We jumped into our week with a dose of relaxation and positivity after our weekend family getaway. which already feels like a lifetime ago given our fun-packed week. Monday was Amalia’s 6th birthday which added a great deal of excitement around these parts. She’s been saying she wanted to go tubing on her birthday at least once a week since last year so our friends generously took us out on their boat for an afternoon on the water, which she has deemed her favorite moment of summer so far.

On Wednesday night, I picked Amalia and her friends up from camp and drove straight to the beach where we ended up staying until bedtime, pictured above. It was such a perfect summer night and I realized that we need to do this way more often! It has been so nice to see her swimming and brave in the water after years of being terrified of it. This is why we moved here, but I find myself feeling guilty for every second away from my laptop (every author knows this feeling lol) so I’m trying to be better about taking breaks like this.