ready to move on

It's the night before the first day of school and the boys are in bed by 7:30 - though they are giggling and bouncing and being so silly that I wonder "what's the point?"! But tomorrow they will get up early, don nice collared shirts (my battle of choice!), and start their academic year in good form.

Despite it being my youngest's first day of school ever, I don't think I will cry - I try to abide by the philosophy I share with Hamp when he cries because a playdate is finished: don't be sad that it's over, be glad that it happened - and I feel so glad indeed that this summer happened! Quite frankly, I am not sad that it is over because I don't think I have the stamina to keep this up any longer. In fact, I reviewed the past 3 months to try and get a more concrete idea (aka a list! oooh, I love lists!) of what I felt was a very fun, social, busy, and exciting summer. It's overwhelming to consider:

102 days of summer = 

• picnics
• camping
• biking (and one cactus incident!)
• swimming
• playdates at the park
• concerts on the lawn
• movies under the stars
• an air show
• swim lessons
• basketball camp
• soccer games
• golf
• a week at the beach
• a week in the forest
• a weekend in California
• visits from friends and family
• backyard barbecues
• sleepovers
• playdates with literally dozens of fun friends, all summer long! 

So as the temps drop into the low 50s at night and cool breezes require a sweatshirt with my morning coffee; and while the leaves are already starting to subtly change to a more yellowy-green and deer sightings in town are more and more frequent; I remain so grateful for our friends and family who made this summer a fantastic and memorable one! But I also feel such excitement for the autumn months to come and all the adventures they have in store for Hamp & Sam!

p.s. 8:00 and the boys are OUT!