Oh, Summer...You Sneaky Thing!

So next week it will officially be July. In fact, next Thursday will be the *official* halfway mark in the year. (Which kind of freaks me out if we're being honest.) But I'm going to go ahead and tell you that it doesn't really feel like summer to me. It just doesn't. And I know it should. Like really - it should. That whole crazy sunlight thing I told you about way back here, well it's here again. The sun is up in the wee hours of the morning. So are the birds. And I can't tell you how many times I've woken up at 4:30 in a complete panic because I thought I slept through my alarm clock. And of course, the sun is still up when I crawl into bed at night too. (So weird)

After 2 1/2 years of this...I still don't know how the Brits ever get used to this. I don't know if I'm coming, or going, or not doing anything. My internal clock is very confused. 

But it still doesn't feel like summer. Maybe it's because I only have one kid at home with me instead of three. I'm used to having all of them at home, running around and being crazy. I'm used to noise - lots and lots of noise. Surprisingly though, Hayden is actually quiet (most of the time) when it's just him. He just does his own thing and only comes to me when he needs something. Maybe that's why it doesn't feel like summer. It just kind of feels like some kind of weird school break. Like a really long week or something. Lol

Hayden and I are having a good time though. I enjoy getting to spend so much one-on-one time with him. And the bonus is that a quiet house & no distractions means we can work on school stuff for him really easily. Every morning after the girls leave for school he pesters me nonstop about his reading program until we sit down and do it. 

He loves doing this. We usually only work for about 30 minutes a day, but those 30 minutes are like gold for him. He's so dedicated to it. And I love watching him! 

Ok, not always. There are days I'd really rather scrub my my entire house with a toothbrush than listen to that chipper computer voice say "find the word can, say the word can, click the word can..." one...more...time. It's like nails on a chalkboard to me. But! I march on because I do love that he's reading. And I love how excited he is about reading. That makes it worth it. 

Next week we're going to start working on his writing which he absolutely hates. But I'm kind of thinking that if he'll do it, I'll reward him with the reading. (I wonder how long that will last.)

And perhaps by next week, it will start to feel like summer. The weatherman is predicting an oh-so-lovely 90-something degree week for us. Maybe the heat will make it feel like summer. Well, either way...wherever you are, I hope you are not feeling as confused about summer as I am.

It's the Every Day Stuff

It's kind of hard to believe that I'm just now getting on here for the first time since our vacation two months ago.  (Shame on me!) I'd love to sit here and tell you that we've just been soooo busy doing these amazing things that I couldn't possibly find the time to blog....but I can't say that. We have been busy, but I'm not sure if anything really counts as super amazing. And truth be told I probably could have jumped on here to tell you about it but I just didn't think that you wanted to hear about me doing the dishes...or the laundry. 

It's really just been a lot of every day stuff going on for us. A lot of cleaning and organizing! With us having about 8ish months left here, we're starting "the countdown" on what needs to get done before we leave. What do we need to sell (because it runs on 200v instead of 110)...what are we just going to get rid of...that sort of thing. It's a process that can get very overwhelming if we put it off, so I like to start it really early & take things slowly so we're not rushing around at the last minute.

We're also already getting the kids ready for next school year...which I'll go ahead and tell you feels crazy. And I'm totally not ready for. In September we will officially have TWO(!!) middle schoolers in this house. (What?!) Ohhh...I'm not ready for that at all. Where did the time go? Weren't they babies just yesterday?? 

So, yeah, we've had a lot going on here. I will say that it hasn't been all work and no fun for us. We do like to take some time on the weekends to occasionally to take a break from everything and relax. A few weekends ago, we took the kids to the International Market near us which was pretty cool.

It was like Medieval Times sword fighting

Wild Boar for sale...Interesting. We didn't buy any though.

We did buy some delicious Italian sourdough bread and it was amazing.

They were roasting a whole pig out there. The kids even got some sandwiches.

Brian and I had street tacooooosss. Lol

The market was awesome. It was our first time back in a very long time & I'm glad we went during the International Market. We also took the kids bowling recently with some friends. And I'm very sad to say that the kids beat all of us. There was no hope for us at all. 

With summer starting for Hayden and I tomorrow, hopefully we'll have some fun adventures to tell you about. Ones that don't involve dishes or laundry. Until then...much love!