Celebrating Back to School And Enjoying the End of Summer

Summer may be coming to a close, but we are still enjoying spending tons of time basking together in the sunshine. Hey, can you blame us? We DO live in NE Ohio, which just happens to turn into an Arctic hell come winter time. (No, really. It gets COLD!) So of course, we want to take full advantage of any nice weather we have while we can. 

Plus, now that we're homeowners, we really love finally having a yard of our own. We still have quite a bit of work to do on the yard, but so far, I've been getting loads of inspiration from sites like YardEnvy.com. We've put up a playground for the kids, planted some flowers and veggies, and even found some whimsical yard decor like a "tree face" and of course, my Garden Buddhas. 

School starts in less than a week, so we plan on going all-out this weekend to get a final summer time fix. We will be setting up our little pool from Backyard Ocean. It's not the biggest, but it is the perfect size for my little ones! 

We will also be breaking out the "bad boy". (That's what my 3 year old calls our Little Tikes Slam N' Curve Slide.) This should give the kids hours and hours of enjoyment. They love climbing, sliding, and even shooting some hoops. The fact that I can set this up in under 5 minutes is a bonus. 

And of course, we will be cooking out. We grill a lot, whether it's summer or not. However, we love entertaining and sitting out on the deck on a nice summer evening. I think we will have to invite some of my oldest son's friends over and make a real occasion of it. An end of summer party, perhaps! 

While I am not eager for cooler temperatures to set in, I can definitely say I am looking forward to spending the last few weeks of summer soaking up the sun with my family. There's just nothing better than having our own little corner of the world to relax together in.

Are you planning anything special to celebrate the end of the summer season? I'd love to hear about it!