Is it starting to feel like fall where you are? I know it's that time of year when we all get up in arms that the stores are starting to put out Halloween items (the audacity! jk i bought candy corns over the weekend) buuut it genuinely is feeling like fall in our corner of Washington. Temperatures have cooled down a bit, we're starting to get the occasional gloomy, drizzly day, and with our fireplace built-ins finished and painted dark it just feels like cozy szn.
Unfortunately we still have a month of summer break. Woof. It's a harsh transition from summer being the bessssst season when you're a kid, to becoming kinda the worst on your sanity when you find yourself the primary caregiver of school-aged kids. It might just be a particularly rough one for me. I'm telling myself future summers have the potential for greatness. But this is my "sleep-deprived, baby nap jail, no family or friend support within an hour, no sports camps within driving distance, no outdoor swimming pools, no possibility of consuming dairy" summer. Don't get me wrong, we're still making the most of it and squeezing in some good times. But we're starting to get antsy for fall. Jack even told me after a particularly rough morning when I asked him what was going on, "Mom, I hate summer! I miss school. When does football start?" Poor kiddo. He thrives in a school environment. Hopes are high for kindergarten.
As always, some cute pics from our week:
^^Getting passport pictures taken at Granite Falls City Hall. We're realizing we need to have them on hand if we want to pop into Canada while we live so close to the border.
^^I was sorting laundry and turned around to this! It hasn't happened since, but Alice pulled herself completely to standing against this chair, and then tried to climb up! She also went up a few stairs on her own. Not too much interest since then, but I have a feeling once school starts me and her will be logging many quality hours together on our stairs.
^^Swimming lessons started back up again. Jack was not thrilled when he had to put his face in the water during the first lesson, but then we got some goggles on him and now he's a fish, always asking if Jared can take him to swim at the YMCA when he gets home.
Oh ya, we got free trial passes for a week to our local YMCA. I don't wanna talk about it. I was losing my mind--see above--and desperately needed (need) a reprieve during my weekdays, so we decided to try out our YMCA and then maybe get a month-long pass--mostly because it includes free childcare for up to 2 hours every day while you work out . . . and/or sit quietly in the locker room and order groceries on your phone :) All was going great, Jack loved the big kids room that had a playground and other kids his age to play with. Buuuuut Alice screamed from the second I dropped her off until they called me to come pick her up 20 minutes later because she wasn't calming down. 11 months is peak stranger danger and separation anxiety. Also she was teething, so not great timing. I'm considering trying again and putting Jack in there with her for a time or two while she gets used to it. Also maybe starting with 5-minute workouts and then working my way up to longer spans of time. We'll see. It might not be in the cards for this summer, but if not I'll definitely try again next summer.
