Last weekend we squeezed in one last trip for the summer, spending Labor Day weekend with family down at my dad and stepmom’s place in southern Oregon. Those first two pictures were taken in their garden (and the last three were taken on a stop on our way home.) We couldn’t believe how many tiny frogs were all over the garden, it was such a delight to see.

The grandparents never cease to amaze with the many, many fun things they have set up for the grandkids to do while they are there. We got to visit great-grandparents, celebrate birthdays (mine and my stepsisters’, our September birthdays are a few weeks apart so we’re referred to as the “step twins”), enjoy lots of delicious meals, and just have lots of family time. I got to meet my new nephew! Getting to meet two new nephews this summer makes me feel quite lucky!

On the drive home on Monday, we decided to take a different route and make a fun stop along the way. We went to the Butterfly Pavilion in Elkton, where we saw Monarch butterflies and Painted Lady butterflies. We hadn’t been there in years, and the boy had been requesting for us to return. It felt good to stretch our legs, and in a beautiful setting while we were at it. B slept quite well when we got home that night, exhausted from nonstop running around with his cousins all weekend.

This last week our school year activities started back up and I snapped a picture of the boy before we left for our homeschool co-op meet up, thinking to myself “I can’t believe he’s in third grade now!” Crazy how fast time flies with our kids, isn’t it? A focus of mine, as we delve into a new school year, is to be mindful not to over-schedule us, which I’ve had a tendency to do in the past. It’s challenging not to, when there are so many opportunities I want to say yes to, but self-care is a priority and finding the right balance for our schedule is an important part of that.

I hope you’re having a wonderful start to your September!