Weekend Recap - Labor Day

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I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  The unofficial end of Summer.  Ours was great.  We have had such a wonderful summer, and we were able to check off every single thing on our 'Summer of Fun' to-do list.  I had thought we'd have to leave one unchecked - 'take advantage of friends that have a beach house' - but we managed to take care of that one this weekend!

Some friends had invited us to come hang out with them at their family's house on Cape Cod.  We decided to splurge, book a hotel room, and make a trip out of it.  We packed the car and headed out Saturday after lunch, arriving in time to play in the pool for a while.

Hurricane Earl was gone by then, although he did leave some wind behind.  It was sunny and warm, though, so the wind wasn't so bad.  The big guy loved practicing his swimming in the pool, and then we went out to eat for dinner and ice cream.  There are tons of great ice cream spots on the Cape, and K is still dreaming about his almond joy cone.

The hotel room was great, and the boys seem to thrive in different and new environments.  They both ran around the hotel room, giggling and giddy with excitement.

We didn't take any pictures, except this one, which shows the view from our room.  I guess we were too busy having fun.  There was a gorgeous sunset, which we watched from the ice cream place.

The next day, we spent time with friends on the beach.  It was still a bit windy, but wonderful nonetheless.  The big boy could spend all day running and jumping in the waves.  He completely wore himself out.  Don't you just love the exhaustion you feel after a day at the beach?  At about 7:30 that night, back at home, he declared, "Mom, it's time for bed."  And about halfway through the first story, he said, "Mom, I'm just going to go to sleep now.  You can keep reading if you want."  And off he went to dreamland...

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Monday brought a re-entry day.  These are so essential to a good vacation, I've come to learn.  Time to do laundry, tidy up, mow the lawn, and get ready for the week.  In addition to those things, we found ourselves sitting in the yard with our neighbors, enjoying a few drinks while our boys played together.  How fabulous it is to have a playmate right next door.  And nice for us, too, to be able to sit for a few moments and relax.  

I think back on this summer and am so happy at the memories we've created.  I truly do believe that making these little to-do lists and focusing on getting out there makes a huge difference in our lives.  Most of the things we did were very little and easy - bubbles, playgrounds, picnics...  But at this stage, having a toddler and a preschooler, it is so easy to drown in the must-dos and forget to focus on having fun.  I'm happy that we're keeping up with it, and I know we're all happier as a result.