Coasting downhill ... can we put on the brakes?!

Seven glorious, school-less summer weeks are past already ... they evaporated, fleeting as quickly as water in Fresno heat. That imagery may be lost on those of you who don't live in Arizona or Fresno. I guess Texas might count, though the humidity probably slows the process of evaporation. I don't really know, actually, and I've definitely digressed.

The point, people, is that my jaw is dropping right this very moment as I am realizing that there are merely 3 weeks of summer va-cay left before we send our kidlets back to school. How can this be??

I mean (I'm not gonna lie) there is a teensy part of my heart that is drooling at the prospect of looking forward to a few quiet hours each day where I can write, menu-plan, clean, read, (dare-I-say nap on occasion?) without the guilt that I am not entertaining the littles. I'm actually feeling a bit of mom guilt for even writing that! Or that I will once again be able to grocery shop without FOUR kids hanging on the cart, throwing their heart's desires in willy-nilly and begging for "just one minute" stop in the toy section. (I fall for this every single time and it is never one minute.)

But most of my heart is sad. This is the first summer that I have really felt genuine regret at the nearing of the school year. Possibly it's because my children are older, more self-sufficient, more helpful and a LOT more fun to hang out with. Probably it's because they are sleeping in until 9:00 and therefore, so am I (at least on my two "off" running days.) Who can say? I just know that the days are numbered and I will miss these lovely, lazy days filled with my children home and safe and happy. And making cookies. (I have them trained, all right.)

Here are a couple photos to document our adventures of Monterey, Disneyland, and Newport Beach.