Enumerated Update

Sadly, this is the second to last Friday of our summer break. I suppose that sounds a little dramatic, but it pains us to end our extra time with the trio. Plus, I think we are all in shock about George starting full days.

Other than that, here's where we are:

1) Oversharing: Instagram has always been my preferred form of social media, and that is even more true since I subscribed to ChatBooks about a year ago. Now a photobook arrives in our mailbox, monthly, containing the photos from my Instagram feed. Admittedly, I have a huge backlog and have only gotten up to 2013 since the books print 60 photos at a time. (I should note that a subscriber has the option to print the backlog in full, but I elected not to do that.) Since discovering ChatBooks, I have become a chronic oversharer, especially with special events and vacation photos, because I know they will be automatically bound and delivered (read: images won't languish on my hard drive without ever being printed).

2) Fall: I usually declare "fall" sometime in August, but since the experts are predicting an unusually hot fall, I am going to ease into more slowly. Instead of breaking out the dark polish, I am starting with Opi's Dulce de Leche.

My patience is going to snap by August 15th.  

3) The Cheapest Generation: About a decade ago, Skip casually mentioned that home ownership would be a thing of the past. This thought has gained momentum, and trend watchers are now seeing significant declines in car and home ownership from Millenials.

As a member of Gen-X (the generation criticized in the 90's for being shiftless and lazy), I don't join in any Millenial criticisms, especially when observing purchasing habits. If anything, the title of the article is "click bait," and it may very well be that refraining from major purchases (when crippled by student debt or when purchases are just out of reach and/or unnecessary) may make them the "wisest generation". 

To be clear, refusing to spend $50k on a vehicle that will depreciate the minute its tires leave the dealership's parking lot makes them careful and smart. 

4) Best news of the month: SO EXCITED about the impending return of Curb Your Enthusiasm! Since Skip hasn't seen any of the episodes, we are going to be binge watching this soon.  

I'm prett-ay, prett-ay, pretty-ay excited.  

5) Decluttering: The trio and I are going to be spending the last week of summer working on the biggest toy purge and re-org ever. There are so many items that were given a reprieve until August, and now their time is up. (Interestingly, exactly NONE of those items were played with all... summer... long.) After we re-org the upstairs, I am going to kick off a purge for the remaining areas, and this article is going to be my mantra.  

Spoiler alert: 

I will be asking myself, "If I were shopping right now, would I buy this?" 

6) Back-to-School: Here's an excellent five-point plan for transition from summer schedules to school schedules. As parents, are you planning to ease back into a schedule, or are you planning to live it up to the last possible second? Honestly, I could go either way.  

Have a fantastic weekend!

VBS, Part Two

This week was Vacation Bible School at our church, and the trio were ready for some Gadgets and Gizmos fun. The program was held Sunday through Wednesday, from 6:00-8:30pm, and although they have been very tired, they have had so much fun learning about Jesus.

Ready For School

Two of my children are in total denial about the end of summer break, while the remaining child is on pins and needles to return to school. I will let you guess which one is excited.

Spoiler alert: it's totally Lauren.

The day after we returned from vacation, Lauren appeared at our bedside first thing in the morning, showing us her iPad and saying, "The school supply list has been posted!" Then she purposefully got out her back back and pencil pouch and started reorganizing her supplies from last year. While I commended her initiative and effort to recycle/repurpose, I was less on board with this re-org being spread out on all of the kitchen counters, but I do love her spirit and enthusiasm.

Then today, on a random Wednesday, Lauren decided to set her alarm at 6am and to awaken her siblings. She decided we all needed to get back to our regular routine, and I'm sure I don't have to tell you that was a unilateral decision.

Personally, I am siding with Grace and George on this issue and definitely think we could use a few more weeks.

Home

While we may have asked the Guptas, hypothetically, what happens when guests refuse to leave one of their homes, we are actually glad to be back home and back to our regular routines. Also, we really missed our Pixie. We know she was at Camp Poppa and Gran (and did not miss us at all), but we missed her.  

Family Vacation in Outer Banks, North Carolina

We are back from a fantastic week with family in Outer Banks, North Carolina, with the Guptas, who very generously shared one of their newly built homes with us.  Honestly, we kept pinching ourselves because everything was so lovely, and we really didn't want to leave.  

Here is the week in photos:

PS: The duo do not remember our last trip to OBX in 2009, but have enjoyed seeing the photos (here, here, and here).