The Saturday 7

1. I'm really starting to feel like summer is ebbing away. Justin started coaching soccer again this week, which is always a sign that fall is near, we went school supply shopping, and I even noticed last night when I left work at 9 that it was getting pretty dark. At the beginning of summer, it wasn't dark at all when I left work at 9. 😭 I'm ready to go back to school, but I'll still mourn the end of summer - the weather, of course, but also certain parts of the laid-back, schedule-less atmosphere. As I'm writing this, it's 8:45 pm and Levi's running back and forth between our house and the neighbor boy's, hauling his Nerf guns in the wagon for an epic backyard battle. Usually we give him his melatonin at 8 so he'll be ready for bed by 8:30. But since he doesn't have to be up for school in the morning and he's not rotting his brain in front of the TV, we'll let him stay up late to play outside with his friends. I'll definitely miss that once school starts and the cold weather sets in!

2. I got to go see my new library room at school on Monday. We still don't have an actual library, but I won't have to share a classroom space this year. I have a small room that I'll wheel my cart into for library time with the kids. I'm sad that I won't have access to a smart board this year since I made all kinds of cool slideshows last year that I thought I'd re-use, but I'm still holding out hope that I'll get a real library with space for a smart board again in the future. And seeing my room on Monday made me start getting excited for this coming year. I don't know exactly which classes I'll have or what my schedule looks like, but I've started thinking about lesson plans and read-alouds. Right now I'm planning on two days in the library and two days at Once Upon. I'll switch to days once school starts so I can work while the kids are at school. I think I'll like days better, although there are a few night people I'll miss. Although I'm not going to lie. I'll miss my three days of lounging about at home that I had last schoolyear. Being a lady of leisure is my true dream job.

3. Once Upon has been cuckoo bananas thanks to back-to-school shoppers and being short-staffed. But I realized this week that I'm finally feeling much more comfortable on the register! It's a good thing, because I've been fairly tied to it every night. I've also realized that I'm astonished by how much people spend on back-to-school clothes for their kids - even at a second-hand store! I can't imagine the money people must drop when they take their kids to the mall for clothes. Did any of you grow up getting a new wardrobe for back-to-school, or is that a new thing? I sure didn't, but we were poor. And I don't buy my kids a new wardrobe all at once either. I buy things they need here and there throughout the year. Different strokes for different folks, I guess!

4. Another sure sign that summer is drawing to a close: we had our last cousin fun day this week. We went to Millennium Park (for free thanks to passes from the library!) and had a blast together. The forecast only called for high 70s/low 80s, so I was worried it wouldn't be hot enough for the beach, but the sun was out in full force, so the water felt great!

I couldn't talk Lucy into coming. She didn't make it to a single Cousin Fun Day this year. 😔

This girl and her skills . . .

Can you tell which of my sisters is serious about sun protection? 😂

Libby mentioned that she was going to bring Nash's fishing net, so Niki grabbed some more nets at Dollar Tree for the gang. They spent hours trying to catch minnows!

The captured few

I cherish these cousin fun days so much. Of course we spend time together throughout the whole year. We still have family lunch every other Sunday and whoever's available shows up. But I love these scheduled events where we intentionally get together too. If life has taught me anything in the past few years, it's that change is inevitable and relationships should never be taken for granted. Of course I hope that nothing ever changes, and we always stay close (emotionally and geographically), but I'm thankful for the memories we're making in the meantime.

6. Today was a big milestone in my family. Justin and I left the kids with Lucy (who's 13) and went out for dinner by ourselves! We stayed in town and were gone less than 2 hours, but I feel a whole new sense of freedom!! It's really been hitting me lately how few years we have left with Lucy. Don't get me wrong - we're not going to evict her the second she turns 18, and we will not be pushing college at all, but she's getting more and more independent every year. She'll start driver's training in less than two years! 😳 She'll be starting high school next year. And we were just talking about how some places hire at 14, so she could technically get a job by next summer. Justin and I were talking about taking the kids out west now that they're old enough to handle road trips, and I realized that we only have a couple more summers with all three of them! It's so true that "the days are long but the years are short!"

7. On to memes:

Note to self: I have to remember to do this next week!

This one makes me laugh because just last Sunday our worship pastor was trying so hard to get us to move and/or clap while we sing. He underestimates our whiteness.

No one's actually sliding into my DMs and I don't even know what Palomas are, but I loved the rest of this. This is what I mean when I say life's too short to diet!