Monthly Musings: Late Summer Fashion And Fun

This summer, for us, is all about holding joy in one hand while holding heavy stuff in the other one (see my last paragraph below), so I'm happy to be linking up with with Holly at Pink Lady and Patty at Good, Better, Best for their "Monthly Musings." I need to remember some of the fun which summer has held so far.

 1) Summer travel -- where have you been and what trips are still coming up?

We just got home from an almost two week road trip to Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. We saw a bunch of baseball games (including one at Fenway Park!), we had fun in the ocean and in the mountains in New Hampshire, and we ate lobster in Maine. Road trips are not always easy but we made a lot of great memories!!!

Fenway Park 

Disc golfing in the mountains in New Hampshire

In the ocean in New Hampshire and eating lobster in Maine

 

Next up -- the kids are going to camp and Dave and I are travelling just the two of us!!!

2) Favourite things you have done so far this summer?

Two of my favourite things we did on our trip were going to a baseball game in Phillie with Emily and her family and doing a working lobster boat tour in Maine. We got to bait traps, push them overboard, band the lobsters, and so much more.

3) Share your go-to outfits this summer.

 A trip to the States is never complete without a trip to Target and I picked up the navy and white t-shirt below. I am also loving my distressed denim shorts and my red Toms. This is a pretty typical summer outfit for me. To give you a hint of my and Dave's upcoming trip, I will mostly be wearing t-shirts, capris, and hiking shoes!!!

4) Summer accessories you are never without?

I used to wear a lot of necklaces in the summer but the past few years I've moved away from them. I don't really have summer accessories right now.

5) Share your go-to shoes this summer.

I've been wearing my red Toms a lot, I've been wearing my hiking shoes, and other than that, I've been wearing my Sketchers.

6) Share anything spontaneous you did this summer. Big or small.

We had planned to spend a whole day in Boston on our road trip but, two days before that day, we changed our plans. There were a few reasons for that -- we needed a down day, the parking in Boston is insane, and it would have meant navigating Boston traffic with our car. Sometime, when we can take a train to Boston from New York City, we will plan to spend more time in the city. So we had to pivot and figure out what to do with a whole day in New Hampshire. Rachel has wanted to go horseback riding for a few years now and it turned out we were staying not far from some stables so...

...we spent an hour on horses. Sam didn't want to go so he stayed back. Dave and Rachel enjoyed their first time horseback riding!!! Then we went to the ocean and had a great afternoon!

On the way home, we stayed with my cousins in Ottawa. My cousin, Rob, spends a lot of Saturdays in summer racing his car and he invited us to come watch. And then, he invited us to join him for a race! So I strapped on my helmet and jumped in the passenger seat! It was super fun and not something I ever expected to do. And I would absolutely go again! Dave and I each had a turn and then we had to hit the road to head home or we would have stayed for a few more rides.

7) Have you seen any summer movies this year?

No, but we did watch the Home Run Derby -- does that count?!?!?!? We were so excited that Teoscar Hernandez (a former Blue Jay) won!!!

8) Favourite summer sweet treat?

Ice cream! I had some really good, really melty, ice cream in Maine last week! 

9) Summer slow down or ready for fall?

We didn't plan this summer very well. We just got back from a two week trip and we're getting ready to head out on another trip. I am looking forward to being home for a stretch of time after that before I have to go back to work, so I need summer to slow down. Although honestly, I had a momentary wish for cool enough weather to wear a sweatshirt and rake leaves the other day so take that for what it's worth :) 

10) Ready for back to school if you have kids in school?

Not at all! We've only been out for four weeks as of today and have five and a half weeks still before school starts. While Rachel did mention "back to school" shoes the other day, I buried my head in the (metaphorical) sand! Our focus this week has been getting the kids ready for camp and I'm not even ready for that!

Can I be honest with you for a moment here? This summer has also been hard. While there has been a lot of fun (with more to come), the death of our pastor and friend, has been so very hard. Their memorial is this coming weekend and I am still in disbelief, while simultaneously helping to prepare food to feed their family in between visitations. And then a couple of days ago we found out that a very good family friend of Dave's family died suddenly. So while I will continue blogging, please know that we could use your thoughts and prayers for the two families we know who are grieving unexpected losses. Thank you.