End of summer feels

Although this summer has seemed like an endless wave of heat and wishing it to be over, it's kind of surprising me that we're already at back-to-school time. This is our last year with just us, because Kitty will be starting preschool next fall (AHHHHHH) so I'm going to really try to enjoy it while I can. Right now the thought of having to drop her off and pick her up every single day, at the same time, sounds like a major cramp on my loose and free schedule, but c'est la vie.

I'm going to try to take advantage of this during the fall and do some more impromptu and fun things with the two girls. Honestly most of our "free" time right now just is me working at the computer...which isn't all that fun for her, although it is a continual lesson in independent play. We need to work on a few social skills, so I'm hoping to make a regular occurrence at our library's story time, and hopefully take advantage of the less populated zoo during school times. It'll hopefully be a nice change from our normal outings: Costco, Target, Walgreens drive through, library visits for 10 minutes at a time. #glamorous

I'm sure that will just mean more late nights and work for me on the weekend, but if this is the only year we have to really do it up, I'm going to try to do it up! Wish me luck.

Anyway, this summer has been great. I haven't posted photos for awhile, so here goes.

First off, the eclipse!

Can you stand how much this cutie above just ECLIPSES all other pictures with how adorable it is?! Couldn't resist a pun there, because this is my new favorite picture of her. She was just so happy to be included.

We traveled to Lincoln (a 45 minute drive) to see the totality, and it was honestly 100% worth it. I kind of thought it might be overhyped, but it was an emotional experience to see it. I hope I never forget it. 

Eclipse cupcakes!

Not an amazing photo, but a picture of the eclipse nonetheless!

Kate had a little difficulty following the directions but she mostly just played while it was going on, so I'd call it a win. We went to watch it at my uncle's party, and it was awesome to experience it and hear the collective gasp when we reached totality.

Naps have become a little sporadic for this one. I'm clinging to them as long as I possibly can, because most days she's tired and really needs one to survive the day. Other days she just plays in her room quietly for a couple hours until I give in and let her up. Some days she doesn't fall asleep for a long time, like the day above, so I had to go in and wake her up. Still so cute sleeping!

We're also still in the throes of threenager behavior, which means I constantly have to go shut myself in the bathroom and take some deep breaths when things get out of hand, and/or make David take over when he gets home so I don't pull my hair out. It's hard to remember there's a sweet girlie underneath when she's screaming for the 10th minute in a row, but moments like this or cuddles on the couch help a little.

Cora had her first experience with grass and she was NOT a fan. So funny that I had to take a picture before picking her up. I think Kate loved grass (?) so it's extra funny in the difference between them. We'll give it a try later when she has pants on to see if that was really the issue.

On days where I just can't stand being inside with them another minute, we take a long walk in the double stroller after naptime. It's a hefty workout (oh my gosh, I haven't even attempted to run with it yet in our only-hills-neighborhood) and it keeps them mostly quiet for at least half an hour, and for that reason alone it was worth the money.

I'm thinking we may need to buy the snack tray soon. It's finally become nice enough out that it's not unbearably hot, and I might try to make it a habit to walk every day after naptime this fall before the snow hits. Aka prime snack time for two little girls!

We've got some more house projects in the works, including a new toy organization system, finishing up staining the flower boxes in front of the house, and I'm trying to convince David to paint the basement. (Really tired of the pinkish orange tan we've got going on right now.) I might just tackle it myself if he refuses to help. We're headed to Denver to see friends in a couple weeks and an IKEA trip is included there, and luckily football season is right around the corner too, so fall is really here!

How was your summer?
HG