Okay, where did the summer go to?  It seems like just yesterday I was making our Summer Bucket List and now I'm packing up lunches and backpacks every morning and wishing we had those lazy summer mornings back!  With that said, I am actually very happy that the new school year is upon us - sure I had a few silent tears dropping my big girls off for their first day of TK - but we ALL needed this fresh start so badly!  It has been a summer of huge adjustments for us as you probably have heard - moving to a new state and leaving behind dear family and friends and a lifestyle that was comfortable, convenient, and fun.  We found ourselves grasping at straws to adjust to the way the world works in our much larger new city, unpacking and organizing boxes that seemed never ending (while combining two households worth of belongings in a substantially smaller single home), starting our new business and patient clientele from scratch (this is still slow going as we speak but getting better day by day), and somehow trying to find the energy to spend quality time with our girls as well as meet new friends.  This stage of life has been the most exhausting one yet (I mean it, take me back to newborn twins any time).

So, what does this new school year mean for us?  It means a fresh start, it means the opportunity for our girls to have meaningful interactions with other adults and children the way they used to at their old school that they have been missing so dearly, it means some extra hours in the day for mom and dad to get some of those important things checked off our ever growing task list (and I'm talking important things, not tasks like vacuuming the house which was what the old me would have worried about in my spare time LOL), and it means finding our new normal which we just haven't seemed to be able to achieve quite yet.

It also means more time for me to squeeze in some self care: more time for workouts, blogging, scrapbooking, and continuing my dental education... all things that fill up my need for an identity outside of motherhood.  Motherhood is amazing and the most profound change in my life to date, yet I know that I am not well rounded and at my best unless I am being challenged in other areas of my life as well.  I am excited that life has given me a little extra time right now to work on these things!

Speaking of working out I have been using and loving BBG for a while now.  They are great workouts that I can get done in under thirty minutes and they leave me sweating and feeling like I got a great workout in.  I would definitely recommend checking it out if you are in the search of a new workout regimen.  Thanks to my friend Sarah for turning me on to this workout program!  PS...this is not an affiliate link, I just wanted to share since I have been loving it so much. 

And what else have we been up to?  How about that summer bucket list!??  Well, I’m happy to report we got most things checked off, a few we didn’t quite get to but I promise you we had a very FULL summer and did many things that weren't even on our list!  Here’s our summer in full journaling/photo album form. Hope you enjoy it and I look for see to checking in again with everyone soon!

Per the bucket list... sour candy and hot tamales were a must for movie night!

We went to a few outdoor movies this summer but the first was in Dana Point to see The Little Mermaid.  It was overlooking the ocean with a nice cool breeze, we had candy and popcorn, and it left me with a sense of peacefulness that maybe this California life wasn't so bad after all!

One of MANY ice creams we divulged in this summer!

Bucket List Item: Marina Park - this was a hit, such a cute nautical themed park right along the edge of the Bay in Newport Beach.  The large lighthouse had a slide attached to it and the girls had a great time making use of the cool slide!

Thanks to my in laws, we actually got to sneak in a handful of date nights this summer which really have made all the difference in the world.  Dinners, movies, concerts...kid free quality time with my guy is always much appreciated!

One day in particular this summer will go down as probably my most memorable summer day with the girls.  We went to Little Coronado Beach in Corona Del Mar and it was practically deserted and the three of us girls just played in the sand and listened to the waves.  This was also a tide pool beach so we initially went and visited the tidepools and saw a few crabs and cool things before the girls had had enough (mostly because we were unprepared and did not have the proper footwear to be climbing around on all the rocks).  They were so well behaved and everything was peaceful.  It's moments like this that I will remember forever!

Just a little tide pool searching!

For the 4th of July we set up camp at the lake down the street from our house.  The girls had a great time playing in the water, followed by a visit to the street fair and carnival rides, followed by dinner and games on the sand, followed by a great fireworks show... it was a good day!

I had to include this photo we took halfway through the summer and we realized what all this fun in the sun was doing to the girls hair... they have dark brown hair and this photo is not doctored at all LOL.  People actually stopped my father in law in the store one day and asked where the girls get their hair done at (insert crying face emoji here LOL)!!

