Hello, Summer & Our 2018 Summer List

Ahh....Summer. 

It's the most wonderful time of year, especially when you are a teacher :)

 There's just something about Summer...it is good for my soul.

I always say that Fall is my favorite season because I love the pumpkins, the leaves, the comfort food, Fall clothing & boots...but the past few years I have realized that Summer is just good for my soul...I am a different person in Summer....more relaxed, less stressed.

We've been out of  school for 2 weeks now....it was a magical school year.

It was the one and only year that all 3 kids were at the same school.
The one and only year all 3 kids will be in Elementary School at the same time.
Luke isn't smiling because he was sad TK was over & he was going to miss his teacher too much. 
I can't believe Kate is done with Elementary School now.

I wrote THIS post on Kate's first day of Kindergarten.  

This is a portion of what I wrote on that post:

Today she will be walking into her Kindergarten classroom and into other classrooms for the next 13 years.....the majority of her days will be spent at school.

That thought alone puts a lump in my throat.

The time goes by so quickly and it makes me question everything.

Have I done enough for Kate in her first 5 years?

Have I done enough to prepare her for the world around her?

Is she confident enough? Smart enough?

Will she be a friend to those who don't have friends?

Will she stand up for herself and others?

Will be respectful to her teacher?

Kids at school can be mean....Does Kate know how much she is loved by God and her family?

I could go on and on about how scared/nervous/excited/anxious I am for her, but I will just end this with a prayer.

Dear God,
Please calm my heart and Kate's.
Please be with her today and the rest of her days at school and give her confidence in YOU. Help her stand against peer pressure. Empower her to make good decisions.
Surround her with good friends that are positive influences.
Protect her from bullies and those that mean them harm.
Help me as a parent to be even more supportive of her this year.
Give me the words to help build Kate up during her school years and give her the courage to talk to me if she is ever having a problem. Strengthen my discernment.
You are in control and we need to trust you.
Amen.

 

  Kate’s time at Elementary School ended how it started...me in tears. But this time, my tears are tears of gratitude and thankfulness. Tears because God literally answered my prayers I had for her as she entered Kinder. I will keep praying those things for Middle School (and High School)

Next year, she will be with me in Middle School and I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! 

I am so excited....she is READY.

Last week was our first week of Summer and every year, the first week of Summer is the same...I schedule NOTHING. No camps, no trips. 

We need that first week of Summer to CHILL and literally do nothing. 

We need that margin in our life to relax & decompress.

I am pretty sure we were in our pj's for 75% of the week. It was amazing.

We did make our 2018 Summer List! 

 I love making a Summer List with them because it's fun to see what ideas they come up with.

Here is our 2018 Summer List:

We won't get through all the things on our Summer List, but it is fun to try!

Some of the things I am looking forward to that are on the list:

-Road trip to Oregon (I grew up going to Oregon during the Summer, so I am looking forward to doing this with my kids. We are going to Manzanita....any suggestions on what to do? Also stopping in Portland for a 1/2 day)

- Going to see the last 3 California Missions. We have seen 18 of 21, can't WAIT to visit the final 3 this Summer.

-Museum of Ice Cream in SF

- Movie in the Backyard

I am also a mean mom ;) and each day they have to do 20 minutes of reading, 20 minutes of math,  jumping on the trampoline for exercise & make their bed each day.

Here is my summer list of things *I* want to get done this Summer:

1. Finish Claire's 1st year Baby Book.
(I made an awesome book for Kate's 1st year and haven't finished Claire's yet...she will be 10 years old in September and she keeps asking where her book is. YIKES. I am the WORST.)

I haven't even started it & I obviously haven't started Luke's....I am going to MAKE myself make her a book and surprise her for her 10th birthday. #momfail

2. Read a book a week

Summer is when I do most of my reading. 

Looking forward to keeping my reading streak going this summer!

