Hi and happy Friday! I’ve had so much fun sharing our rafting trip adventure and am finishing up the details to share our sunrise hike at Arches National Park and day at Canyonlands, too. I wanted to shake thing up on today’s post though and just chat and catch up!

It’s officially summer, though it has not felt very leisurely. We’ve been having fun though! Swim team meets and belt tests for Kaitlyn’s Taekwondo and coding class and kayaking and watching the girls feed and hold the baby ducks in the lake; I’m grateful for it all!

So, grab a hot tea and let’s chat. Here’s what else has been going on around here…

We closed on our first vacation rental.

We started this journey 10 months ago by going under contract for a new build. It was delayed and the price increased so we backed out of the contract. We then put several offers in on other properties but were outbid.

We finally got under contract almost three months ago with a property we really loved and that was quite a journey (a rushed appraisal ended up taking two months). But as of last week, it’s officially ours!

I look forward to sharing more about it with you! We have some tweaks we want to make to it, but it’s currently booked solid through summer (which is great), so we will have to wait until September to get there, make some upgrades, and take pictures. You can follow along with Sweet Home Bearolina on Instagram if you’re interested!

Grilled corn salad

I don’t know what made me think of this super old recipe, but I made this grilled corn salad with arugula as a side dish to our sirloin steaks on Father’s Day. It was SO good. David asked why the heck I don’t make it more often.

I really should because it’s pretty simple and has great flavor blend of zesty lime, sweet corn, and spicy baby arugula. Give it a try!

Rock Barn Spa

Encouraged by a friend, I signed the girls up for an all day Winshape Camp this week. They had an absolute blast! It also provided me time to get so many things done and squeeze in a day of total R&R.

For Mother’s Day, I gifted my mom a mother daughter package at Rock Barn Spa. Having never being there before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It turned out to be as great as I had heard!

We enjoyed every minute of our salt cave therapy, massages, hot tubs and plunge pools!

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New Home Exterior

I realized I never shared an update to our exterior house project. A few months ago we ripped all our siding off and replaced it with Hardie Board and stone. We also updated our front door and added a roof, creating a covered entry way.

The siding really had needed to be done and it felt good to finally just do it. We are really pleased with the results!

A New Office Chair

David has always had the more comfortable desk chair and continuously has encouraged me to upgrade from my old, unsupportive dinosaur of a chair. Me? I never cared much; it worked fine. And who has time to shop around for chairs?

Well, shoot. I was way wrong.

Flexispot reached out to me and offered to send me their Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair. I thought the timing was serendipitous and graciously accepted. Y’all. A quality chair makes ALL the difference in the world and I feel like a fool for not understanding that sooner.

The fabric, the neck support, the lumbar support- it makes such a difference in my comfort level when I’m at the computer now. If you’re in need of an upgrade, too, check them out and get $20 your purchase of OC10 with the code: SLICE20.

Early Homeschool

I’ve been going back and forth with when to start our 4th grade and 2nd grade years. Usually I shoot for early August, but we have a three week trip (!) to Montana and Wyoming in early August, and I’m afraid we won’t get the ball rolling until after Labor Day.

I know that works SO well for some people, but since I’m someone who enjoys a more relaxed vibe around the holidays, I like to start a little early.

So, I’ve decided we’re starting out year the week of July 5. Yup, it sounds a little crazy to me, too. But I’m also excited about our new curriculum (I’ll share all the details next week!) and I know it will feel good for us to get a solid start before our trip.

So I’ll be spending my next week watching IEW videos to learn how to teach this fabulous writing program!

Well, that’s the rundown for life lately around here. It’s full and fun; I really love the energy of summertime!

What’s new with you? I’d love to hear what is happening in your life, a trip you have planned, or when you plan to start your school year. Leave a comment and let me know… and have a WONDERFUL weekend! <3