The lake by our house also puts on a summer concert series and we were able to go to quite a few.  This particular photo was before Gladys Knight but we were also able to see Barns Courtney and En Vogue.  They were all really great performers and other than having to wake up at 5:30 AM to save a good seat, we had a wonderful time at the concerts.

We ended up getting annual passes to the San Diego Zoo and we have been three times now and still have yet to see it all!  It is such a great zoo and the girls love it... especially the Sky Safari!

This summer I was also able to squeeze in a dental continuing education course.  I had been wanting to learn how to best place white crowns for kids back teeth.  This was not something that was taught really in our dental school because this technology was very new and not well studied at that time.  Kids white crowns have come a long way since that time (8 years ago) and I was excited to learn how I could incorporate this new procedure into my practice!

Last year when at Disney our girls were terrified of the characters and, aside from watching them in the parade, wanted nothing more to do with them. So imagine my surprise when my child (the one with the intense joy on her face) chucked her bag of pretzels at me and ran straight to Gaston!! Ummm…. excuse me, what just happened here. Also…. clearly I need to start buckling you into your stroller.

Bad mom alert - the girls received Chuck E. Cheese gift cards for their 2nd birthday and I never had the guts to take them. I actually like to think of it as I was saving them for when I would reallllly need them. Well the occasion arrived, the one where is was too hot to do much outside and the girls and I were stir crazy and in need of a little joy - so Chuck E. Cheese it was. To say they had fun was an understatement. When we hit the jackpot on the one of the games and the tickets started pouring out I captured their priceless reaction on video… safe to say we have two Chuck E. Cheese worshipers on our hands now. Oh, and in case you are wondering, $30 in token credits will get you approximately 4 pieces of fun sized candy, a miniature deck of cards, and two small figurines…. and a TON of fun!

Unfortunately we got to experience our first California wildfire (the Holy Fire), it was eerie and sad and I am hoping to never see anything of that magnitude again. Thank you, thank you to the amazing fire fighters that worked around the clock to get it all contained!

Our highlight of the summer was the much anticipated vacation back to Kansas City to see my family. We had the best time seeing everyone, party after party was had, and we practically lived in the pool the whole time we were there. The next time we head back will be for Christmas and I think the photos will look a little bit different then LOL! By the way - these are my awesome siblings… aren't they the cutest!??

The girls also got to meet up with a few of their Kansas City besties, the bond these little girls already have just makes my heart swell. Love these little girls and their mamas so much! And I am so excited because us moms (and dads) have a little surprise up our sleeve in December to get these little ladies back together for a weekend of epic fun (more details to come because I want to share this awesome place with you all!)!!

I couldn’t recap our summer without including something really exciting we have going on at our dental office… renovation time!! My father in law is in the process of renovating my pediatric wing of the office to make it much more fun and kid friendly and I can’t wait to share the finished product with everyone!

One of my husband’s good friends is a member of the awesome band Darlingside and they came to LA to perform at The Greek Theater so you bet we made plans to be there and support them. The music was awesome and the environment was beautiful, I have never been to such a cool concert venue before. It was a large outdoor arena surrounded by the mountains and the great music added to the ambience. So amazing!

The day before the girls school officially started I wanted to take them on one last girls day outing. I know that currently they are only going to school half day… but our girls days the way they used to be are now over and the thought brings tears to my eyes just typing it. We had many, many fun days (certainly mixed in with some not so fun days as well because such is life) where we would go out and spend the whole day together having fun and I really wanted to have just one more of those days with my girls. We hit up Newport Beach, went to brunch at the cutest café (Balboa Lily’s), hit up the arcade in the Balboa Fun Zone, rode the Ferris Wheel (the girls first Ferris Wheel ride), went to the Discovery Cube museum, and ended the day with shopping to buy sticker earrings for school (because that is super important apparently LOL)! It was the perfect girls day!

And now here we are, the end of summer and the beginning of the school year. So far, the girls are rocking TK and we are finding ourselves relaxing a bit and getting into a groove. Here’s hoping it all keeps getting better and better!