Amy Scott's Thoughts

The first half of July was fairly quiet for our family as Jeremy and I recovered from COVID. I’m so thankful to have that experience behind us. We have rejoined the world again!!! It’s been so nice to get out and about after being home for two weeks. Originally, I thought I would want to do a big outing on the first day I no longer had to take precautions after COVID. It turns out my desire for activity didn’t quite match my energy level, though. Instead of a big adventure, we spent our first weekend of freedom with family. It was a good way to ease back into socializing. We had dinner with Jeremy’s parents one night and dinner with my family the next. We are glad we don’t have to distance ourselves from them anymore.

This last week finally felt like what a normal summer week should be! We visited friends on Monday to meet their baby goats. We spent multiple afternoons in the pool and had two different sets of friends over to swim. We had a lake day with our homeschool co-op friends. To cap off the week, we did family photos with my dad’s entire extended family. After such a quiet start to July, I’ve deeply appreciated the time with friends and family. It was also fun to host pool playdates again. The weather has finally warmed enough that the kids can stay in the pool for more than a few minutes without chattering teeth.

The adventures of this last week have me all excited and hopeful for the latter half of our summer. I won’t lie. I’ve been disappointed with the first half. Between poor weather and illness, we haven’t had the summer of adventures I had hoped for. But I’m optimistic that it’s right around the corner. This week was a good kick-off to what I hope continues to be a summer full of fun! 🙏🤞

I can see the rain falling as I sit down beside my bedroom window to type. I’ve clicked the thermostat up a few times already today. I’m trying not cringe that the house still needs heating. The term June-uary is jokingly said here in the PNW to refer to a June that feels much more like a January. A chilly June isn’t unheard, but it’s still disappointing. My summer bucket list of outdoor adventures continues to be put on hold while I wait for opportune weather. Owen dramatically asked me, “Will it ever be warm enough to swim in pool?” I don’t know, kiddo!

Here are a few highlights from the last week. The boys wrapped up the activities needed to get a free book for the library summer reading program. Since I was disappointed the selection at the library, I purchased them books of their choosing as a reward. Owen selected the first book in The Boxcar Children series and Graham selected a reader. The boys used the money they earned from selling their train table and play kitchen to purchase new items. Owen went for a video game and Graham got a LEGO set. New books, games, and toys have come in handy as we rest at home and avoid the rain.

We continue to fiddle with how best to use the playroom. We kept it open and empty for a few days, but now we have a card table and some chairs in the space. The card table isn’t my ideal playroom furniture, but it works for now. Graham used the table to build his new LEGO set and Jeremy used it to sort his own LEGOs he might be interested in selling. Every so often, we do a purge and sell of old items. It’s a good practice. It clears out space and gives us some fun money in return. I’m all for the playroom table being covered in LEGOs instead of the dining room table!

We were able to attend a reunion for Jeremy’s family on Sunday. It was good to see many familiar faces we haven’t seen in the last few years due to the pandemic and meet a few new faces as well. Jeremy let his parents borrow an inflatable from the church and the kids had a blast bouncing the afternoon away with the cousins. It was a chilly gathering, but thankfully, it only misted on us for a short time at the start.

Yesterday, I went to a potluck for our homeschool co-op to discuss plans for next school year. I brought pumpkin muffins because I still have pumpkin in my pantry that needs to be used and the weather seriously feels like fall. I’m just embracing the chilly vibes with my pumpkin roll scented Scenty warmers and pumpkin spice muffins. Summer might be the favorite season of many, but I’m always looking forward to fall. I might have gotten a jump start on longing for fall. Oops!

I do realize that summer hasn’t officially started (13 days to go). I’ve always viewed the beginning of June as the start of summer, though. Wrapping up our school year in May gave me high hopes of enjoying some special summer moments before the rest of the PNW was on summer break, but no such luck. Oh well. I might be mad at the rain for keeping my summer plans on hold, but I’m also okay with the cozy vibes inside – books to read and muffins to munch on while wrapped in a blanket. Not a bad trade off. I guess I’ll survive this June-uary just fine.