Squeezing out the end of summer

Around here, kids have already gone back to school. But with a "new" baby in the house, I feel like we're just starting to come out of the house for sun and warmth finally! So this month I'm pretending that summer is still full-blown and we are trying to be outside all the time. Matt, my dear husband, bought me a gas grill for starters.

I know that a grill isn't at the top of every woman's list of things that make her ultimately happy, but it gives me a chance to cook outside without having to go through the hastle of charcoal and lighter fluid and all that craziness. Grilling makes me feel summery!

Pizza on the grill is the best...and so fast!

See? Dinner in about 5 minutes using basil from the garden. I'm no farmer so lots of our vegetables failed, but tomatoes and basil are going crazy right now so we're using them in everything we can think of. I even made homemade tomato sauce for pasta last night! Remember how we can't get out of the house right now? That's why all this cooking is happening. Normally I'd be at the pool in the summer and we'd be getting McDonalds on the way home.

I've been throwing the kids outside to do play constantly. Even if they want to play with their inside toys (like leggos or cars or dollhouse) I just take it out onto the back deck and let them play there. I keep reminding them about winters in Chicago and how they'll be craving sunshine and warm air in a few months here.

 The end of the season is also a great time to pick up random bargains. We've been wanting an umbrella for the back deck and I picked up this regularly $60 umbrella for $15 at our grocery store!

Here's Claire with her dollhouse outside.

The garden is still going crazy. Our sunflowers are giant!

Did you know that if you don't pick artichokes that they turn into this exotic-looking flower?

We've even filled the pool a few more times, but I still stand by the fact that I'm never buying a blow-up style pool again. When we have to deflate it and clean it out it's such an awkward heavy mess!

The fort has been a little more in use than it was previously.

It's been turned into a clubhouse by each child and territories have been staked.

Sometimes it's a boys fort and sometimes it's a girls club.

 When it was a boys fort, Sammy decided to hammer a bunch of extra wood to it in the weirdest places, but it kept him busy for quite a while!

 Scrap wood is a much more interesting toy than you'd ever imagine. Here Sammy is making some kind of super highway for his cars.

My friend Bridget and I also had a garage/yard sale last weekend. It was pretty much a failure as we had about 2 customers all day, but it still felt like a summer-time thing to do and....of course....the kids had a lemonade stand. Sammy made fruit punch gatorade and sold his separately next to them. He also played guitar at his "stand" and made quite a chunk of money so the girls eventually let him be part of their business.

I made these fancy signs with dot paints. I don't know why anyone didn't show up!?

And Bridget has really cool stuff too, so people missed out. Here she is selling her outdoor lamps from Restoration Hardware.

But here is the real kicker. On Saturday we're going to this cabin in Wisconsin! I told Matt that if we went anywhere this summer it had to be somewhere that the baby could be napping while the kids were outside playing.

This cabin backs right up to Lake Michigan! And it was a super good deal.

Look at the sleeping porch!

And Matt just bought us this boat. I know...we're big time around here.  Haha. Now to find lifejackets. Summer ain't over people!