What we did on our summer vacation…

Last summer I scheduled our summer to the umpteenth degree…it was a great summer but it felt very structured & busy. This past summer, I decided we would not do the same thing. I wanted to just take things as they came. It didn’t feel any less busy but it was equally as enjoyable!

The summer actually started out with me doing a couple of things on my own, sans Elena. My best friend turned 40 this year. Our original plan was to have a weekend away. Her husband took their boys to his parents for the weekend & my mom looked after Elena. When we realized her house would be empty we decided to just stay home & watch a movie, party animals that we are, hahaha! We did go out for pedicures & a nice dinner. The following week I tagged along with another friend & her husband for a lovely evening of a movie in a vineyard! The movie was Top Gun! How could I pass that up?!? Elena was sorely disappointed not to get to come so that weekend I took her to the movies for her second time to see Inside & Out. What a great movie!

I signed Elena up for a summer dance class. She had been begging to take ballet for the past year. I found this great studio run by an old high school class mate. I thought this 8 week class would be a great introduction to test Elena’s interest. Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough people sign up for the ballet class & had to cancel it. They did offer an acro class instead & I figured, “Why not?” Elena enjoyed it but after every class, when I asked if she had fun her response was always, “Yes, but we didn’t do ballet.” The good news is she is starting their ballet class in September. I hope it lives up to all her expectations. If nothing else, she looks absolutely precious in her tutu.

Another thing Elena was talking about was Thomas the Tank Engine. We went to Day Out with Thomas last summer & she was hoping we would go again. I said no at first but the more I thought about it, the more I reasoned that she’d have no interest in these sort of events soon enough so why not go while she is interested. I bought tickets but didn’t tell Elena & surprised her. It was a great day!!

Elena also played her 1^st season of soccer. She really enjoyed herself…most of the time. I think the thing she liked most were the snacks at the end!! She is also proud to mention that she’s scored FOUR goals in her whole life!!

When Elena heard about the pedicures my friend & I got...well, she of course wanted to go too. When we both visited again, we made sure to go. What fun it was!

The rest of our weekends were spent swimming in my aunt’s pool. Technically it belongs to the community she leaves in but since we were often the only ones there, it felt like our pool! Elena has become quite the little mermaid! She can just about swim the length of the pool unassisted. We spend most of our time in the pool in the deep end now where she is perfecting her somersaults, both backwards & forwards! It was four years ago, when Elena was just 4 months old, that I took her into my aunt’s pool for the 1^st time. I am so proud of how far she’s come! She’s back in swim lessons starting in September. I wonder if she’ll be able to pass the swim test before she turns 5 in March!!

All in all, it was a perfect summer. Elena’s last summer before entering public school. Oh the emotions that are brought up with that statement! But that deserves a post of its own!