Moore Minutes: Living Free under the never ending sun: Our summer in summary 2013

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Living Free under the never ending sun: Our summer in summary 2013

From sprawling our limbs out wide beneath the sun rays,

spraying water for play to cool off,

running carefree and shoeless down neighborhood roads,

to lil licks on ice cream cones,

hiking to the places where nature sings,

and weekend roadtrip adventures,

...this is a sunkissed summer.

Every year I wrap up the summer season with one GIANT-sized blog post, capturing our moments of carefree freedom under the sun. I started this year's with a WATER FUN post earlier this week.

Kicking it off classic:
summertime shakes at Sonic!

Summer chalkboard message!

This summer was less planned and more low key. Though other summers have been more exciting, this one still had a collection of moments to tuck away into those forever spots of our souls.

The twin paintings Chris and I painted on our paint date

last spring were perfectly fitted for summer decor!

Most days were left wide open, with only the boys' imaginations to guide them! And most days, I would find my boys outside, looking like this. They would prepare backpacks and be off and away on their boyhood outdoor adventures.

They are SUCH BOYS, exploring the summer world by towing pet snakes in wagons, digging ditches and forts, pretending to be detectives, and learning new tricks.

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The boys taught me how to ride a longboard this year!
VIDEO below:

Other days, I would make mellow time and we would spread out creativity over our kitchen table.

A rock painting kit from my mom...O yes.

Our dear neighbor gave the boys birdhouses to paint...we delivered the finished houses to her with balloons as a "get well hospital" wish! The boys were SO creative with their paint designs. Love that.

Mellow boys

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Also, remember our summer journals we started at the beginning of the season? This was one of our summer fun activities! Instead of getting to go pick out a treat for themselves, we FLIPPED it around a bit. Each boy drew a name and had a 5 dollar bill to spend on his brother. I sent them into Walgreens to try to complete their mission without being spotted by each other. They had so much fun choosing treats for someone else!

Each boy had a "mom and me" day, as another element of our "summer fun journal" project this year. On Cameron's special day, I surprised him with a visit to the pet ID engraving station at Wal Mart. (Chris and I have done this exact thing for a frugal date before) I told Cameron he could pick any ID design he wanted, write whatever he wanted, and make an ID chain! It is a very inexpensive and different way to have fun with kids! He had his name engraved with the phrase, "we are here for love" underneath it. This Mama was happy with his chain! ;)

We took a road trip and visited family in Arizona over 4th of July this year!

Cousins!

My Grandma on the 4th with the boys!

We had a lot of gathering time with friends over this cluster of summer months...

Our friends hosted their annual Western BBQ dinner with Bluegrass music. The spirit of this night was dreamy.

Notice Titus sitting captivated as close as he can get to the band.

Our annual Neighborhood Block Party...coolest neighborhood of all the blocks!

Keeping generational traditions with VBS week at a quaint lil old church out in the country.

Our family thrives on weekend getaways and we did plenty of those this summer.

Check in...Check out!

One of the best parts of exploring new places, is exploring new places to dine.

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Chris and I were able to tip toe away for a weekend without the kids to watch one of our best friends compete in a bodybuilding show.

We also got to be at the FINISH LIFE of the big US ROAD BIKE race: Tour de Colorado in Ft. Collins. The energy there was incredible! I was so inspired by those incredible athletes!

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While we were away on our city date weekend, my AWESOME brother took our boys out camping!

Best.Uncle.Ever.

Gone Country...

This summer, we watched a few rodeos. While in Arizona, we went to the famous "World's Oldest Rodeo".

We also spent a summer night watching a local one too.

We scattered a few hikes throughout our days...

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and runs...

and nature walks...

Sometimes too much hiking in the thin mountain air makes us silly.

A tiny country town nearby offers movies under the stars nights. Magic happens when you put the big movie screen outside, in the country with hayrides, under the starry nights.