Slow Summer Days

Summer break in Mexico after we got married!

While teaching definitely has its challenges, there is one major thing that makes it much, much easier: the BREAKS.  Sorry to all my friends who work year-round and get 10 total vacation days, but having built-in breaks during the year and for summer is AWESOME.  I love having my year come in seasons and knowing that there are plenty of random days or weeks I can look forward to for times of rest, silliness, and adventures.  We used our summer after we got married to travel to Mexico and Sonoma, CA.  Last summer we backpacked through Europe for 5 weeks.   This summer will mostly be lazy with a smaller trip to Boulder, CO for Jordan’s Half-Ironman race and then a combined trip to Mexico and California in July.  But beyond those trips…we’re mostly just being lazy.

Last summer we backpacked through Europe for 5 weeks! Best. Summer. Ever.

Even though I’m teaching summer school and we don’t have another epic five-week Europe trip planned, there is something so sweet and relaxing about being done with the school year.  I love having slow summer days to fill however I want and warm nights where the sun just never seems to set.  I’ve had so much fun going on coffee dates, walks, and adventures with new friends and old friends.  And of course, playing the occasional game of Settlers (even when it’s a horrible board and your husband beats everyone AGAIN).

We’ve also had three straight weeks of Airbnb guests (with many more on the schedule!), so our days have been filled with lots of laundry, meeting new people (like a wonderful mother-son pair from Hungary!), and making extra cash that will go straight to funding our upcoming Mexico trip to an adults-only, all-inclusive resort – YES PLEASE!

Livin’ the dream on our honeymoon to Mexico two years ago!

So far, summer has looked like lots of snuggles with my puppy.  I try to sit on the floor and just hold this sweet little gal any time she noses her way up to me.  I’ve also gotten into the bad habit of giving her bites of ice-cold watermelon when I’m snacking and watching TV (aka two entire seasons of Scandal).  Olive’s been a big fan of summer, and loves having mom and dad home all day, soaking in the sun spots on the carpet, and destroying any and all toys her sucker parents keep buying for her.

“Oh sorry, mom…was this supposed to last me for more than 5 minutes?”

I’ve also done lots of thrift store shopping and house dreaming with my hubby.  We have all sorts of dreams for projects and things we want to do to our house, but for now we’re just enjoying finding little pieces (or big ones!) that fit into our home.  Like this gorgeous chair we found at TJ Maxx last week for half as much as we were hoping to spend on such a chair.  Insert heart eyes emoji here.  Now we just need to choose which room of our home will be lucky enough to house it! Currently debating between my room and the living room….

Not the best angle…but you get the picture!

We’ve spent lots of time with my niece and nephew, who make me laugh with their silliness and are the king and queen of angsty toddler selfies when they steal my phone (seriously…they managed to add these filters and everything).  #EmoToddlerSelfies

Come July, hubby and I will be heading to Mexico to celebrate our two year anniversary and then to California to celebrate my younger brother marrying his middle school sweetheart.  But for now…I’m pretty happy with some slow, summer days (and lots and lots of ice cream).