Halfway

I think of today as kind of the halfway point to summer.  I know, could that thought be anymore depressing? But think about it, it's July 15th - halfway through the middle month of the summer season.  So it's kind of the halfway point.  I'm going to be glass half full about it though and say that even if we are halfway, there is still more summer to enjoy yet!

I've really been enjoying our summer so far.  Last summer just kind of sucked.  Plain and simple.  Yes I had a very easy pregnancy, but it's just not fun being pregnant in the summer no matter how far along you are (my apologies to Jess and Cara!) although I will say I kind of miss eating all the ice cream I wanted without really caring about the calories!

Anyway, this summer has just been so fun - especially after the long winter we had.  Oliver is such a fan of the outdoors, we try and take advantage as much as we can.  That means on weekends we take at least two walks every day, we try to go eat outside at a patio if we can or we sit out on our own deck for awhile.  On weekdays we still try to walk at least once after we get home from work.  Oliver and I also will sit on the front steps and watch for Nate too if it's a decent evening, he loves to watch the cars go down our street (it's a fairly busy street).  

Ollie was a little low on sleep, but still enjoyed a nice day on the deck this weekend 

Obviously since I'm still nursing I don't go overboard, but it's nice to be able to enjoy a beer again or another adult beverage of my choice on a warm day!  Beer + summer weather = love.  Best combo ever.

One of our new favorite activities this summer that I have mentioned here a couple of times has been hitting up flea markets and garage sales.  It started because Nate's been looking for Nintendo games, but we've been finding some great deals for clothes and toys for Oliver too (which do not count on my "no buy" summer, anything for him is fair game.)  We've also been to the Farmers Market once - how we've only gone once is beyond me, but I am sure we'll be doing more of that before the summer is over.  Yes we have a CSA share, but we love the Farmers Market for local meat products and other things.

His latest "new" toy from a garage sale - it's his new favorite! 

My little budding musician!

The one thing we just haven't done much of yet this year is swimming.  It's not for lack of trying on our part - it's actually not been extremely hot yet, so the outdoor places we've tried going are actually still kind of chilly. Ollie is not a fan of cold, so we've been waiting for it to just get hot for a few days and then we'll give it another go.

I've really been enjoying my Instagram style challenges this month - I don't stress if I can't make them work, but on days where I'm having trouble figuring out what to wear they've really been helpful!!

Just a selection of my outfits - lots of color and stretching my wardrobe a bit!

So, overall I'd call this summer a success.  We've enjoyed some nice time as our little family of three, we've been able to spend time with friends and family as well and it's been far from boring!  I am glad there is more to come!  The next two weekends will be busy but exciting - this coming weekend we are going on our annual cabin trip with our music group and the weekend after that Nate and I will be going to a beer festival in Duluth (and leaving Ollie overnight for the first time - eek!)  August will be fun with parties for friends and a visit from our St. Louis relatives and of course ending with the State Fair!  So given all of that, I think you can see why I'm feeling glass half full at the halfway point of summer!  How has your summer been going?