Happy Monday! I’m starting the week with Holly and all of you! I hope you’ll link up with us for Hello Monday! It’s been a while since I’ve posted much, but I am happy to be back with you today.

I want to start by wishing my mom a very happy birthday! I am excited to celebrate you tonight Mom! My mom is such a great mom and always ready for a good time! When we are together, we laugh, get excited for each other’s stories, and I genuinely enjoy every minute. Happy happy birthday Mom! Get ready for some laughs tonight!

I was hoping to share a weekend recap last Monday – didn’t happen – and I started writing a What’s Up Wednesday post – never finished – and I had some Friday favorites ready to share – didn’t get to it. I’d love to say it is all because of Summer Sarah, but I’m not sure that’s the case. I am in Summer Sarah mode but I am still working on finding a routine that includes everything I want summer to include – reading, relaxing, exercising, family time, pool time. blogging, coaching, friend time, etc. I keep reminding myself that it is STILL JUNE and I don’t go back to teaching work until August 25th. There is a lot of summer left to be summered!

I shared some favorites ten days ago, so here’s what I’ve been up to since then.

We had our first summer swim meet and I had so much fun! The swimmers did a great job swimming and cheering each other on. As a coach, I can encourage swimmers, give them technique tips, and cheer hard while they swim. It was great!!

Last Sunday, I went to Old Town Alexandria to meet my college roommate Amy and her daughter. Amy was in town for a family reunion and staying until Monday so we met up Sunday evening. They live in Alabama and it was so nice to see them! Amy and I went for a walk and then we headed to dinner. Her daughter wanted Asian food and I decided to be a little adventurous. I typically do not eat Asian food. I don’t have experience with it and am not sure what anything is. I trust Amy, so we went for it. I think we had summer rolls with a peanut sauce, chicken teriyaki, Asian lettuce wraps, and edamame. It was all great! Next time I am faced with ordering at an Asian restaurant, I know I like these things. Woohoo!! I had the best time catching up with Amy. We talked about everything from work to technology to friendships to family to mahjong and of course books! I met Amy on move in day in August 1998 at JMU and we have been friends ever since.

I loved my orange cardigan with my orance Crocs. They are so comfy!

After a great weekend, swim team practice was great! We started a new thing called the Best Times board. If a swimmer gets a best time at the meet on Saturday, they sign the Best Times board and it stays up all week on display at the pool. The kids were so excited to sign it and see their improvement! We had 7 great practices this week!

This week was SO HOT! We spent a lot of time at the pool with friends. I felt like the water police all week. I was worried about the coaches drinking enough water on deck at practice. I was worried about the swimmers drinking enough water in while at practice. I was worried about Jack drinking enough while guarding. I was worried about Luke drinking enough while playing at the pool. Great news – everyone did!

Jeff, Jack, and Luke played golf with my dad on Tuesday. I was worried about them drinking enough water, too. They had a good time but it was so hot that Jeff and Luke called it a day after 9 holes.

We spent a lot of time at the pool with friends. We had one rainy day and brought some friends home to play Mario Kart. Luke was thrilled!

Jack’s week has been busy. He had driver’s ed every evening and worked at the pool a lot. He did get to the golf course a few times to practice.

On Friday, it was overcast and chilly and I declared it to be a no pool day. I did a grocery pickup and went to Trader Joe’s. Summer Sarah hadn’t been to the grocery store or done much meal planning and it was getting dicey. I went out to dinner with some friends on Friday evening and we had a great time. It’s been a while since we got together so we had lots to catch up.

Saturday morning was another swim meet and it was full circle moment. Our swim team swam at the pool where I grew up. I swam my first race in that pool forty years ago. 29 years ago, I started coaching at the Westminster Riding Club and on Saturday we swam them at their pool. I was back on deck coaching swim team and it was a wild feeling. My mom and dad came. There were a few kids I swam with who are now parents on the team. It felt a little funny to sit on the visitor side of the pool, but it was fun to be back. And, we won the swim meet! Woohoo!!

Luke was the only 13-14 boy that was swimming butterfly so he swam with the 15-18 boys. It was a pretty exciting race because Jack was also swimming butterfly and the brothers got to swim together/against each other for the first time since they swam butterfly together at 6 and 8.

We had adult night at the pool on Saturday night. The weather wasn’t great but we had a good time. It was good time and we ended up staying until the end.

We all slept in a little on Sunday and had a slower start to the day. Jack and Jeff went to the golf course and Luke and I went to the pool for lap swim. I figure if I am asking these kids to swim every day, the least I can do is swim on Sundays. I swam last Sunday, too. Guess what, when you don’t swim often it is not easy! It feels good to use some different muscles and be back in the pool. Jack worked at the pool most of the day and Jeff, Luke, and I hung out. I read a little and talked with friends.

We came home for dinner and got ready for the week. It was a relaxing but productive evening. I could use a rainy day or two in the next week or so to get some things done around the house, but it will be ok if we don’t get one. How are you doing this summer? Are you getting a good mix of productivity and relaxing?

I am looking forward to some reading time at the pool, some good exercise time, and some family time this week. And I am looking forward to celebrating my mom tonight! If you blogged today, be sure to link up with us below. Have a great day full of sunshine and books!