Our First Summer Begins...

Ahhhhhhhhhh....summer. We can breathe. We can nap. We can grill. It is absolutely THE BEST. It makes my heart very happy. Ella Kate and Bradley are napping. I've just loaded the dishwasher and am taking a few minutes to blog and have a Coke Zero.

We kicked off summer last Friday with an early departure from school. Yay! We are so thankful to still have jobs, as many are not as fortunate this year. We loaded up and went to Gantt to celebrate the Memorial Day Weekend. It was like old times...reading, taking a tan, grilling all weekend long. Except this year, we have an addition. She's a sporty little thing. She keeps us on our toes. She didn't love the lifejacket, but she seemed to enjoy the boat. Uncle J joined us for the weekend. He deserted us in favor of people who stay up past 9 p.m., but we'll forgive him this time. We came back Monday around lunch. Everyone else napped and I started cleaning out closets. I still had maternity clothes in there...hoping I won't need those for a while. We rode to my parents' house for dinner, and crashed when we got in. Ella Kate slept all night without a peep for the first time in a week. I took it as a sign of good things to come. She started ISR swimming classes yesterday. She's not very keen on floating on her back. She's never very keen about being on her back...on land or water. But I think she'll get the hang of it. We don't have huge plans for the summer...a beach trip here and there, VBS, cheer camp, football workouts, etc. But regardless of what we do, we get to spend our days with Ella Kate. And that is what makes it marvelous. It's only been a few days, but I love it already.

My goals for the summer are to:

*Read-I've already finished 1 book and started a 2nd. Some are my choices; some were recommended by the kids in my class as possibilities for read-alouds for next year.

*Nap-I'll start working towards that one tomorrow.

*Re-do our bedroom- I have the "supplies". I just need to do it.

*Complete the other bedroom- We've been here 2 years, and I finally bought a comforter for that bed yesterday.

*Run- 5K anyone? I will complete 1 without stopping before school starts back in August. I'll be honest. I do it for the shirts. ; )

*Spend as much time with Bradley and Ella Kate as possible before the madness begins in August. I LOVED summers as a single girl. But it doesn't even come close to this. Welcome to "Our First Summer".