Pool parties, summer camps, s’mores, new craft supplies, thrift stores, anniversaries, and long afternoons spent reading a good book are just a few of my summer favorites!
This week marks the halfway point of summer for Dave — it’s bittersweet since I sort of wish everyone could just be home all the time.
That said, I know by the time September rolls around, I’ll be ready to get back into my daily routine again (and have clean bathrooms for more than 20 minutes!)
These sweet summer days will always be one of my most favorite things — I’m sharing more favorites below.
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES = Summer Day Camps
Dave’s schedule is fairly demanding during the school year, so we aren’t overly eager to involve our kids in many extracurricular activities from September through May.
We make up for our lackluster participation during the summer months, though!
With both Dave and I home all day, we let our kids pick and choose whatever camps they want to go to over the summer (within reason!)
The boys already had a week of tennis camp and swimming lessons, while Nora enjoyed an art camp, some crafts at the library, and taking less frequent piano lessons.
They also just finished up a week of Vacation Bible School. Now we’re gearing up for soccer camps, basketball camps, another art camp, and a few more library events.
I know many parents dislike driving kids around during the summer, but for our family, summer camps have been a really fun way for the kids to try new things, develop new skills, and make new friends without the massive time commitment of a full season (or an entire year).
We cart them around in the mornings and enjoy relaxing afternoons at home by the pool (see my next “favorite thing” below…)
FAVORITE ROUTINE = Long afternoons outside.
Never in my years of pool planning did I ever expect our entire family to enjoy spending so much time outside together by the pool!
I figured we’d go for a swim and then get on with our days… but for the last month, we’ve all basically lived outside from 11 am – 7 pm (or whenever we’re not at one of the camps I mentioned above.)
Thanks to the fact that our deck now connects our pool to our outbuilding, we essentially have everything we need to spend all day outside (without technology!)
We eat the majority of our meals and snacks outside these days, and we even ended up bringing a bunch of games, books, and craft supplies to the outbuilding so we’d have more reason to stay outside.
I know the newness of the pool, deck, and “pool house” hasn’t worn off yet — but the last few weeks have almost seemed magical. I’ll take it for as long as it lasts!
RELATED READING: Frugal Family-Friendly Summer Fun
PAST FAVORITE = Tiny Lights
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved the cozy feeling of a home with tiny lights in every room — especially if those tiny lights come from silicone candle bulbs.
Without all that much effort, I’ve figured out a way to incorporate silicone candle lights into almost every room in our house — most recently, the new laundry room (we got our wood counter, now we’re just waiting on the cabinet doors!)
We don’t use our tiny lights as much during the longer days of summer, but whenever I have the chance, I flip on our tiny lights and enjoy the instantly cozier atmosphere.
RELATED READING: How to Create a Cozy Clean Home
FAVORITE BOOK = “Power of a Praying” Series
You all know I don’t buy books… in fact, I almost never buy books. I get them for free from our library because I don’t want the expense or extra clutter in our home.
However, last year, I started working my way through the Power of a Praying series by Stormie Omartian… and now we own the entire collection.
I’m a huge fan of these books and our whole family has benefitted from reading them and being more intentional with our prayer lives.
READ THE BOOKS:
FAVORITE ART/OFFICE SUPPLY = Mr. Pen Products
We stocked up on art supplies before summer break… including our FAVORITE Mr. Pen brand highlighters, markers, colored pencils, pens, and more.
These pens and highlighters are the best, and very frugal compared to many other brands.
Also, their highlighters are gel-based so they don’t bleed through (even really thin Bible pages).
We also really love their acrylic paints (for rocks or clay pots) and their fabric markers.
I’m personally not ready for back-to-school shopping yet, but if you’re the type who loves to get everything you need in the middle of the summer, I’d highly recommend picking up a few Mr. Pen goodies from Amazon!
RELATED: Browse all Mr. Pen products here.
FAVORITE CLEANING PRODUCT = Canister Vac
For the last few years, I haven’t had a vacuum with attachments… for the most part, it’s been OK.
I like my current bagged vacuum for carpets and rugs, and I love sweeping my hardwood floors. 🙂 However, over the winter months, I decided I wanted attachments again (and I didn’t want to spend a lot of money).
I eventually decided on a lightweight Black+Decker canister vacuum — so far, I’ve been very happy.
I love how small and compact it is (I actually store it in my laundry room cabinets!) and the various attachments are just what I need to reach in between the couch cushions, behind furniture, along the baseboards, etc.
It’s great for my hardwood floors (when I don’t want to sweep) but I don’t use it for carpet as it doesn’t have a beater bar.
Best of all, it’s SUPER easy to maneuver — which means the kids love helping!
