Thursday 13 - things about the end of summer

Our summer officially ends next week. The kids head back to school bright and early Tuesday morning.

13 things I will miss about summer, especially this summer:
1. sleeping in - I am afraid that getting up at 6:00 am again is going to be quite a shock!

2. lazy days - I enjoy not having to be somewhere all the time in the summer time. It seems that there are so many demands on our time during the school year. Though in a way I also look forward to having a little more structure in our life.


3. Camping - Even though we only went camping once this year it was a lot of fun. I hope to be able to go more often next summer.

4. blogfest - This summer was especially exciting. Not only was I able to go to Utah and see my family, but I was also able to meet some very special blog friends. That will always be a special memory to me. I hope to be able to have more opportunities to do it again in the future.


5. My kids - Of course I will miss my kids. I do enjoy the break that we all get from eachother during school, but it is hard to see my kiddos getting so grown up. Part of me wants to keep them young forever while another part of me is excited for them and the many opportunities and blessings in life that await them.

6. Having an extra set of hands to help with Megan. Not that Megan is really much work anymore, especially now that she is potty trained. It has been nice to be able to get help from the big kids when I do need it. Kaylynn is especially helpful. They are great at keeping her entertained and playing with her while I am showering or reading or playing on the computer whatever.

7. Green grass - usually this time of year our lawn is more brown than green, but with all the rain lately we still have nice green grass. Yay!

8. Sleeping with the window open - We don't have central air in our house. We have a window air conditioner in our kitchen window. Sleeping with the window open is not only necessary to get some air in our room, but also something I enjoy. Someday I will have a house with central air!

9. Edward (he has his own wikipedia page! It is full of spoilers though if you haven't read the books yet) - This was the summer I met Edward, oh and Bella and Jacob too. I've finished all three books in the Twilight series, now all I can do is wait...wait until next year when the next book in the series comes out.

10. Did I mention sleeping in?

11. Warm weather - I don't care for the 100 degree weather in summer, but come January I will probably long for it!

12. The sun setting later. I don't like how the sun sets so early in the winter.

13. My garden.

13 things I am looking forward to with the end of summer/start of school:
1. Lunch dates with my husband. During the school year my husband and I try to get together two or three times a month for lunch. I have really come to enjoy these times together. Until Megan is in school she comes with us.


2. A break - I really feel that our kids need the break from me as well as eachother as much as I do from them.

3. Alone time with Megan. This is my last year having Megan all to myself. Next year she will start preschool.


4. Going back to the gym. I've been very neglectful in my exercising during the summer. The only time I could go to the gym was at 5:30 in the morning and that just wasn't going to happen!

5. The start of fall. Though I dread what is inevitable (namely snow and bitter cold temps) I do enjoy the refreshingly cooler temperatures of fall and the smell in the air that comes during fall. I love the changing seasons, though I could do without some of the extremes (100's in the summer and -20 or worse wind chills in the winter).


6. School supplies - I am one of those people that just loves going into office supply stores. I love the smell and for some reason I just love to buy new pens, pencils, papers and notebooks.

7. Getting closer to the end of allergy season. I don't have real bad allergies, but usually this time of year they start to get me real good. My nose has been stuffed up for days and my eyes, ears, nose and throat are so itchy! Often I end up with a sinus infection to boot.

8. Visiting teaching without all my children. I feel bad taking all four of my kids with me when I go visiting teaching but sometimes it is unavoidable.

9. Soon I won't have to mow the lawn anymore.

10. Keeping the house a little cleaner. With fewer kids home all day the house will stay cleaner!

11. No more Calliou. My kids have been watching PBS in the mornings lately. I can't stand Calliou.

12. No more missing the garbage man. If I'm not sleeping in until 8:00 I can't miss the garbage man at 7:00 like I did this morning.

13. Peaches - Every fall I get a couple of boxes of peaches from Utah and I can peaches with my good friend Kendra. The truck comes early this year, it will be here tomorrow. So next week I will once again be up to my arm pits in peach pits, or up to my arms in peach pits.