging out with our cousins; in Kelowna: the wakeboarding and wakesurfing, paddleboarding and doing paintball and in Oregon: ATVing over the sand dunes.
Adam - Said "ditto" to Colin's list.
Neil - Doing all the different things we did in Oregon, his solo bike ride to and from Burlington, Washington (he's already planning a longer one for next summer!) and eating scones ;)
Janice - The mom in me loved watching the boys do things they loved and try new things, even if those new things horrified me a bit! I loved watching Colin fence in the parade, seeing Adam row down the Fraser River, cheering them on as they wakeboarded on Wood Lake, seeing both of them being so excited to do paintball with Duncan in Kelowna and shooting the pistols in Edmonton. I loved our time away as a family in Oregon and had fun playing around in the kitchen and garden.
Oh summer, how we love you. A fond farewell until we meet again.
Lovely summer wrap up post Janice. This is such a bittersweet time of year, the beginning of September. Still feels like summer, the routines won't kick in fully for a bit, still wanting to feel that summer feeling but feeling (and starting to smell) that Autumn crispness creeping closer.
Posted by: Christy | 09/03/2012 at 06:31 PM