What Ana Does

I'll never NOT be so glad to have this pool.  It wasn't in our must-have house list. And not even something I even ever thought we could have. And it's daily maintenance and $$ to upkeep. But it's just the BEST to have. It's beautiful to look at, so much fun for our family and friends.  Just sending out that note of apperciation into the universe. Thank you, we love it. 

I don't remember us using the the backyard as much as we have in this house, so far this summer. Sure, it's mainly due to the pool, but it's still a good excuse to update what's there. There is definite room for improvement.  Number one on my list was adding chaise lounges next to the pool. BUT ... what is the DEAL with these chaise loungers being so dang expensive!? Who knew?!  After months digging through shopping sites, I've just given up. I simply won't pay over $400 for one, let alone nearly $1000 for two. And not for something that will only last one season. I'll wait for the winter sales and it will be part of next year's upgrade to the deck. In the meantime, I still need some pool-side seating, so I bought two club chairs (on super sale). When the kids are swimming, there's a comfy spot to the deck to hang out and watch. Chairs from Overstock Then, there's the dining set. Remember I was going to update that summer 2020 ( plans here ) ... ...

When we first looked at this house, we spent the most time next to the pool. Not because we were impressed by it, the cover was on it, but because we were late to our appointment here and only had about 15 minutes to run through the house. The outside, we could linger and talk about our impressions of the house and neighborhood.  And I'll admit I was very nervous about owning a house with a pool. What are the liabilities, the risks? How hard is it to maintain? How much will it cost us monthly, annually? Can we even use it this summer? What about injuries? How do we keep everyone safe? Ugh. It all weighed heavy on my mind.  And when we initially lost the house to a higher bidder, we were very bummed but I was a teeny tiny bit relieved we wouldn't have to figure out that pool. "It might be a money pit!" I remember thinking. "We didn't even see it without the cover." Fast forward to the present and one of the hottest summers I can remember. And the absolute...

There's nothing worse than scurrying around the house trying to pull all the necessary items together for a simple trip to the park or pool. So each summer I try to create some pre-packed totes that sit on a hook and are ready for walking out the door. This summer we're going to need a Pool Tote , a Tennis Tote and a Park Tote . Plus, a slightly-more jam-packed Mom Bag . Let's start with the Pool ... My Pool Tote - Minus the Towels Town Pool Tote This tote is the MOST important because we love the town pool. And, because we have a membership, we can wander in and stay however long we want. There's no pre-planning or spending "at least 4 hours to make it worth it." Here's the list of Pool Tote items, in priority: Goggles - two, of course Pool diving toys  Several large pool towels Spray sunscreen and a sunscreen stick for faces  A baseball hat to keep the sun off little faces   Magazine, this week it's Magnolia Journal Water bottle t...

This week was the "gap week" -- the week in-between school ending and day camps starting. And with my "flexible" schedule, they were able to be home with me. (A good and bad thing.) I will say they did a pretty good job keeping themselves occupied so I could work -- with only a few whining episodes to go to Toys R Us or the goofy skatepark. Yes, my expectations were low.  A new slip n' slide was purchased and used. And our membership to the town pool got a lot of use since it was warm and sunny. Joy!   Caption 1: Pin Heads! Caption 2: Alley Champion! Town Pool  Now I'm just waiting for the farmer's market to open up and summer will officially be rolling! Related Posts:  Summer Planning From This Winter Summer Transitions 100 Things To Do This Summer - 2013

This evening I'm reviewing the pictures we took while on our Aruba vacation. We only ventured out with the camera a few times, being too concerned with it in hot, sandy, wet, humid weather, to keep it out with us all the time. Our strategy is, we pick three or four venues during the week, drag the camera bag down and take turns snapping artsy-fartsy photos of the girls. There are over 400 total pics! Overall, the pictures seem to prove that Aruba is indeed "One Happy Island," as their motto suggests. Sunset on the Beach Gathering Seashells (We Used My Shirt to Hold Them) Big Smile From the Pool Water Slide! Glad I brought the Googles Because this trip includes my in-laws, I'll set out to create a little photo book of everyone together to send to my mother-in-law as a memento. So, that's my next task. Wish me luck!

Pool Ready This summer we joined a pool club. Well, it's a membership to the town pool. I've never been a member of a pool club before but Dave and his family were always members growing up on the East coast. So I guess it's a thing in other places. And we're super lucky. This pool has seven slides, waterfalls, sprinklers and a sand area. In a word: it's AWESOME. Today was our inaugural visit and we were ready for a wild time ... but then the sirens blew about 30 minutes later and we were asked to evacuate because lightening had been sighted. (You can kinda make out the storm clouds in the photos.) Big bummer. So, not a successful first trip, but we'll be back!