It’s September 1st. I’ve got my planner and freshly sharpened pencils ready to go, family sessions are filling the calendar, and I’m somehow still genuinely surprised every year when Starbucks rolls out the PSL in August. It’s finally only 99 degrees outside & someone called it “sweater weather.” I LOVE the fall! I’m excited for it! But this year… I’m sitting in that gap of no longer summer but not yet fall a little longer. I just finished going through my summer 2026 photos & I wanted to share a few of my favorites here.
This Spring was a busy one to say the least. I remember sitting down for a big family dinner in January. There was talk about a lot of different things this Spring, but it was time to make a plan and put dates on the calendar.
And it all fit: Welcoming my nephew, skiing in Breckenridge, a big celebration for my parents 30th anniversary and sending them off to the Keys for 10 days, a trip to Disneyland, a trip to Nashville. Plus the usual … TONS of sessions, baseball, babysitting, and you know … life. Sprinkle in a few head colds here and there and wowie it’s a wonderfully, complete spring. SO fun!
So after our very full spring, our summer plans were to take it easy up north.
How I Used My Camera to Capture These Summer 2026 Photos
I asked Caitee… “Should I tuck my camera away for a little summer nap or take it with me?”
“You always regret it when you leave it behind.”
Gosh, I love how she knows me.
I packed it along and set it off on a side table so it was easy to grab when I wanted, snap a photo or two and then put it away.
Oh boy, was it so freeing to let my camera sit there all summer. I took a handful of photos throughout the summer that I was so eager to come back to and edit. But for the most part I feel like I hardly even touched it.
I was shocked to find out this week that I took well over 1,000 PHOTOS! And that was with me seriously wondering if I even touched my camera?! Caitee’s right, I would have absolutely regretted not taking it!
Our Easy Summer
This summer was so wonderful! It was the calm and quiet we needed after that Spring season.
There were moments when I would sit on the back porch with my coffee and just be still and quiet, listening to the birds and the pines shifting in the wind. My mind felt like untouched water. Wow, it was refreshing. I really enjoy traveling and being on the go, off to the next session on the calendar … I wouldn’t trade it. But it’s so nice to sit, having nowhere to be, no timeline to stick to, no work to be done… just enjoy nothing for a little while.
(It was just what the doctor called for! You can read about that crazy story of my ER visit, nearly having emergency gallbladder surgery, and tons crazy anxiety HERE →)
But this summer, my shoulders came down. And somehow our wonderfully open and blank days were filled with the happiest memories.
For the most part, I spent my days working on the BGP Revamp. Think: taking a deep look at what’s working in BGP, what’s not working, listening to what my BG Moms have to say and what they need. And then creating a plan. The best part was having the TIME and SPACE to roll up my sleeves and actually get to work on it all! Take breaks and long walks under the pines to clear my head and start again, when I needed. So much got done and is just waiting for the final touches before I hit publish on it all! I can’t wait to share!
And here are some moments from when I wasn’t behind my computer this summer I don’t want to forget:
- Staining our bear family.
- Playing kitchen with Everly (Errr… more like, opening and closing the toy fridge a million times) when A&A and e&b visited over Memorial Day.
- Catching up on all the Toy Story movies and finally rewatching Gilmore Girls.
- Learning how to make sourdough… so many Pinterest Fail moments (#NailedIt), but I finally see what all the hype was about. Currently LOVING cinnamon raisin sourdough … the best morning treat!
- Oohing and awwwintg over all Caitee’s watercolors
- Listening to Daniel strum worship music on his guitar
- Popping kettle korn under the pines with live music over 4th of July
- Golf cart rides in the forest, long morning walks, bike rides, and slow coffees on the porch.
- Making close to probably 100 pizzas with the pizza oven Dad got for Father’s Day.
- Eating probably 100 pizzas
- Mom got all caught up on her scrapbooks. Just ONE more page left (this years!), and she is DONE with ALL of them forever!
- Playing pickleball and perfecting my shuffleboard game.
- Building a rock wall fence around our extra piece of land
- Learning that when our 85 year old neighbor says he’ll pay you heavily for cutting his wood, he means in ice cream at the local family-run ice cream shoppe down the road. I LOVE it! That quickly became our family’s guilty pleasure all summer … they have the BEST ice cream!
While this summer might not have been as exciting as last year’s RV trip to Yellowstone. It was perfect! Enjoy scrolling through my favorite Summer 2026 Photos!