3. Organize my Christmas Card List/Addresses

I know this is ridiculous, but every December arrives and all my addresses for Christmas Cards are super un-organized. I want to enter them on an Excel spreadsheet and update the addresses of friends who have moved. I know I need to get this done in the Summer when I have time, because I never have time in December.

4. Train for my 5th Half Marathon

 I ran my 4th Half Marathon in May and I just love that distance. I have kept up my running since May and I want to run another Half Marathon this summer.

5. Clean out closets & Finish 40 Bags in 40 Days.

One of the books I want to start off reading is The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up...I know this will help me with cleaning out closets!

(Things get crazy & unorganized as the school year comes to an end. I need to claim back our closets & get rid of things that don't fit the kids and/or that we don't wear anymore)

I haven't finished 40 Bags in 40 Days yet, but I want you to know that the 1st week of summer I barely left my house because I was too busy cleaning things out! 

Just last week alone, I  donated over 8 bags to Goodwill and thrown out 6 bags of trash.

Here is one before & after of the kids craft/game closet that was out of control:

 After:

SOOOOO much better!!!

Here is my 40 Bags & 40 Days list & I have highlighted what I have completed:

When I am cleaning out these areas, I do them one at a time.
I take out EVERYTHING in that section and sort through everything.
It makes a HUGE mess. 
I put back only the items I want and I do it in an organized fashion.
The rest of the things that are not put back are put in the donation bag or the trash bag.

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  Do you have a summer list? 

What are looking forward to doing this summer?

2016 Summer List

According to the calendar, today is the first "official" day of summer, but our Summer officially started last Monday.

On the first day of Summer Break, I always have some summer "presents" for my kids on the breakfast table.

Flamingo Pool Float {HERE} // Full House {HERE}

 These are little gifts that I give them to celebrate that it is summer. 

And, it is slightly based on working mom guilt. Yikes.

Not pictured was Luke's Summer present which was a super soaker. 

He grabbed it before I took a photo of it  :)

Claire LOVES flamingos, so when I saw that float, I knew the girls would love it, especially Claire. It's big enough for both of them. Plus, Claire decided on a flamingo pool party for her Birthday this September, so the flamingo float will be perfect for the party!

The girls were SO excited about getting the Full House series. The love Fuller House and know that I watched Full House as a kid. They are loving Full House so far. I limit us to watching 2 episodes a day....I told them when I was a kid I had to wait a week until TGIF was on to see a new episode & they are lucky that I am letting us watch 2 a day :)

I love making a Summer List with them because it's fun to see what ideas they come up with.

I also got them a pack of Mr. Sketch Markers!!! They loved that they smell so good! These also bring me back to my childhood :)

I like making a Summer List because it helps with ideas for what they want to do in the summer.

Our summer is pretty un-scheduled for the most part.
We are not doing Swim Team this year like we have the past few years (the girls said no more Swim Team) This is freeing up SO much of our time since we don't have practice each day & we don't have Wed night Swim Meets or Saturday Swim meets this summer.
What are we going to do with all our free time?!?! That is where the Summer List comes in handy!
They have VBS and a couple other camps this summer, but that is about it!

Here is our 2016 Summer List:

We won't get through all the things on our Summer List, but it is fun to try!

Some of the things I am looking forward to that are on the list:

- Glo Stick Swimming at Night (we did this last year, so fun!)

- Movie on the lawn

- Watch the Full House Series

- Waterslides

I am also a mean mom ;) and each day they have to do 20 minutes of reading, 10 minutes of math, 20 minutes of jumping on the trampoline & make their bed each day.

Here is my summer list of things *I* want to get done this Summer:

1. Finish Claire's 1st year Baby Book.
(I made an awesome book for Kate's 1st year and haven't finished Claire's yet...she will be EIGHT in September and she keeps asking where her book is. YIKES. I am the WORST.)

2. Start Luke's 1st year Baby Book
(Don't want the 3rd kid to be without one for almost 8 years like Claire. I REALLY need to buckle down and get these done!)

