I’m happy to report that summer 2023 is treating us really well! I am loving every single minute of it and soaking up every experience with my children, Edwin, and our friends. Last summer was challenging with a young toddler and a newborn in the heat. We were so cooped up and it was definitely a struggle. When I think back, my chest tightens – having a newborn and an older child who is transitioning to no longer being an only child is just hard.
This summer, my boys are such fun ages and we are having a blast. Preschool got out almost 5 weeks ago for us so I feel like we’ve been living with a summer mindset for a while now – bedtimes and morning wakeup times have slipped back, playdates have become a mainstay of our social calendars, many hours have been clocked in at the pool and the beach, and summer skin has set in with my boys bodies dotted in bug bites here and there and lathered in a mix of sunscreen and dirt. It feels really good!
Our nanny who comes 2 1/2 days a week is also SO incredible and gives my boys days full of fun. And gives me nice breaks to work, stay on top of life, exercise, and see friends. I feel like we are summer people living in a really great groove right now. We’re over month into summer break already and it is FLYING by. Our summer 2023 plans are already underway but our traveling is about to kickoff so the sun won’t be setting on our fun anytime soon.
P.S. Both dresses I’m wearing in this post are Mille. My mules are Margaux. My shell purse is Pamela Munson. Sweater is La Ligne. My pearl gemstone necklace is Joie Digiovanni.
Our Summer 2023 Plans
June
The weather this month – ooooh! Let me tell you, it has been glorious! It has been warm but really not hot and we’ve had so many nighttime summer thunderstorms. Which are just the most magical way to end the day after playing hard for hours. I remember so well the days of childhood that ended leaving me feeling wiped out from playing all day long outside in the sun. And I feel like I’m reliving those days now with my kids and it is pure magic. I know each summer, as they grow, it will get even better and better. I’m exhausted at the end of the day because motherhood is physical. My boys keep me on my toes, and we’re outside as much as we can be. It’s a good exhausted, one I’m savoring.
I love June in Charleston!
Everyone is home soaking up summer before it gets really hot and before everyone heads out of town. June is full of beach days, pool dips, boating, eating alfresco, backyard parties, family, and friends. June is easily one of my favorite months here. We’ve spent the month at home but are about to head north to Nantucket for just over a week. We’ve rented a house and have lots in store. We didn’t go to Nantucket last summer because we really didn’t book very much travel due to not knowing how our transition from a family of 3 to 4 would be. So, this feels long overdue.
When we went two summers ago, the trip transformed me in a sense and quite literally was one of the best things that ever happened to our little family. The photos in this post are actually photos from that trip that never made it on the blog. This trip is going to be really memorable because it will be our first time going as a family of four. My sister is also coming out from California for most of the trip. I’m dying to spend time together so we’re essentially at the point of exclusively talking about Nantucket all day, every day. I can’t wait.
July
July is going to be so wonderful for us because it is the month the heat really sets in in Charleston so we’re lucky to get a little break from it with a trip to the mountains. We’ll be staying with my parents at their house in Idaho for a few weeks, no doubt running around in the grass all day long, hiking, playing in the lake, swimming, kayaking, fishing, enjoying afternoon ice cream cones, hitting the farmer’s market, looking for wildlife, and exploring the beautiful landscape around us. I feel such a connection to the mountains out west from my maternal grandparents in Wyoming and from going to college in Colorado so a piece of me really feels whole when I’m in this part of the country.
Edwin and my brother are both coming out for a full week, which is going to be spectacularly fun! July 4th in Idaho brings out loads of joy in everyone. Rowan is quite literally still talking about the fireworks from last year. Seeing him a year older this year is going to melt my heart. Henry was just under 3 months last Fourth of July so it’s going to be a whole new world for him this year.
August
To kick off our last month of summer, we’re heading back up north with friends to a little part of Connecticut we were introduced to last year and immediately fell in love with. When our friends asked us to go back with them, it was a no brainer because last summer’s trip was full of golden moments. I can’t wait to be back on our little island with some of our favorite people. It is special and a place where everyone walks around with smiles, brimming with joy.
We’ll be closing out our summer with a trip to California to visit Edwin’s family. I’m going to be counting down all summer long until my boys are reunited with their cousins + California grandparents and I get to see my sister-in-law. Edwin’s parents rented a house in Ojai in August so we’ll be spending some time there and bopping in and out of Montecito and Santa Barbara. We haven’t been to Ojai since 2016 so I think it’s going to be a blast. Such an inspired idea of Edwin’s parents and a wonderful way for us all to gather in the same place!
I feel so grateful that we have so much to look forward to this summer! It will be a lot of travel but, with the exception of Connecticut, every trip is with family so each destination feels special and meaningful for not only the location but even more so, for the people.
A Quick Dose of Summer Shopping
