SUMMERTIME AND LIVING IS SLOW slow family summer living

* This is an updated post*
It is almost a month into our summer holidays and I’m taking stock of how slow we have been going or how fast it is passing us by.  This was the summer of no bucket lists.  I’m not anti-bucket list because it is good to have ideas in your back pocket. I’m taking part in the #banbusy challenge from The Abundant Mama Project.  Challenges to find my slow moments for my family and myself. Our first summer weekend was spent waiting for our new play set to be set up in the backyard.  It was well worth the wait as the kids have spent a lot of summer hours swinging, sliding and swashbuckling.  And I have even snuck on the swings too.  There is just something rhythmic and soothing about swinging.
Playset
And then when they are not playing with the set on the hot, hot days, they are playing in the pool or jumping through the sprinkler.
Sprinkler
And when we need a break from the backyard we find a local playground and just play there.
At the park
On one day, I set up some dinosaur activities for the boys outside.  Mr. Black Licorice was doing an excavation and then had to assemble the dinosaur bones while Mr. Yoda was painting wood pieces and then assembling his dinosaur.
Dinosaur Day
Miss Ballerina just loves to do crafts.  While her brothers were working on dinosaurs she was painting a little wooden trinket box.
Trinket Box
On another day, it was bubble day. Mr. Black Licorice and I tried to make the indestructible bubbles you see all over Pinterest. This was a great bonding and connection activity with my son. He loves science experiments.
Bubbles
To change things up a bit, one day we brought our marble track outside for some outdoor fun.  The kids enjoyed building it outside and adding the water to it.  It went well because it was a new and novel thing for them.
Marble Track
In between all of that, there are visits to grandma’s and grandpa’s house where they roasted marshmallows, played in a kiddy pool and just hung out with them.  Mr. Black Licorice did do 1 week at a Science/Fitness Camp just to break things up a bit more for him.  He had a great week but he was also glad just to back at home taking it easy and slow.  However, even he feels like the summer is just passing him by too fast.  As for me, I feel like some moments are fast and some of them are slow.  When we are just being ourselves, just us, as a family everything is a lot slower.

Summertime and Living is Slow 

My slow this summer has included these summer reads.  I haven’t read any Young Adult books in a while and these two are my first dives back in.  I have finished The Book Thief and I’m almost finished The Fault in Our Stars.  I have quite enjoyed both of them and I can’t wait to read more.  If anyone has any good recommendations please post them in the comments.
Summer Reading
I continue to try to have my slow morning coffee and it is a ritual of mine.  I just love that in the summer I can sit outside on my deck and enjoy it.  This I know I will miss in the winter.  I will have to come up with a new winter ritual I think.
Slow Morning Coffee
This summer my husband and I also got away for 2 nights into the mountains.  It was the first time in seven in a half years.  Whoa!  It felt so good.to just be us and slowly, and I stress slowly walk around.  If you have kids you know that lots of time on vacation is just so fast.  My next challenge will be to have a slower vacation when we go away with kids.  And to enjoy the small, simple moments.
Mountains and Wine
Is there anything slower than sitting with your feet in the water taking in the mountains, the fresh crisp air, the cool zap of the water on your feet on a hot, hot day and the lullaby of the water lapping against the rocks.
Soaking my feet
I would say that so far the summer has been just the right mix of slow and fast.  I do recognize that most of this is only doable because I stay at home with my children.  I don’t think it matters-as parents we always feel like our kids and our lives are in super fast mode and we just want things to slow down.  I’m learning that it is ok just to have moments that are slow whether they be for 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 1 hour, 5 hours, a whole day or a whole slow week.  I actually feel like I can go at a slower pace during the summer without the schedule of school and activities always hanging over our head.  So my challenge will be to continue to find my slow moments during the rest of the year.
How is your summer going?  Have you had a slow summer or has it been hectic?  I would love to hear about your slow moments and if you are interested you can join others in the #banbusy challenges over here at The Abundant Mama Project.
Bonnie Dani

Bonnie Dani

CEO of Everything in my life

Bonnie is an admitted book, planner, craft, coffee and chocoholic. She loves sharing her passion for books, journaling, mindfulness, meditation, crafting and gaining confidence in developing our creative souls. Former high school teacher now she is the creator and owner of Adalinc to Life Blog.