3. Read a book a week

I just finished my first book of the summer this weekend:

Pretty Girls...such a great book!!! If you liked Gone Girl or Girl on the Train, you will love this book.

It's only $1.99 if you get it on your kindle {HERE}

Summer is when I do most of my reading. 

Looking forward to keeping my reading streak going this summer!

4. Catch up & clean out my email. 

(My inbox is a disaster. I need to organize it & unsubscribe from things!)

5. Clean out closets!

One of the books I want to start off reading is The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up...I know this will help me with cleaning out closets!

(Things get crazy & unorganized as the school year comes to an end. I need to claim back our closets & get rid of things that don't fit the kids and/or that we don't wear anymore)

6. Train for my 4th Half Marathon

I've been wanting to sign up for another Half since the last one I did was in March. 

The SF Giants have a 10K & Half Marathon in September and I have heard it is a fun race. You finish in the outfield of AT&T park!

7. Do "One Perfect Week"

This is basically following Whole30, but only for a week.

I don't think I could do Whole 30 for an entire month, but I want to do it for a week and see how that goes. Anyone done this before?

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  I wanted to let you know about my Summer Special that starts today.... all new preferred customers will get get $20 cash back, 10% off your order, free shipping AND I will mail one of our Essentials items.

 SPF 30 body sunscreen, Body lotion, SPF 25 Lip Shield OR a bottle of our foaming Sunless Tanner!

The sun is not your friend..... protect your skin this Summer!

Our tanner sells out every summer & last week Total Beauty named the #1 sunless tanner! 

 I love seeing before & after pics when people use Rodan + Fields products! How awesome are these Unblemish Results with just 17 days of use? I am so thankful for R+ F products and how they help change skin & loves! The unblemish regimen is one of my most popular products! It works on skin of all ages, teens & adults! It also comes with an oil free SPF 20 sunscreen to help protect you from harmful sun rays! 

I love these results after consistent use with our Reverse regimen.

All our products come with a 60 day 100% money back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose. 

We have products for ALL skin types! 

Take this quick 1 minute survey {HERE} to see what is best for your skin type.

Email me at: melissa_larson17@yahoo.com to get this deal!

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  Do you have a summer list? 

What are looking forward to doing this summer?

Our 2015 Summer List

It always takes me a few days to unwind from the school year!

On the first day of Summer Break, I always have some summer "presents" for my kids on the breakfast table.

 These are little gifts that I give them to celebrate that it is summer. 

And, it is slightly based on working mom guilt. Ha!

I got them some Super Soakers, Sand Toys, Bubbles, Dive Sticks & a Basketball hoop for the pool.

One of my favorite things to do at the start of each Summer is make a Summer List with the girls.

They love making it also!

  They are in charge of the Summer List. I don't give them any suggestions, it is all their ideas.

 They love coming up with ideas & decorating the poster after I write out the list.

  I like making a Summer List because it helps with ideas for what they want to do in the summer.

Our summer is pretty un-scheduled for the most part (besides Swim Team 3x a week & 2 camps the girls attend), so doing a Summer List helps me (and them) be intentional about what we do during the summer.

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  Do you have a summer list? 

What are looking forward to doing this summer?

Our 2014 Summer List

 Happy Summer!

We are officially on Summer Break. School ended last Friday & we had a busy weekend.

It always takes me a few days to unwind from the school year, but now I am in full Summer relaxation mode and have been soaking up the last few days hanging out with my kids.

On the first day of Summer Break, I always have some summer "presents" for my kids on the breakfast table.

These are little gifts that I give them to celebrate that it is summer. 

And, it is based on working mom guilt. Ha!

I get them a new bucket, sand toys, glow sticks, markers & coloring stuff.

 

One of my favorite things to do at the start of each Summer is make a Summer List with the girls.

They love making it also!