FAVORITE RECIPE = Caprese Pasta Salad
I’m normally not a huge fan of cold pasta salad… but every summer, once the tomatoes and basil start to ripen, I haul out this recipe and enjoy the taste of summer in a bowl.
Seriously, it’s SO good!
GET THE RECIPE: Caprese Pasta Salad.
FAVORITE ARCHIVED POST = Laughter is the Best Medicine
Dave and I celebrated our 15-year anniversary last week, and as I thought back over the various anniversary and marriage posts I’ve written over the last 11 years of blogging, I kept coming back to this one — Laughter is the Best Medicine.
One of my favorite things about Dave is that he’s SO good at lightening the mood with his dry sense of humor whenever there is any sort of tension. He doesn’t skirt around the issue or bury it under the rug; he simply lightens the mood with a silly joke or humorous remark.
This works wonders in our marriage and with our children!
Read the full posts here.
Read all my marriage posts here.
FAVORITE QUOTE = Goethe
“Cease endlessly striving for what you would like to do, and learn to love what must be done.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The famous 18th-century poet sums up how I feel about life in one sentence.
My daily list of to-dos is peppered with things that simply must be done in order to keep our home and family functioning well — laundry, dishes, meal prep, grocery shopping, phone calls, appointments, etc.
I’m sure you can relate…
I don’t personally look forward to doing these chores, but I know (from years of experience) that the results of my efforts are simpler days, less-stressed lives, a happier family, and a contented soul.
For the last 8+ years, I’ve challenged myself to view housework, meal planning, yard work, and all the other non-exciting daily/weekly chores I do as a way to minister to the ever-present needs of my family. As a result, I’ve learned to love the things that must be done (most of the time) simply because I love my people.
It’s a simple (not easy) mindset shift that has truly revolutionized my life (I know that sounds dramatic, and I promise I’m not a dramatic person).
About a month ago, someone asked one of my children what their parents “did”. The child proudly announced that Dave was a math teacher… then they paused. I was tempted to jump in and say, “I’m just a stay-at-home mom”, but I waited.
To my surprise and delight, the child said, “My mom basically does everything for us, but she doesn’t get paid for it.”
(Hand me a tissue, please…)
Can’t you see it? All those little and big things you do EVERY day that mostly go unnoticed matter to the people you love the most (even if they don’t ever thank you for it!)
Do yourself a favor, my friends… “Cease endlessly striving” to keep up with the Jones’s, to be the next big thing, to have more _______, to be recognized for your achievements; and instead, challenge yourself to “learn to love what must be done.”
I promise you won’t regret it!
Whew — that’s all for me this month. 😆
If you’re interested, you can scroll through ALL my Favorite Things posts HERE!
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Kim says
So many thoughts:
-congrats on a strong marriage! This is a gift to your children……….& society
– you’ve been mentioning a deck……& I have been picturing an elevated wooden surface around your pool. But, wow that is a HUGE surface of concrete that is such a nice addition to your entertaining area.
-fantastic indoor/outdoor room you have. Will look forward to your post about those details. I can see how you guys can easily live outside much of the day.
-I really like your new, a bit longer hairdo
-thank you for encouraging us to spend more time in prayer. I needed that.
Andrea says
Thanks Kim!
The deck is built with Trex decking… but it’s also connected to our outbuilding, which is connected to our large concrete patio. So it’s all sort of together and we LOVE it! We can’t wait for everything to be 100% finished!!
Kristen says
Love these posts! Could you tell me where you usually get the bases for the candle bulbs?
I live on the east side of the state-I feel like we’ve had to pack it all up and get in by around 2pm due to pop-up storms lately! I’m longing for some long afternoons again by the pool! Lol Here’s hoping this crazy Michigan weather decides to shape up soon.
Andrea says
Hi Kristen, sorry for the delay — I’ve found all my candle bases at thrift stores and antique stores. You could search online for “primitive silicone candle holders” too — here’s one example.
Leanne says
I enjoyed this post so much! I just put several Mr. Pen things in my cart! I saved the quote and plan on making something small to display it in my kitchen!
thank you!!
Andrea says
oh good — I’m thrilled 🙂
and, you’re welcome!
Fran says
I love your favorite things….and I love your blog. ❤️
JoDi says
The kids look so big, but Simon looks like he’s changed the most in this set of photos!
Your hair does look fabulous, but I totally understand not liking the extra work of longer hair.
It’s so nice to hear how much you are enjoying the outdoors and the pool! You really do have a great setup there with the outbuilding. I’m really looking forward to seeing the whole thing once it’s safe enough for the Internet Safety Police! LOL
Thanks for sharing your favorite things with us again! Enjoy the rest of summer. One of my favorite things about working at a school was having summers off when my son was growing up. I work all year now, but when he was home, it was so much fun to have a whole summer together every year. We liked letting him sign up for activities during summer break too – so much easier and less stressful to do it when the days are long and unscheduled rather than jamming them in after school!
