Seizing the Summer in August

Summer is almost half over already. I can’t believe how fast it’s flying. We’ve been enjoying it, don’t get me wrong, but it’s going by in a blink! I want to make sure that we’ve made the summer count. I always have these ideas in my head of things I want to do and make “this summer” but then it’s so easy to get caught up in it and then it slips away too fast. Then all those ideas get postponed to “next summer” and I spent the year waiting, only for things to fly by again. We’ve done so many fun things and we have so many fun things planned, but what about the ideas that don’t make the calendar?

We’ve swam in pools and in the ocean. We take long walks and play in the backyard every evening after work - bubbles, chalk, water tables, sprinklers and baby pools. We grill and eat from the farmers markets and pick the garden. We watch thunderstorms and movies on rainy nights. We spend time with family and friends doing so many fun activities. There’s just never enough time to do it all.

In the same light as my Fall Fun To-Do list from last Autumn, I’ve created a Seize the Summer list to help motivate ourselves to squeeze every last drop of fun out of what remains of the summer. I’m giving myself extra time, I don’t consider summer over until September 21st - the pool might close on Labor Day but the beaches are still open, the weather is still warm, and there’s still lots to enjoy.

Make:
1. Homemade ice cream
2. Homemade popsicles
3. Refrigerator pickles
4. Fresh salsa
5. Mexican street corn on the grill
6. Blackberry jam
7. Peach jam
8. Homemade marina with garden tomatoes

Do:
1. The Jersey Shore one more time
2. The pool 15 times before Labor Day (I’m ambitious)
3. Dinner alfresco with the globe lights on
4. Take Oliver out for an ice cream cone

And while I’m on the subject of things that we should do - we have three time-sensitive projects that need to be done this summer.

Projects:
1. Mailbox garden (when the street is done and the new curb is in - update: construction finally started!)
2. Patch and re-seal the driveway (when the street is done and the new curb is in - update: construction finally started!)
3. Clean out and organize the garage to make room (in progress...)

My goal is to keep posting regularly, but if I miss a few here and there you’ll know we were just at the pool again, enjoying what’s left of the summer.