 They are in charge of the Summer List. I don't give them any suggestions, it is all their ideas.

 (Of course Kate had to put the sharpies in rainbow order!)

They love coming up with ideas & decorating the poster.

 Here it is:

 I like making a Summer List because it helps with ideas for what they want to do in the summer.

Our summer is pretty un-scheduled for the most part, so doing a Summer List helps me (and them) be intentional about what we do during the summer.

We won't get through all the things on our Summer List, but it is fun to try!

Some of the things I am looking forward to that are on the list:

- Glow Stick Swimming at Night

-Beach Day

-Girls Day Out (this was Kate's idea, she wants to have a girls day with me & Claire and have me give them manis/pedis)

- Movie on the Lawn

- Reading Competition

Here is my summer list of things *I* want to get done this Summer:

1. Finish Claire's 1st year Baby Book.
(I made an awesome book for Kate's 1st year and haven't finished Claire's yet...she will be SIX in September and she keeps asking where her book is. YIKES.)

2. Start Luke's 1st year Baby Book
(Don't want the 3rd kid to be without one for almost 6 years like Claire. I REALLY need to buckle down and get these done!)

3. Finish my 40 bags in 40 days project
(Almost done, just need to finish)

4. Read a book a week.
(Summer is when I do most of my reading and this year Kate wants to have a reading competition with me to see who can read the most books.)

5. Get Luke to say good-bye to his pacifer.

I blogged about it here, and we decided to wait until Summer. 

Well, Summer is here, it's time to get rid of it!

I loved all your advice, I am going to cut a hole in it.

Do you have a summer list? 

What are looking forward to doing this summer?

The 2013 Summer List

For the past 4 summers the girls & I have created a Summer List of things we want to do!
It helps me be intentional with the girls and do what they want to do.
If we have an unscheduled day (like most days in the summer) and they say they are "bored" we can look at our list and decide on what to do that day!

I let the girls pick the items for the summer list, I have no input what so ever. 

I love hearing what they want to do.

Kate wanted to make her own summer "picture" list with pictures of everything she wanted to do.

 Of course, Claire wanted to make her own as well.

Here is Kate's finished list in pictures:

And, here is the official 2013 Summer List:

Here is my summer list of things *I* want to get done:

1. Finish Claire's 1st year Baby Book.
(I made an awesome book for Kate's 1st year and haven't finished Claire's yet...she will be FIVE in September and she keeps asking where her book is. YIKES.)

2. Start Luke's 1st year Baby Book
(Don't want the 3rd kid to be without one for 5 years like Claire. Ha!)

3. Finish my 40 bags in 40 days project
(Almost done, just need to finish)

4. Luke's Birthday Party & 1 year photo shoot.
(Can't believe my baby is turning ONE!!! Tears)

5. Read 5 books.
(I downloaded a bunch of free ones for the Kindle yesterday. Just search on Amazon!)


We've already crossed off making jam & going to frozen yogurt!
Do you have a summer list? What are looking forward to doing this summer?

The 2012 Summer List

According to the calendar, it's officially the first day of summer.

Happy Summer Solstice!
Perfect timing to make our 2012 Summer List!

This year, I let the girls decide everything they wanted on the list.
In years past, I have given them ideas (or not written down ideas they had) but this year, I decided to write down all of their ideas, no editing or persuading from me.
This is our most unscheduled summer to date. Because I am due in August, traveling this summer is pretty much out of the question. This is the first summer we aren't going to Lake Tahoe or on a vacation. Because of that, I really, really, really want to be intentional with the girls each day this summer.

In less than 2 months, I will be having the baby, so I want to make the most of these last few precious weeks of just me & my girls.
Here is our 2012 Summer List:

Some of the things I am looking most forward to:
- 4th of July Party
- Going to the $1 Movies
-Having the girls camp in the Backyard with Daddy
-Watch a movie on the Lawn
-Have a Baby!

