We finish up the first half of summer this week. Yes, you heard that correctly...summer is half over, for teachers in NISD at least. There are 10 weeks off in summer for the teachers, and 11 weeks for the students. It feels like I'm just getting into the groove of the summer vibe I was looking for last month. Even though I do still suffer slightly from summer anxiety. Once again, We Are Teachers seems to be a fly on my wall and totally gets where I'm coming from!
There are those lazy days around here that I do feel I'm
failing at summer. I have so much trouble just relaxing and enjoying doing "nothing". I am a "doer" and I love the feeling of accomplishment. Even something as simple as a gym visit, an H-E-B trip, or taking Lorelei to diving or Jonas to work makes me feel like at least I did something important today. It's ironic that all school year long I crave downtime and the ability to do nothing, and all summer long I have anxiety about doing nothing. I am working on it...trying to find the balance and acceptance of letting go of the need to
do, leaning away from the productivity guilt. I'm even reading Madeleine Dore's book
I Didn't Do the Thing Today. I checked the book out back in May from the local library but didn't get through reading it before it was due back. I recently re-checked it out and can't wait to gather more tips and insight. I'll keep you posted. I'm also currently reading Brave New World a classic recommended by Jonas. Talk about productivity. I don't believe there's a moment of downtime and relaxation in this world. It's definitely an interesting read.
For the Boyen Bunch though, part one of summer is complete because our time with Savannah being home finished up this week. She's back in Austin now for the rest of her summer. Spending time with Savannah meant getting a variety of things done. There were dentist appointments, doctor's appointments, shopping for her new apartment, pool time, gym visits, and just general time together.
Tuesdays this summer have been our official family fun day. Jonas has been the one to spearhead these outings. One of my favorite outings was to the San Antonio Museum of Art and a bite of dinner at Elsewhere.
The girls were not exactly interested in the museum. They were pretty funny actually. Lorelei even said something like, "People come here on purpose?" Let's just say, it wasn't their thing. They kept themselves entertained in other ways.
Bailey joined us with his girlfriend Yukary. They were definitely more interested in the art than the girls!
Elsewhere is a great spot on the Riverwalk for a bite to eat. I loved the atmosphere, the food was delicious and the weather was perfect.
June means multiple celebrations, much like May. Father's day was a bit different because John has to work on Sundays, but we had a special gift for him. Lorelei decided it was time to finally spiff up his at-home office. A trip to Target provided all the inspiration and office items. The kids all chipped in, but Lorelei was the designer on this project.
John was super happy with the results.
We also celebrated Father's Day with a trip to the movies! Something we haven't done in a very long time. Jandro's family loves to rent out the whole theater to watch movies. (It's surprisingly reasonable!) They have a large family too. They invited us to watch Top Gun Maverick on Father's day evening. It was such a great experience and movie! The original Top Gun was one of John's favorite movies and inspired him to become a pilot (yes, he has his pilot's license and knows how to fly!). Some of you may know John almost made flying his career, but chronic ear issues grounded him. It was nice to see him really enjoy this outing.
With a mouthful of popcorn!
The week of Father's day is also the birthday week for Brieley, Savannah, and my sister, Kim. Brieley's tradition is lunch at Grimaldi's and swimming.
The three birthday girls.
Savannah was thrilled to turn 20 and no longer be a teenager. She was very happy to have a simple family dinner and she loves going to get all her birthday freebies.
Birthday breakfast at Starbucks.
Birthday dinner at Nana and Papa's house.
John had to stay home with poor Delilah, our older dog. She was sick all day with tummy issues but has recovered thankfully. Savannah got to spend the evening with him though. We forgot to grab a picture.
We wrapped up the week with my sister's birthday. We went out to dinner and to see Top Gun again! It's okay...Savannah and I loved it enough to see it again.
Jonas planned another family day for us to have. Years back we went to The Slab in Kingsland. It's a low-lying area on the Llano River, just outside of Marble Falls. The kids really enjoyed it when they were younger. It was interesting to go back.
The water was much lower than the previous visit, due to the lack of rain this year. Funny enough though, it stormed and poured for most of our drive home.
We celebrated the 4th of July on the 3rd. Lorelei and I went to visit Jonas and Savannah at work that day. It was Savannah's last shift before heading back to Austin. It was fun to see her and Jonas hard at work, while Lorelei and I just hung out and worked on a puzzle.
After we went to the annual Helotes Fireworks. The crowd is growing every year!
We spent the 4th of July packing Savannah up to head back to Austin. She is working on campus at her fly lab as a Mentor for the high school camps and working at her apartment complex's office this month.
On July 5th we headed out to Austin for the day to help Savannah get settled back in.
Moved back in only to turn around and move apartments in August. I'll be sure to post about that in Summer part two.
We had a late lunch/early dinner at a burger joint called Jewboys! It was yummy!
We don't have anything planned as of yet for the rest of July, but I'm going to try to embrace the nothingness that our days may bring. This picture of Lorelei is the epitome of summer fun and relaxation. This girl truly knows how to enjoy the lazy days of summer. Take note!
Here's to summer part two...
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