What's Up Wednesday: July 2025

I realize it's not yet the last Wednesday of the month but, if you follow me on Instagram, you will see that we left for our summer vacation a few days ago. Unlike last time we travelled to Europe, I left my computer at home this time. So, I thought I'd answer these questions for July today. Here's what was up with us the first weeks of July.

Answering these questions monthly helps me reflect on the past month and I really appreciate having a record of what we've been up to. I actually wanted to document July 2025 before vacation which is why I'm answering these today. The questions come from Shay at Mix and Match Mama and Sheaffer at Sheaffer Told Me Too.

image from here

 

What we're eating this week... Honestly, the past week of eating has been... not great. It was super hot, I didn't feel great, and we ate very randomly. There were not a lot of fruits and vegetables happening. However, I did eat an amazing charcuterie picnic when we visited the lavender farm with Tim & Janice. It even had edible flowers!!!

This past week the raspberries in our yard started ripening so every couple of days I would go out and pick a few handfuls. My favourites are the yellow-orange ones! Yum!!!

 

 

What I'm reminiscing about... As much as I am really enjoying having teenagers, I have been reminiscing about summers when the kids were younger. I see the "empty nest" years barrelling down on us. The saying, "The days are long but the years are short" is very true. I can't believe it was just a few years ago that I had toddlers and preschoolers. Or was working in the summer and needed to juggle childcare. I am so thankful I have the bulk of the summer off to spend with the kids. More realistically, this summer, it's been spending time with the kids in the car as I ferry them to their various activities!

What I'm loving... I am loving having time to leisurely drink my coffee-hot chocolate and blog in the yard, most days. This is exactly where this post is being written :) I am also loving that we've had time to connect with some friends who live out of town this summer. Our weekends are so full during the school year that we don't really get a lot of time to visit with them.

 

 

What we've been up to... We've been up to a lot!

We started July with some good friends at a Jays' game on Canada Day. The Jays won which made it even more exciting!

We met up with Dave's parents for lunch, a visit, and a walk.

 

We visited Lake Erie on one of the hottest days of the summer and loved the chance to cool off!

The kids and I did some volunteering at church the week before VBS, and then Sam volunteered in the kitchen the whole week of VBS while Rachel was volunteering at dance camp.

As I mentioned above, Tim, Janice, Dave, and I enjoyed a charcuterie picnic at a lavender farm and it was an absolutely magical evening!!!

We went to a beach on Lake Huron with friends and enjoyed another afternoon in the water!

The last of my lilies bloomed! I so enjoyed going out to check on them every day.

Auntie Janice crocheted a "downstairs blanket" for Rachel and she has been enjoying it immensely!

There's been time for some creative projects. And housecleaning :)

And we took in another Blue Jays game last weekend. It was a night game, which we rarely get a chance to go to, and so much fun!

 

What I'm dreading... Well, at this point, I'm not dreading anything. Maybe jet lag and all the yard work which will await us when we get back.

What I'm working on... We've been working on biking more. Sam, especially, enjoys it so we've tried to bike a few places, rather than always walking (my preferred method of transportation!).

  

What I'm excited about... The Blue Jays are in first place in the AL East and have been playing some amazing baseball in July! I'm sooooo excited about that!!!

Photo from July 3 when they tied for first with the Yankees. As of today (Monday, July 21), they are three games ahead of the second place Yankees. 

What I'm watching/reading... To no one's surprise, I've been watching Blue Jays baseball. I am seriously going to miss my baseball fix while we're on vacation, but you can bet that I will be checking my MLB app daily! Hahaha!

 

As for what I've been reading, you can read my "first half of July reading" post here. Sadly, my summer reading hasn't been as prolific as I'd hoped.

What I'm listening to... I'm not really listening to much of anything these days. Birds in our back yard, Dave on work meetings, Rachel listening to Taylor Swift -- that's been the background noise of my summer.

 

What I'm wearing... Both of the baseball games we went to this month had replica jersey giveaways. We got the Canada Day red jersey and the City Connect jersey. So I'm excited to have new jerseys to wear to games!!! (I never buy the real ones -- I think they're way too expensive.) 

 

What I'm doing this weekend... This weekend we'll be on vacation! I'm excited because I get to (briefly) visit a country I've never been to!!! I'll also be relaxing a lot because... vacation :)

What I'm looking forward to next month... After we get back from vacation, Rachel has a big event coming up that I'm excited about. My parents will be visiting for a bit, and then I'll be headed back to work (boo). By next What's Up Wednesday, I'll probably be looking forward to getting back into a routine, but for now, I'm enjoying my (mostly) schedule free days.

 

So that's what was up with us in July -- a lot of finding fun things to do around us, a lot of baseball, and a lot of enjoying summer. Happy Wednesday! I have one more blog post scheduled for tomorrow and then I'll be taking a blogging break until we get back. You can catch me on Instagram at "tashajk72" if you want to follow along on our trip in real time.