Andrea says
Simon is also growing the top of his hair out — we joke with him that he looks like me now 🙂
And yes, I’m also excited to show pictures of the pool once it’s fully finished!!
Janet says
I enjoy all your posts, and always love the Favorite Things.
I think I would live outside if I had your outdoor space. It is lovely, and what a sweet result of all your hard work over the years.
Definitely going to order some Mr Pen products… for the grandkids and for myself. And the Stormie OMartian books, too!
Seeing your email on Tuesday mornings always makes me smile, and I wait for a few quiet moments in the afternoon to savor your posts. Thanks for sharing with us. 😉
Andrea says
Thanks Janet — and yes, here in Michigan, we need to soak up all the good weather when we can, so we are thankful to have a nice space that allows up to spend lots of time outside.
Let me know what your favorite Mr. Pen products are… and how you like the books 🙂
Ronnie says
I thoroughly enjoy all of your posts! I miss the more frequent ones, but I understand why you have scaled back on the blogging aspect 🙂 The pool area looks so fun. Totally loving your new hair, by the way!
Andrea says
Thanks so much, Ronnie 🙂
I miss posting more frequently too — maybe someday I’ll get back to it!
And yes, we are LOVING the pool (even more than we thought we would!)
Sharon says
I loved today’s post! So many good vibes and great ideas! Thank you for sharing them!
Andrea says
you’re very welcome, Sharon! Thanks for your kind words of encouragement.
Jen O. says
Um…that first photo…when did Nora become a teenager?
Andrea says
I know — she’s almost up to my chin!
Chris says
What a beautiful post! I love that quote. I recently re-found this quote and just love it. “To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him.
Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.” Thomas Merton.
I tend to get upset about things easily and look towards the negative more. I started keeping a gratitude journal a few years ago and write in it often, though not daily.
Dave sounds a lot like my husband. His attitude helps mine a lot and it helps the atmosphere in our home. We have a very peaceful home.
I have probably read between 10 to 15 books on marriage or wives. The Power of a Praying Wife is one of my very favorites.
The pasta salad sounds good. I tried this recipe at a restaurant and replicated it at home with a copycat recipe. I just love the fresh basil in it. I hope it’s okay to leave a link. https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tomato_pie/
Andrea says
Thanks for the recipe Chris — you may always feel free to share recipes with me (and my readers)!
And thanks for the quote — it’s another good one!
And yes, the Power of a Praying Wife is SUCH a good book — I’m glad you enjoyed it too!
Alicia says
I’d love to see what your whole pool area looks like now! Sounds like so much fun!
Andrea says
yes, lots more pictures will be coming (the deck is really looking nice!) Hwever, we’re not finished with the deck railings yet and if I post pictures of a pool deck without railings, I will be murdered by the “online safety police” 🙂
So, you’ll need to wait a bit yet — hopefully everything will be finished by early fall (lots of stuff is back-ordered due to short supply — a.k.a. COVID).
Christina says
Ha! That QUOTE! Plus the two that were duplicated in the comments section! I love this you all!
I also had to comment on the hair… It looks fabulous! I love it a little longer on top!
Blessings Dekkers!
Andrea says
Thanks Christina! I have more styling options with longer hair, but the shorter style was a lot faster/easy to do every morning. We’ll see if I learn to like it more or if I chop it all off again!
Katie says
Our church is doing the exact same VBS (Mystery Island) coming up later this summer!
Andrea says
our kids LOVED it — hopefully your kids will too 🙂
Jen says
I was just thinking last week how much I missed the Dekkers! It’s always great to “hear” from you. PS: Your hair is longer! Are you letting it grow???
Great minds think alike because I thought of the same quote that Kimberly posted first. It’s one of my favorites!
“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” G Eliot, Middlemarch
Happy Summer, Dekker family!
Andrea says
Aww… thanks Jen 🙂
Glad to share more of an update for you — and yes, I’m growing my hair out a bit. I’m not in love with it, but I promised myself I wouldn’t cut it shorter until at least September… we’ll see if I like it more by then!
And thanks for the quote — SO good!
Kimberly Beaty says
I’m saving your shared quote to go along so well with these:
“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.”
George Eliot, Middlemarch
“Doing your duty matters to the people you are called to serve, and that is enough.”
Brandy Vencel
Thank you and happy summer to you and your people!
kimberly
Andrea says
Thanks for sharing these quotes, Kimberly. I haven’t heard them before, but based on the reaction from other readers, they are more popular than I realized 🙂