Thankful Thursday

I have so much to be thankful for!

It's been raining like crazy nuts around here, so our little apple tree has been getting plenty of water AND maybe our lawn won't be quite so crispy anymore. Also, I'm so thankful that our basement hasn't flooded! Plus the rain has held off during key times, like when we were hanging out at the pool yesterday and during our friends' 4th of July party last night. I especially love convenient rain. 

Our air conditioning has been humming along like a little trooper. Which, when temps are literally reaching 100+, is really something to be thankful for! I feel for those who have lost power or have no a/c to get through these heat waves.

My friends...I love them so much! I put up a post on Facebook asking if anyone had an umbrella stroller I could borrow for our trip so I could maybe save myself from spending more money in the ocean of money I'm already spending, and a whole bunch of friends right away offered me a stroller to borrow or even keep. Big shout out to Pauline who gave me a cute umbrella stroller that was rarely used for anything other than walking dolls around the house! 

We've been spending so much time swimming this summer, and I'm so grateful to have pools at our disposal that we can pretty much use anytime we want. Chris's dad has a really nice pool, and he is hardly ever around to enjoy it. So we get to go hang out in his backyard and take advantage of having a beautifully maintained pool all to ourselves. Plus Chris's mom lives in a city with an awesome "residents-only" park and pool that we also get to utilize. Life is good. 

Mattie has been getting more sleep and, like magic, she is a whole heck of a lot less crabby. Thank goodness, because when that kid is crabby, it's ugly.

Although I still haven't packed a lick for vacation (which starts tomorrow...), I realized our check-in isn't until later in the day, and it's not terribly far away, so we don't have to leave early. Which means I can put off  finish packing tomorrow and not over-stress about it today. 

A fun fourth of July. The fourth seems to be a holiday that is not generally very memorable. I can't think of what we usually do, but it's kind of like New Year's for us. Which is to say, pretty non-eventful. This year we spent the rain-free hours of the afternoon at my mother-in-law's pool, hung out and ate at her house, then switched gears and headed to our friends' party for the evening. Since good fireworks are now legal in Michigan, we had a nice show right in the street in front of their house. There were tons of kids and lots of friends, and it was a good way to spend the holiday. Thank you to Tina & Todd for hosting!

After a trip to the post office today, I will be done with a big project I've been working on for preschool. I predict a huge weight being lifted from my shoulders the moment I leave the post office.

The vacation the kids and I are having with my mother-in-law, starting tomorrow. It will be really nice hanging out at the beach and relaxing for a week! Every summer she rents a cottage for us to enjoy with her, how lucky are we?

Chris and I remembered to take the trash out last night when we got home from the party. Last week we didn't get the recycling out in time and we have two overflowing recycle bins. I will be so happy when they are empty again! Even though there is already a new pile of recycle stuff in the kitchen that will be going in an empty bin as soon as one's available.

What are you thankful for today?

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