Summer Plans

First day of summer vacation, and here we are, still in our pj's in what some would say is early afternoon, but I prefer to call it late morning.

It was a strange week, a whirlwind of crazy-busy, interspersed with stretches of downtime that I didn't quite know what to do with. (Attempted a nap one day, but unless I'm sick, I can't ever fall asleep.)

And it was a wonderful week. Wednesday was Lily's promotion ceremony out of 5th grade.  Lots of smiles and hugs and high-fives all around. (But no tears!)

She was delighted with that candy bouquet.

Yesterday was the last day of school: Lily went to her class pool party, and by all accounts it was awesome. Listening to the DJ playing Taylor Swift and knowing my girl was down there screaming along to "Trouble," was the one moment of the week I got a little misty and sentimental.  So begins the point in her life when most of her best memories and good times will be spent away from us, and with her own crew. 

*Sniff.*

On the last day of school, just like last year, I had end-of-the-school-year gift bags for the kids when they got home. Inside were new boogie boards and pool toys, along with some gift cards for ice cream and Jamba Juice and boredom-busting books.  Yes, I spoil them.  On the other hand, I like to reward them for a good year --- Tucker came home with a perfect report card, and Lily was recognized at her ceremony with the President's Award, for making the Honor Roll throughout 4th and 5th grades. (And yes, I'm bragging, I know.) 

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So now what?  We're ultra-lazy on this Friday, but that's certainly not my intent for the whole summer. There is the pool. There is the beach, 45 minutes away. There are Disneyland passes that must be justified. There are free movies and play dates and the library's summer program and so forth.  My husband, who works from home, is dreading the next 9 weeks -- it's distracting having the kids home all day, and it just makes him feel bad -- we're free to spend the day as we please, and he's locked up in his office, typing away.

One new routine I hope to implement is attending our city's free summer concert series, that happen mid-week through August. Although we've lived here for nearly a decade, we've never attended a single concert (okay, maybe one).  I want to change that up -- pack a picnic or grab some take-out, and enjoy being out and about on a warm evening with live music (even if it's just a Journey cover band).  Maybe it'll make the husband feel a little more in the summer spirit, too.

And though I already don't post that often, expect me to be more absent on the blog.There will be other lazy days like this one, but overall I really don't want this to be the summer of jammies-till-noon.

But I invite you to follow my Instagram feed. I've been one of the last 10 bloggers on the planet to join, and I'm enjoying it -- it's like reading blogs behind-the-scenes and gives my Harriet the Spy personality a little thrill.  I've been posting a pic pretty much daily, and if you followed, you could see the awesome way I spent my downtime at the end of Wednesday.

It was just me and some old records that I recently carted home from my mom's house:

 Grease is the word.

Sauvecito memories. (I recall a New Year's Eve party when I was maybe 5 years old, and this was on the turntable.)

Anyway, I invite you to join along with my feed, via this link, or the Instagram camera button on my sidebar. You can indulge your own Harriet the Spy, voyeuristic tendencies, and see what I'm up to and where I've been. For instance, in a couple days we're going to be hanging out near where the President is spending the weekend.

I don't expect to be sharing any Obama pics, but who knows?