Goodbye Summer...

OK, when did summer come to an end?  Really, driving home from visiting our oldest at college this past weekend we saw leaves that were turning colors.  When did that start??  I know, I know, fall officially arrived on Saturday, but where did summer go?

by Megan Valder

Thankfully, when I look back at our summer bucket list I see a lot of checkmarks and only a few things we missed doing.  Even while being intentional, there are just not enough days to get it all done.  Making it even harder, our oldest daughter was only home for a short period of time and busy taking online classes even then.  I still feel the need to include her...she hasn't left the nest completely yet.  OH, yes, and add in our cross country move.  So it all did not get done.  Yet.

But looking at that list makes me smile as I remember the fun we had.  For several years now, we have tried as a family to be more intentional at collecting memories rather than collecting things.  And, yes, it does take being intentional.  Otherwise, time just seems to slip right past you.  At least for our family, it seems.  So this summer, we decided to break down our memories into smaller, bite sized packages than in the past...no Disney or ranch trips this year.

Instead we... 
splashed in pools across the US
giggled with friends we had not seen in years
played at water parks and museums
immersed ourselves in a new community and all it has to offer
saw four presidents, in rock, of course
got dizzy on roller coasters
and
made new friends along the way.

Not to worry, we may be winding down for a while until college girl returns, but we have not completely abandoned our list.  There is still that Mall of America to visit, more friends to see and the Laura Ingalls homestead nearby that I am determined to see!

But until then, our memories will be made a little more local...in between school and learning.  Luckily for us that produces memories all on its own!

Happy Fall Ya'll!
Blessings,