What I’ll Remember about Summer 2020

What a strange summer!

Although, when I look back on my post about last summer, it appeared we did pretty much the same things – stayed at home, read books, and played in the backyard.

My girls started school this week and I’m sad to see this summer come to a close, especially since Star is starting kindergarten, which feels like such a big milestone. Fortunately, it’s only half-day, so even if school ever fully returns to a normal schedule this year, I’ll still get plenty of her to myself.

Here’s what I’ll remember from the summer of 2020.

Listening: to ALLLLL the High School Musical soundtracks (my girls don’t know how easy life is now with access to Spotify on Alexa that can play them any song they want anytime), plus a lot of Aladdin and Tangled and Frozen soundtracks. My parents also introduced them to Yakety Yak – Don’t Talk Back! by The Coasters over the summer, and that’s been on repeat around here too. Not to mention so many episodes of Circle Round.

Rearranging: the bedroom situation. Ella moved into Star’s room (she’s SO happy to have her own room again) and Ani and Star are living it up as roommates, sleeping with a bright night light and listening to Boxcar Children audiobooks as they drift off. It was a long day of moving things around, but everyone is super happy with the current arrangement. We didn’t change much, but I ordered some new Beddy’s for their bunk beds, plus I need to swap out some of the art on the wall so that Star gets some representation in her own room. And. . . getting real carpet instead of linoleum in that room would also be a big step forward.

Working: on Savvy Reading. Bart and I have spent much of the summer getting it ready to launch and this week, the official launch week, has been SO FUN. I’m overwhelmed by all the kind messages and so excited about all the readers joining us in September!

Playing: Azul. We gave this to Ella for her birthday and we’ve been playing it multiple times a week since then.

Enjoying: Our garden. We built garden boxes in the spring and now we’re reaping the benefits of our work earlier this year. Our tomatoes are going CRAZY, we have pumpkins and watermelons starting to getting big and ripe, more zucchini and squash than we know what to do with, and so many beautiful flowers. It makes me happy every single day.

Learning: how to make jam (not freezer jam but legitimate canned jam!) from my mother-in-law. I always said that if I lived near her, I’d learn how to do it, so I’m pretty proud of myself for actually making it happen this year. (Also, her strawberry balsamic jam with black pepper is INSANELY good). Our old house has original rolling can/jar shelves in the basement storage room so seeing all my homemade jam lined up ready to grab makes me so happy!

Also, I learned to surf when I went to Lake Powell with Bart’s uncle for a weekend in June. I was pretty proud of myself!

Eating: Last year, I said Sunday dinners with my brother who was spending the summer in Utah before moving to New York for a full-time job. I assumed that it was a lucky summer and would never happen again, but thanks to COVID, his office went remote and he came out to Utah. Having ANOTHER summer where he came over for dinner nearly every Sunday has felt like the biggest gift this summer.

Taking advantage of: The spectacular mountain weather in the mornings. Even on days where it hits the mid to high 90s, the mornings are only in the 60s and it’s perfect for a little run while I listen to my latest audiobook.

Watching: Outdoor movies. Investing in our outdoor movie setup was truly the best purchase ever this year – we’ve spent so many glorious summer evenings watching old favorites like Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Italian Job and Knight and Day and The Princess Bride. I hope we can keep doing it for another month or so before the evenings get too chilly.

Reading: so many chapter books this year. Since we’re home virtually every night, we’ve been flying through read-alouds this summer. I’ve also listened to a LOT of audiobooks on my runs and while I work in the garden.

Selling: frozen cookie dough. Ella has poured her heart and soul into her little business, Dough at Your Doorstep, and she loves making one-time dough deliveries (her favorites are when someone places an order as a gift and she gets to surprise someone with a delivery) or making her weekly rounds to people who signed up for a subscription. I love having a front-row seat to her excitement and enthusiasm for entrepreneurship.

 

What will you remember from Summer 2020? I’d love to hear!

If you liked this post about summer 2020, you might like these posts too

• The 2020 Summer Reading Guide (it’s not too late for some great summer books!) 
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