Goodbye Summer!

Summer hasn't really meant much to me since I graduated from college and started working. It was just like any other season as far as I was concerned. Sure, it was hotter and the days were longer and I was able to enjoy more outdoor activities, but because I had a full-time job I never got the summers "off".

Over the last couple months, I've realized just how awesome summer really can be! This was my first summer at home and I had some really, really good times, especially with Kylee. Kylee and I got into a really good "routine". Here's what our days typically looked like:

• Wake up.
• Go for a run. Well, I would run, pushing Tyler in the stroller. Kylee would ride her bike.

• Eat breakfast.
• Get ready for the day. While I showered and got myself ready, Kylee would get dressed, brush her teeth, make her bed, and make sure her room was picked up (which basically meant put her pajamas away - since she has a play room her room doesn't ever get messy).
• Do a chore. Every day would be something different - folding laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, dusting, cleaning the kitchen floors, etc. Kylee and I always worked together on one job. She usually was happy to help, but informed me more than once that she doesn't like folding laundry. I told her neither do I :-)
• Work on "letters". At the beginning of the summer, Kylee worked on her Kindergarten Readiness Workbook that she got at kindergarten orientation. After she completed that workbook, we moved onto a handwriting notebook. She practices each letter and then spells words with that letter in it. We also work on the sounds that each letter makes and I have her sound out the practice words. I love that she is able to read some of them on her own! And I'm super impressed with how good her handwriting has gotten this summer.

• Do something fun. This could be anything from having a friend over to going to the pool to having a family adventure (like Jump Creek or picking berries). Tuesdays were my favorite - library day! We would get new books, get Kylee's reward for working on her daily reading log or activity/reading bingo, and participate in the program that the library offered each Tuesday.

With Kylee starting school on Monday, I'm really going to miss all of this! I am glad that she will be home with me half of the day, and I'm sure we'll get into a good new routine, but I am already thinking of things I wish we had taken the time to do this summer and adding them to our list for next summer!

And one more random picture. Kylee has "tie" shoes for school this year. I've been trying to teach her how to tie & we've been trying to practice each day the last couple weeks. She almost has it!