Last Days of Summer Fun

I am in some serious denial that summer is nearly over and it's already back-to-school season. Everywhere I look there are notebooks, pens, highlighters and lunchboxes. WHY?!! Every year it seems like summer gets shorter and shorter as we try to pack more and more activities into a few fleeting weeks. This is the first summer since I went down to 80% at work, so it's the first time I'm getting to participate in more of the day-to-day fun with the kids.  Last summer I was so busy taking care of a newborn that I didn't get to do much. And the summer before that, Mac was too little to do all the really fun things and what we could do we were cramming into weekends, along with everyone else on the planet. I'm so grateful to have some time this summer to do things with the kids that I've been waiting for...like teaching Mac how to catch lightening bugs and letting Mim play in the sprinklers.  

I made a Summer Bucket List of all the fun things I wanted to do with the kids before Mac starts nursery school again in the fall...except that Mother Nature has been trying to ruin my summer plans with all this rain. We've had an exceptionally wet, dreary and cold summer this year.  I feel like maybe it's rained nearly everyday for four solid months.  Every time we make plans to do something fun, it rains.  Every time there's an event we want to attend, it's cancelled because of rain. We've definitely hit up some fun indoor places, but that's not exactly what summer's all about.  Last week we finally had a little (and by little, I mean like one hour) break in the rain so we ran outside to take a walk around the neighborhood.  

As everyone knows, Mac is OBSESSED with worms and bugs, so it was the perfect time to look for worms on the sidewalk and crickets in the yard.  We seem to have an unbelievably stupid worm population on our street that think they can cross sidewalks with ease without dying up (wrong) and an unbelievable number of little black crickets that live in the grass median in between the street and the sidewalk that think they can live there in peace without being caught by a wild preschooler (also wrong).  Just taking a few steps in this grassy area will kick up dozens of crickets that Mac loves to catch on the pavement.  Well, most of the time he catches them, but sometimes he accidentally kills them so that they might be "just a little bit dead." Finesse is not his strong suit.  

Despite all the rain, this summer has flown by in a whirlwind of activities.  We've already managed to do quite a few items on our bucket list and have plans to do more. But most days, I don't mind just hanging out with them without a lot of activities planned.  It's nice to get out of the house and have something to do, but it's also an adventure just hanging out with them on our street.  We love to visit our neighbors, go for bike rides, check out the local gardens, chase butterflies and follow the mail lady around.  We have our usual spots where we look for rolly-pollies, where we find smooth rocks, where we check on the baby birds in the nest.  We talk about moving to a house with a bigger yard and more land all the time, but honestly, with more space and privacy, I think we'll really miss our neighbors and all the adorable little neighborhood kids that have been some of Mac and Mim's first friends.   

We are also so grateful for this fun collaboration with Famous Footwear.  You may remember that we got to try some really fun shoes in the spring (post here) and were delighted to be able to work with such a great company again during their back to school campaign.  I may just be the last human on the face of the earth to buy a pair of the super comfy, always-classic Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers.  I don't exactly know what I was waiting for, but I'm so glad I finally pulled the trigger and got a pair of these awesome shoes.  They're slip-on, so comfortable and I've since worn them a dozen times because they go with EVERYTHING.  They're cute with jeans, with shorts, with dresses.  I can't wait to wear them into the fall.  And Mac picked out a pair of the most obnoxious, yet totally awesome light-up Skechers sneakers.  He is beyond obsessed with these shoes and has refused to wear anything else since I showed them to him.  And not only do they light up when he walks, they alternate between four different colors of his choosing.  These shoes may be the greatest thing that's ever happened to him.   These are the things of preschoolers dreams.  You can also check out Famous Footwear's #ohsofamous styling gallery to see how other (way more cool) moms and bloggers are styling their shoes. 

Are you guys staying dry this summer?

What's left to do on your summer bucket list?

*I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.