The First Half of our Summer

I was worried about the first half of the summer.  The second half is full of plans and I know we will be busy (hopefully) having fun, but when the boys broke up from school in July the first three weeks were looking bare in the planner and I worried that I should have organised a bit more.  Halfway through now I am wondering whether what we should have scheduled in was more downtime.  We have had plenty of days out, lots of late nights at the beach, playdates with friends and camping adventures in the garden.  We have done so much close to home in the first three weeks that I think all six of us are pretty tired!

It is so easy to fill these six weeks in some ways and the warm weather makes it much cheaper than the other holidays with days at the beach and the park, picnics and playdates but I need to remember sometimes that you don't have to do much to have a great time.  Some of our favourite memories so far are from the times we were doing nothing.  Reading books together in bed, snuggling on the sofa watching a film and having bbqs in the back garden.  Our evenings at the beach when we venture down after dinner as it starts getting cooler will always be one of my favourite things.  Letting the last of the days energy out, jumping in the waves and making the most of the empty sand.  

Watching you all growing together, becoming closer but at the same time squabbling more than ever is a privilege. I see your relationships changing as you get used to each other full time again and I know that it is the downtime that does it, not the busy days out.  The next three weeks are full of adventures and I am so excited for them all, but I wanted to share a few photos from the last three weeks.  These aren't days I have blogged about, they are just little snapshots of our days that I don't want to forget.  My crazy tribe of children just being.