Summer Bucket List | The Last Couple Weeks of Summer

 Here we are two days into a new school year and I am a mixed bag of emotions. I found myself counting down the last few days of summer looking forward to routines, schedules, and alone time again. Now that it is here though, these have felt like long days too. haha It may have to do with the fact that Lyla misses having her buddy to play with every minute of the day and the last couple weeks of pregnancy feel like an absolute eternity. We'll all get there! 

At the beginning of the summer, we made a bucket list as a family of all the fun things we wanted to do together. Looking back at everything with a star, we did a lot and made so many fun memories! There were just a few things we didn't quite get to, like planting flowers from seeds and closet makeovers (having fun in the sun was more important than taking on home projects). Covid also began ramping up again in our community near the end of the summer so we have avoided indoor activities like the Children's Museum and Aquarium as much as possible. Looking at this list though, I can confidently say our kids most favorite thing we did this summer was stay at hotel for our trip to Washington. haha They talk about it ALL the time! 

Here's how we spent our last couple weeks of summer ...

Later bedtimes buried in stuffed animals. <3

Dressing up in our Sunday best and attending church a few times until we decided it was best to stay home again before baby comes ...

It's Lyla's wink and Liam's toothless grin for me ...

A weekly trip to the library to get new books until Lyla became obsessed with their play kitchen and put this fish in her mouth ...

A band performance in the living room featuring rockstar Liam (and his homemade guitar out of legos!), pop star yaya, and the Bubble Guppies! We were even given the most adorable handmade tickets to attend the concert.

They are the cutest! Sign me up for their world tour ...

We had family/maternity pictures taken in the Boise foothills one evening. The kids were so patient so I promised Liam he could explore the hillside when we were done. He ran into one too many bugs so it didn't last long. haha But look how handsome he looked!!

Our days grew more simple as I grew slower to keep up with them. haha Luckily the weather cooled a bit and we were able to go for more neighborhood bike rides to the mailbox and find tiny caterpillars on the driveway ...

She found a leaf for it to eat. <3 Also her cute cheeks covered in pink sidewalk chalk! She wanted me to trace the outline of her body and then rolled in it as she stood up. haha

They made an adorable chalk circle home for the caterpillar to "live in" with his leaves. 

A BIG bucket list item ... Liam read his first full chapter book this summer! A third grade reading level one too, we were so proud of him!

Lyla girl got her annual haircut before she starts another year of preschool in a couple weeks! She only wanted a trim but it still looks adorable on her ...

Cutest girl, cutest smile!

The kids have played a lot of balloon ball with leftover balloons from the baby shower that are still holding strong and have built many castles and towers with magnet blocks ...

Nic and I went on one last date night before baby comes (thanks mom!). We almost had another anniversary experience when we didn't make a restaurant reservation (because most aren't taking one right now) but it turns out that wasn't the case for the Melting Pot. We had to quickly change plans and got half price appetizers at the Yardhouse instead and it turned out to be a $12 date night instead of $100. Can't beat that! haha The company was pretty great too! ;)

On the last day of summer, I took them to the Boise River to collect a few rocks to bring home and paint!

We also checked off "trying a new ice cream place" on our bucket list and got Bite Me Bars to go. They were such a fun treat!

Now that Liam is back to school, she is my little sidekick all day. We stopped at Hobby Lobby to get some craft supplies for a take home gift for her birthday party and she was loving this kitty hat. She picked out an actual kitty stuffed animal instead though. ;)

Despite the heat while in my third trimester, it has been a gr summer! I've loved every moment and memory I've made with my people!