Oh my this last week was GLORIOUS!!!

It was HOT, sunny, blue and WONDERFUL!!

We have waited a long, long time for anything that even resembled spring – but the Lord blessed us with summer instead!

Monday morning was the first day of our “summer schedule.”

Our rhythm for this summer will be school like activities from 9-10:30 on Monday through Wednesday, learning new chores, and keeping up with our piano practice and lessons.

The kiddos started out last Monday with new chores to learn.

I change up the chores every summer to help with motivation and so that they all can learn many things that need done in our home.

The best part about doing this, for me anyway, was watching them teach each other their chores!

It was so sweet to watch them interact that way!

I am choosing all kinds of things for our morning school time on Monday through Wednesday, but I am also leaving enough time to read aloud to Tate and Eliza and to work on their piano practice with them.

Lane has been working on his own – with things that we chose with him for him to do.

It has been fun!

As a matter of fact, Eliza asked me last night before going to bed, “Are we going to do that fun school again this week?”

She is so cute.

Because I have a lot more free time with our summer rhythm as well, I have been enjoying trying new recipes and planning the garden.

We have had fun in the kitchen this week!

We have taken a shift in our food choices – from soup and comfort foods – to smoothies, fresh fruits and veggies, and salads.

My menu planning this week looked like this – my favorite kind of book to read is a cookbook!!

I’m sure you know I have had good helpers in the kitchen again this week too!!

We were blessed to have Chad home most of the day Wednesday!

He brings a lot of fun for his siblings when he is here!

Thursday morning Lane started mowing our land for the first time this year.

He came in SO sweaty and covered in grass!

When he took a break we headed to Deep Rooted, which is my favorite garden greenhouse in our area!

We have a plan for the garden and had ordered all of the seeds we need on line.

Then on Thursday we got all of the plants we need at Deep Rooted.

After we finished up at the green house we went to Kay’s and stole two cute boys!

They had a blast spending the afternoon with us, and they all got in the pool for the first time.

The pool wasn’t all the way clean, the ladder was locked shut and we didn’t remember the code to open it, and there were no floaties blown up yet…but they did not care!

I threw them over the side, literally, and they were in there forever!!

It was SO hot on Thursday – in the 90’s!!

Blake brought home all of the new dirt we needed for the garden on Thursday evening.

He also brought the wood to build a grid on the garden because we are trying a square foot garden this year and are following the directions for it from a book I have!

Chad helped put the grid on the garden bed on Sunday.

The other garden bed is going to be full of cut flowers this year.

I will have to take photos of the finished grid and the garden after it is planted!

Friday mornings I head out around 5:45 a.m. to go to town (which is 45 minutes away) to get grocery and run errands.

It is a great time of day to shop because no one else is in the store!!

This Friday after I returned home I was blessed to have three grand babies in my care for the rest of the day!

Blake and I took a much, much needed pause on Friday night and had a date!

We ran a few errands and then sat at the river watching the sunset so we could talk about many things that needed talked about!

It is harder than ever to connect these days – and that is why date night is a MUST!

I would go anywhere with my guy anyway, but the sunset by the river and then dinner just the two of us once we were home was a pretty great night.

Saturday started early as it was the day to stain and seal all of the hardwood floors at Grant’s new house.

Blake and Grant were going to do the job.

They watched a You Tube video first, and then headed down to get after it.

The floors are AMAZING and these photos just don’t do them justice.

Now we can’t be in his house for seven days, but then it will be time to help Grant paint!

On Saturday everyone else was at work, including Lane who had went to work with Chad.

Tate, Eliza and I got after our work here so we could GET OUTSIDE!!

It was another GORGEOUS day!!

Blake and Grant came and went as they waited in between coats on the floors, so Blake opened the pool for us!

Soon Lane was back and joined us too!

I might have one million photos of the sun and blue sky from this past week!

Saturday the sky was so breathtaking!!!

Can you believe those trees???

Look at this photo from last week, and then the one from this week!

Isn’t that crazy?

It was a wonderful week indeed.

How great it was to have nice weather, finally!!

I could not stop thanking the Lord for allowing it for us!!

He is so gracious and kind!

I hope you all had wonderful weather where you are too – it does so much for our spirit, doesn’t it?

Have a great week ahead!!