Some of the things I am dreading (that I wanted to not write down, but will take one for the team. ha!)
-Chuck E Cheese (I have never taken them, but they have been for birthday parties while I am at work. They have been begging for me to take them. Ugh.)
- Lemonade Stand (these are just painful to me)
- Go to the Z00 (I am NOT a fan of the zoo. I know, I know. The zoo is just not my thing)

I also decided to do another Summer List.
You could also call this my "Stuff I need to get done before I have a Baby list"
1. Make Claire's 1st year Baby Book.
(I made an awesome book for Kate's 1st year & haven't made one for Claire yet...she is 3.5 years old. I NEED to do this before Baby #3 arrives!)
2. Finish my 40 bags in 40 days project
(which I have re-named 40 bags in 4 months. ha!)
3. Get the nursery ready. And get other baby things ready.
(Haven't even started. Yikes!)
4. Plan Claire's Birthday Party
(which will be 3 weeks after I have the Baby, so I need to get most of it organized this summer)
5. Commit to our Girl Name
(or find a new one) I am second guessing myself.

I can't wait to get start crossing things off our list!
Both girls woke up with a fever today, so our plan of going to the Fair is postponed for another day.
Do you have a summer list? What are looking forward to doing this summer?

The 2011 Summer List

Summer has officially begun & I am LOVING it.
As soon as the weekend began, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted.
No school for 2.5 months. Hooray!

I love the lazy days of summer.
This summer I was very intentional about our schedule. It is very un-scheduled.
We have a couple trips planned, but day to day is very wide open (besides swim lessons).
I kept it unscheduled on purpose...I want to have the freedom and flexibility of having lots of hang out time with the girls & with friends. Impromptu playdates & pool parties? Bring them on!

We made a Summer List last year and I plan on making one every summer!
It makes me be a little more intentional with our summer and I love lists....it feels SO good to cross things off lists!

Kate's excitement when I told her I didn't have to go to work for over 2 months!

Kate and I made the Summer List again this year while Claire was napping.

Claire + Sharpies = Not a good idea.

We came up with some fun ideas for this summer.
Check it out:
Can't wait to get some of these crossed off!

My personal favorites that she added are:
- Help Claire share
- Teach Claire the ABC's

When Claire woke up we asked her what she wanted to put on the summer list.
Claire's Summer List:
1. Go to Mimi's
2. Go to Grandma's
3. Go Swimming
4. Meet Belle

I think Summer 2011 is going to be a good one!

The 2010 Summer List

Ahhh.....summer!

Our first weekend of summer has been hot, busy & fun!

I don't know about you, but I love lists!
I especially love checking things off a list. It feels so good!
Kate came up with almost every item on the summer list.
The first thing she said to put on the list was to "Have Christmas in Tahoe" but I reminded her that Christmas wasn't until December, so she would have to wait on that. Last time we were in Tahoe was the day after Christmas & it was snowy. Kate thinks it is going to be snowy there this summer.

After I wrote them down, she added her own coloring touches.
Here it is:
I am so excited about having the summer off with my girls.
Let me tell you, that is probably the biggest perk about being a teacher.
If you remember my post in January, I wrote about THIS.
I think our summer list will make me very intentional with the time I have with my girls this summer! My goal is to do all of these things on the list. I have 70 days of summer with my girls and I want to make them fun & memorable!

What fun things do you have planned this summer?
I can always add to our list :)

And, I picked a winner for my note card giveaway!

Congrats Andrea!
Email me what note card you want from my shop!

If you didn't win this giveaway, don't be sad, I am doing another giveaway today over at Blessed Little Nest.
Head over there for her Blogger's Guide to Summer.
Heather is going to have guest bloggers & giveaways All Week Long!
My guest post & giveaway will be up sometime today!

I am humbled & honored to do a guest post and giveaway for her.
Heather & her blog are awesome, head over there to be inspired!

Happy Summer!