I cannot believe the summer of 2024 is wrapping up. It was one of the best! One of the biggest changes this summer brought compared to every other summer was that we didn’t travel outside Wisconsin. If you’ve followed our family for any amount of time, or we’re real life friends, we’re usually gone for weeks at a time, especially throughout the summer. With no travel plans this year we decided to make the most of a summertime in Wisconsin and experience all this beautiful midwest state has to offer.
We took local day trips and a few overnights, visited several local fairs and festivals, made sure to go to our towns 4th of July celebration, and we enjoyed typical Wisconsin activities like boating, exploring new beaches and parks, camping (in our backyard and up north), campfires, grilling out with neighbors, date nights, dinner alfresco, food truck nights and so many more summery things! We also invested more in our home and on our small plot of land — we worked on our laundry room and made a mud kitchen for our kids, we planted new grass, pruned some trees, tended to our garden and continued caring for our beloved chickens.
Here’s a peek into what’s new with each of us:
Finley is currently 2.5 and is talking in almost full sentences and makes us constantly laugh with the things he’s thinking about, he learned how to ride his Strider bike and zooms around like crazy, he’s really into superheros so you can almost always find him in his Spidey costume, and simply put, he’s in total boyhood – loves knives, guns, loud cars, jumping off high things, and wrestling with his sissy and dad. But our sweet Finn has always been unbelievably tender, he loves babies and gives gentle kisses, the way he mimics our prayers is the sweetest, and he loves to sing and dance.
Liliana turned 5 in June and is in a new wave of girl-hood. She still loves her pinks and purples and she has started noticing more feminine things like lip color and earrings — she has a knack for pointing out colors and hairstyles that are most flattering. Liliana is beginning to be a nurturer, especially to Finley, she has been praying on her own and “reading” the Bible to Finley, and she’s started helping me out more around the house. She has an interest in knitting, embroidery, candle making and other homemaking skills. Making bouquets, counting to 100, rhyming random words and playing in the mud kitchen are a few of her favorite things as of late.
Alexander entered a new season of work this summer, with managing two businesses he’s been able to grow and maintain each of them through creatively meeting new people, putting in more hours (especially during a “slower” season of business), and plan for this fall and even into next year. Business is a huge part of his life, our marriage and family, but outside of work, Alexander has enjoyed going on early morning walks by himself, planning fun outings for him and the kids, mountain biking with a few friends, and reading a book on leadership. We’re currently in a really fun season of marriage and it’s revealing itself in his work, creativity, projects around the home, and his day-to-day.
And for myself, it’s been a full but slow and really enjoyable summer. With summer being a naturally little-to-no-rhythms with kids kind of season, I’ve personally been able to be consistent with writing, exercising and my overall wellness has been vibrant this summer. I started a book club this spring and we’re wrapping up another book soon, I eventually created little rhythms with the kids for schooling and prepping for our weekly sabbath and spent a lot of the summer planning adventures for our family, tending to our garden and being a new chicken mama.
Taking a quick glance at our summer has me feeling so grateful. And also ready for a new season to emerge. I feel excited for what is to come this autumn. We have another year of homeschool mixed with a hybrid school for L, I have new rhythms and routines planned, we’ll be celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary, Finley will turn 3!, and still no plans to travel so we’re eager for a full fall season in our home – with lotsa baking, and yummy smells, hosting gatherings and holidays, cooler weather, and typical seasonal outings.