Goodbye Summer!

Describes my summer perfectly

 Back to school! Our family enjoyed a fabulous summer. We used our pool a lot, had friends and family over to barbecue, and accomplished small projects around the house. As I mentioned before, it was very busy, which unfortunately seemed to make it fly by. But realistically, it seems these days summers just keep getting shorter! With the kids starting school in mid-August, summer is only 2 months long. It's not like when I was a kid and summer seemed to go on forever, and school didn't start til after Labor Day. Buddha's preschool doesn't start until then, and I am glad although it will be nice when both boys are at the same school and are on the same schedule.

Monkey turned 6 this summer, and we had a small birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese with a few of his school and baseball friends. Buddha really enjoyed the birthday party, I think Chuck E. Cheese is his favorite place to go! Even though our kids really love it there,  Chip and I hate it. The things we do for our kids!

Kick-ass Ninjago cake!

 Our summer highlight - besides my sister's wedding -  was a week of camping. First, a few days on our annual group trip to Lake Don Pedro. It was close to 100*, but we managed to stay cool by boating, jet-skiing and floating in the lake. We stayed on the water as long as possible, since once we were off it was back to the baking camp site. Fortunately we have a trailer, and even better, a generator, so we were able to run our A/C. But in order to hang out with all our friends who could not fit in our trailer, we had to be out in the heat. Really roughing it, I know. It was a wonderful time!

Buddha driving the boat

Monkey getting hauled in a tube. He loved that!

We finished out the rest of the week by taking our first family trip to Yosemite National Park. It was absolutely amazing and we cannot wait to go back! From the enormous trees to the gorgeous waterfalls, there is nothing not to like (unless you have an aversion to dirt). We had a huge camp site there, with plenty of room to run around for the boys. Tons of kids were all over the place riding their bikes. It was like a huge family summer camp. SO FUN. We went on an open air bus tour around the park to see all the sights, went horseback riding, did small walks/hikes, and played in a wide river that bordered our camp. The boys walked across huge logs that had fallen over the river, skipped rocks (their favorite), played hide-and-seek,  got very filthy, and just had good ol' fashioned boy-fun.

Loving his first horseback ride!

The boys played here every afternoon!

S'more please!

Hope to see you soon Yosemite!

We also spent two weekends at different beaches. One weekend we went to Capitola where we met up with friends who also were there for the weekend. We spent time on the beach, had some cocktails and delicious dinners. The kids enjoyed each other's company just as much as the adults. The other weekend we at Sunset State Beach which was absolutely gorgeous. We were all very relaxed and things went smoothly. Our kids LOVE the beach, truly, and they could - and did - stay all day! We ate some great meals, and played Go Fish with our competitive 6 year old card shark each night.

Breathtaking, right?

So while it is so sad that our summer has come to an end, we can honestly say we made the most of it.

Happy Hump Day Friends! Hope your transition "back to school" is a smooth one!

Labor Day (Unplugged)

We spotted this beach cottage called "Happyland"

 Aaah. I fully relished in the American celebration of the working people. My family spent a weekend away in Capitola, CA.  Being away from home is really the only way I get to relax. During the week, I work full time and prep my two young ones for school in the morning, drive them and come home in time for dinner and baths. Which means, beyond the essential cleaning-up-after-dinner and some laundry I don't really do much housework. I always say I'm going to start doing a little every day so my weekends don't suck. Because right now, they usually suck. I spend a fair chunk of my Saturday cleaning when I should be hanging out with my family and having fun.

So, this past weekend, we hung out with friends, spent our days at the beach watching our kids play ball, build moats, castles, look for sand crabs and dig endlessly. We ate great meals and had some cocktails. We went to the legendary Margaritaville and of course had dinner one night on the patio at Zelda's. It was fabulous not to cook and clean. The first morning we were there, my husband not only cooked our family breakfast but he did all the dishes too! I was feeling a little groggy from a few too many margaritas from the previous night and fortunately he picked up my slack. Can you say keeper?

My iPhone had spotty service down at the beach, which I noticed the first few times I tried to "check-in" at locations. At least it worked when we the adults were texting each other our locations and ETA's the few times we split up. But I actually found it kind of liberating to not constantly be on my phone, the way I am at home...tweeting, Facebooking, playing Words With Friends.

A showing of "Grease" on the beach our first night there.

I am never a fan of leisure time coming to an end. But it always does. Back to the grind tomorrow, for a nice short week.  Right now I am catching up on the beach laundry which is never fun. I am fortunate to have been able to have an end of summer weekend getaway with my "boys" and spend time with good friends. Until next time!

What did you do over Labor Day weekend? Have a wonderful week!