Life

(Bitter)Sweet Summertime

When it gets to this point in the summer, when I have about one month left before the school year starts back up, I really get to thinking about making the absolute best of the rest of my time off. This is especially true since having Morgan in my life. I start thinking, I have had a relaxing summer break, but has Morgan enjoyed his summer as much as I have? What else can I do to make sure I feel like an accomplished mama by the time summer is over?

My social media (Facebook & Instagram) fast has helped me focus on Morgan a lot more lately. I have been taking pictures still, but focusing less on posting those moments and more on being present in those moments. Since I still want to “share” those pictures and remember the stories behind them, right here on my blog is the perfect place for them. Of course, the whole point of a blog is for people to visit your site, but mostly I want this to be a place I can come back to to remember the days of my life. Like a tech scrapbook!

A couple weeks ago was when I began my fast, and so began more Morgan-oriented activities! He has been loving a park playground at the town next to ours, so I asked my mom to come along one day and we walked on a nature trail before letting M play on the playset. By the time he was done playing, it was lunchtime so we went to the local coffee shop for lunch + lattes. Morgan loved his toasted PB&J w/ a lemonade sparkler!

Play Hard, Work Hard

The next day, I loaded up all of Morgan’s machinery in the back of the truck and we headed towards The Land! Brett has been cleaning up the trees on the land we will be building our forever home on. We have done this a few times now, where we load up the truck with a blanket and snacks and set up to watch him work! Morgan enjoys working, too.

Free, Family Fun

Here’s a side note: I used to feel guilty that I didn’t take Morgan often to places like Wonderscope that isn’t exactly close and also costs money, until I realized how much fun he has experiencing things right where we live. I am not against faraway experiences that cost money, in fact, I will tell later about our trip to SeaLife KC!

Going to the park, visiting The Land, and spending time with family are all things that are not only free, but wholesome, good fun. The park can spark critical thinking just like Wonderscope can, going to The Land creates memories, and spending time with family +friends? There is nothing better.

So, only a few days later it was back to the park for M and me, but this time he insisted he bring his “dirtbike.” I am so glad he wanted to bring the balance bike because he loved having a long sidewalk to ride it down!

After the park, we headed to Grandma & Poppie’s where my parents worked on cleaning up a fallen tree. My dad was using the loader, so of course Morgan enjoyed watching him work! While he wasn’t watching Grandpa, he was picking tomatoes with Grandma, watering plants, and checking the corn with Nana!

Morgan also got a surprise from his Great Papa this day – a new ride-on dump truck! He has loved both riding on and “working” on his dump truck and it truly is a super-cool toy.

Breakfast + Bunnies

We hosted Grandma & Poppie for breakfast the next morning where Morgan took the opportunity to show off his new dump truck as well as his chickens!

Later that evening, M and I headed to the county fair to watch one of my former students show her bunnies. Morgan loved seeing her bunnies last year and so I knew he would love it even more this year. It was really hot, so she let him spritz the bunnies with a spray bottle, which he couldn’t get enough of. We are very excited to have bunnies of our own someday!

SeaLife KC

Last summer, I took Morgan to SeaLife KC but he wasn’t quite old enough to enjoy it. So I invited my mom along so he could experience it again!

His face lit up when he saw the fish (even if they were just fish that are seen in lakes around here) and already I felt like I had won the day! He became more and more excited as we went on to the point he was running ahead of us to see more sharks. He couldn’t get enough! we even got the chance to touch some starfish, but M was too afraid to tough the spider crab. I have noticed he has a small fear of spiders. I think his favorite thing to see were the stingrays!

A Day of Rest (& Snuggles)

M had come down with a bug the day before and it had carried over into the next morning, so this day became a day of rest. We were very sad to have to cancel our playdate with our friends! Shepherd needed snuggles, too, as he also had a sour stomach. We camped out in the living room with towels, blankets, pillows, and hot tea!

Starting the Week Off Right

I always look forward to Mondays, as they are my most productive day of the week! I always order my groceries on Sunday night and then M and I pick them up the next morning. I made the pickup time a little later than usual so we could stop by the park and play a little first. We even met up with our friends while we were there!