Why This Summer Was The Best One Yet

September 1 unofficially marks the end of summer. It’s time to bring out the jackets, close toed shoes and pack away the shorts and bathing suits.

Yesterday Megan at Simple Kids encouraged her readers to reflect on this past summer.

What was memorable about this summer for your family?  What were the sweet moments? What was difficult or challenging?   In what ways have your children grown?  How have you grown as a person?

These are all great things to think of as summer draws to an end. I’ve been thinking a bit about this myself and here’s what I’ve come up with.

All the awesomeness from this summer

• Family reunion. My Aunt and Uncle hosted a family reunion this summer for my dad’s side of the family. There were 40+ people there, a few of them we hadn’t seen since Gwynn and I were married (12 years ago!).
• Trip out West for our eldest son’s heart surgery. This was his first flight and he loved it.
• Many BBQs in the backyard.
• Our eldest son turned 2 years old.
• Our youngest son started to crawl.
• Multiple trips to the zoo. Always a hit.
• We saw the most amazing meteor ever.
• Planted our first veggie patch. We have corn and a ton of tomatoes. We also have 2 strawberry plants that produced a whole 4 fruit. They were so tasty.
• Held a garage sale and sold quite a few of the treasures we had been harbouring for years. We donated the items that didn’t sell to the local food bank who in turn transport the stuff to northern communities that need it.
• Made it out to the lake. It was our youngest son’s first trip out there. He had his first boat ride but was a little unsure about it.
• Puttered around the yard A LOT. There seems to always be weeds to pull, plants to prune and grass to rake. There was a lot of learning about our yard this year and there are many plans for next year.
• Celebrated our nephew’s first birthday.
• Made frequent visits to the park.
• Walked nearly every morning while pulling the boys in their red wagon. They love this!
• We threw a retirement party for my dad. Hard to believe he’s retired…but he’s loving it.
• I spent a lovely afternoon with my niece strawberry picking and at the petting zoo. It was awesome.

Things we wanted to do but didn’t

• Take the boys camping.
• Spend more time at the lake.
• Nature walk near the lake.
• Fish. (Not once this year!)
• Read more.

Things we wanted to do but didn’t – certainly aren’t regrets. The things we did do and the highlights of our summer indicate that it was a summer well spent. We are thankful for all we accomplished, all the laughs and good times with family and friends. That alone makes this summer pretty awesome.

As fall draws near this is a great time to look back at the past 3 months or so and see how you’ve grown, how your family has grown and what you’ve learned.

What have you done this summer that made it awesome? What did you want to do but didn’t?

See also:

Do You See What I See?

A Personal Mid-Year Review: How Are YOU Doing?

Create A Great Outdoor Space

Kick-Off To Summer BBQ

Photo courtesy of: Sherri