Summer time...

Seriously, I have been running full throttle all summer long.  I am counting down the days till our trip to Australia.  Cannot wait to be free of my day planner for ten whole days!

I've been doing design consults, painting projects, room renovations, working on my Happify, and we moved my little workshop up to the front of the store.  Customer orders are coming in and I am having to really juggle to get it all finished.

We have been doing some "de-schooling" this summer, but lots of field trips and unstructured learning has happened. I'm very happy to see the love of learning returning to our home.

Unwoven light exhibit at Rice University...

The start of another school year is upon us, so I have been pulling together curriculum, buying museum passes, and doing some planning for the upcoming school year.  I am loving that the thrill of teaching is coming back to me, and I am excited to see what this year will bring for the boys.

I never get tired of sitting on the back porch enjoying our sunsets...

This week I need to do Anne's school shopping, since she will be leaving for camp and then coming home only to leave for Australia.  So much to do!

How are you spending your last few weeks of summer?

Summertime...

This has been a very hectic and busy week!  Kids finishing up their last week of school, projects to complete at the shop, consults to do...

Hunter and his sweet 5th grade teacher, Mrs.Rooker...

Peace out!

Not going to miss seeing this for the next few months...

I am going to spend many summer evenings on my patio, drink in hand, looking at lots of these...

The view from our patio...

Also on my summer to-do list....

Playing with the fur babies...

bread making...

decor-ranging...

tending to pots of lovely flowers...

cooking for my family...

Some projects to tackle this summer:  

The library.  I know, the start of this one is a bit like spotting big foot or the Loch ness monster.

The garage- it needs to be purged, cleaned, and organized.  I'm tired of feeling embarrassed every time the garage door is open.  

For homeschooling:

Summer of "de-schooling" (I will be doing a post on this soon!)

Planning ahead/lesson design.  Still trying to decide if working in thematic units will be best for Hunter, or if we should do more of a Waldorf method.  Still researching with our child's needs in mind. 

Meeting with other moms/dads to talk about homeschooling, share ideas & collaborate on lessons. 

Traveling:

I am assuming this includes schlepping kids to and from camps...

A week in Wimberley, Texas to go antiquing.

A weekend down at the Guadalupe river to go tubing with the kids.

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That's about it!

How about you?  

Any big summer plans?

Happy Camper...

Two weeks ago we dropped off Anne for her first ever away camp experience.  I missed her and wondered constantly if she was having fun even though I knew she probably was.  I hoped that she would make new friends, laugh, get outside her comfort zone, and have new adventures.

 Watching her say goodbye to her bunkmates and listening to the stories of her adventures showed me that she did just that.  She sucked the marrow out of those 14 days of camp, savouring every morsel of adventure that came her way.  Not just attending camp, but really living it at full tilt.  I love that about Anne- she does things to the fullest with all her ability.

 These memories will tide her over until next summer when girls will reconvene on camp grounds and build new memories to stack on top of the old ones.  Each year I get closer to seeing the woman that she will grow up to be and my heart swells to the size of Texas with pride.

Gruene & Schlitterbahn...

We are home from our whirlwind summer trip...I was gone for three days with Anne for dance camp, then home laundry/pack and back out the door for the river.  I'm exhausted, but it was so much fun!

Me & Kristin- We met through blogs ; o )