summer plans and too much stuff

i realized tonight that we haven't really done much in the last few weeks. summer is getting away from us so quickly. jake has splashed around in his little pool in the yard, he's played with a friend here or there, he went to a birthday party, and we all went to a bbq. we've gone on a few daytrips as well. We went to Bellingham and shopped a bit, we went for drive through Stanley park, and we took a drive up to the lake. every year the same thing happens, we have such great plans to pack as much fun into the summer as we can, but then we only do about half of it. i really want to take Jake camping this year, go to the lake a few times, and maybe take him on a hike. i also want to do the waterslides, Playland and Dinotown (last year for dinotown!). We'll go to the agrifair, the PNE and our favorite...the Lynden Fair....can't wait!!

i'm also looking forward to doing a "toy and clothing purge" in the next few weeks. i'm amazed at how much "stuff" we've accumulated in less than a year. it really is quite an eye opener to see all the things that we've purchased or been given, and realize that we don't even need it. one toy that was purchased after much begging from one brown eyed boy, is now broken or missing a part. another toy was "gummed" and chewed to death by a 15 month old cutie pie...not worth giving away. so many things that brought a few days or even only moments of joy..now lay haphazardly in boxes or baskets or corners of closets...forgotten and discarded. ahh consumerism...i give in way too often!! we'll see how many boxes of stuff i gather up from all the rooms of the house. hopefully it'll teach me a lesson about not buying what we don't need!

Kelly