10 Moments This Month That Felt Like Pure Summer
One on one time in the hot tub, floating down the river, and grilling out were a few of the highlights so far
June, and summer in general, has flown by. I can’t believe it’s already July! This summer has been a mix of staying up late, sleeping in even later, cramming family time in whenever we can, and getting wet (you’ll see below). I read a tip on Cup of Jo years ago that said, when in doubt with kids, “Just add water,” meaning get in a pool, or, if you’re like us and don’t have a pool, get the water hose or sprinkler. Or, take a bath. Or, like we did twice this week, go to the river. Basically, when it’s a hundred degrees out and you’re miserably hot in the middle of summer, any sort of water will help.
I’ve also found this works with adults, too.
We leave for the beach again in a few days to spend more time at our little shack down there, and we can’t wait. Life is slower there. Time goes by without a second thought, and the days somehow feel longer and shorter at the same time. It’s where we most love to be in the summer months, relaxing at the beach all day while the kids run in the surf and we lay out in the sand. It’s such a vibe. This time next week, we’ll be there!
What about you? Do you have any fun trips planned this summer? It’s unbearably hot in Tennessee right now, so I would pretty much take anywhere over here.
Meanwhile, we uploaded TWO new vlogs over on YouTube (finally). The first one is how we spent our Father’s Day this year, and, spoiler: it was so cute and so much fun. The second one is a real treat. PJ takes you through the entire process of designing the new sheep barn, from his initial design to the crew working on it. He spent a lot of time on this video and I love how it came together. I kind of want him to edit all of our vlogs from here on out because of his level of professionalism!!
Lastly, in case you missed the last couple of newsletters, here they are for you to check out:
How cute are PJ and our oldest last week in matching Vineyard Vine polos (and sandals, and shorts, and hats)? Can’t even handle it.
Sometimes, when I’m in the thick of working inside during the middle of the day, and it’s 100 degrees outside, I start feeling like we haven’t done enough this summer to make it fun for our family. But when I take a second and zoom out, I realize that we’ve actually had a pretty fun summer so far.
Here are a few of the highlights:
BLACKBERRY PICKING
We suddenly have hundreds (thousands?) of blackberry bushes on our farm, so PJ set up a little game for the kids where they had to see who could pick the most blackberries. I say suddenly, because I don’t remember ever having this many for as long as we’ve owned this land, but alas, they’re here, and I’m so glad they are. Over the course of few days, we made multiple blackberry picking trips to the pasture and the kids all came back with heaping cups filled to the brim with sweet and tarty goodness.
When we got home, PJ made blackberry jam, and lots of it. We’ve been giving it to our friends and family, which, is there a better feeling than giving someone you love something homemade? It’s so good. I wish each and every one of you could taste it.
JUMPING ON THE TRAMPOLINE
We picked up this trampoline for free (!) from our next door neighbor at the farm off Facebook Marketplace, and carried it from one side of our fence to the next to get it in our backyard at Holiday House. Ever since, our kids (and PJ!) have been living on it every time we come out here, the same way my brother and sister and I did when we were little. We know trampolines are dangerous, but so is boating and going to the river and swimming in a pool and playing on a playground. We’re as careful as we can be, and the kids are addicted to it. It’s so fun watching them invent new games on it and find new ways to enjoy it. Definitely a highlight of the summer.
