Monthly Musings

Hello! How’s your week going? It’s like March Madness over here…survive and advance!

Y’all I’m so glad it’s Thursday…that just means we’re one day closer to the weekend. Speaking of which…how in the world is it the last Thursday of the month?!

I’m linking up with Patty for this month’s edition of Monthly Musings.

This month’s topic is…summer 2026 preview. Now, this is a topic I’m excited to write about!

1. Tell us about your Memorial Day weekend.

Well, to sum it up in one word: Rain. It rained and rained and then rained some more! We did spend Saturday morning (in the rain) at the state track meet; Hadley ran the 4×200 relay. Sunday, I took TWO naps. I was so tired. I guess a long week at school (at the end of the school year) along with a few late nights last week caught up with me. I gave myself permission to just be lazy. Monday, we went to the quarter final regional high school baseball game, and our school won with a walk off home run! It was an exciting finish.

I always joke that there are two types of people on Memorial Day weekend…pool people and productive people. Not that you can’t be both, but the pool tends to be crowded, so that’s not usually a weekend we prioritize going to the pool. Typically, Trav does yard work, and there’s usually some kind of kid activity. I guess I know that I’m about to have somewhat unlimited pool time once school is out, so I’m fine to wait until the crowds die down. That being said, we didn’t really have great pool weather this weekend anyway. Hadley did go to the pool for a couple of hours on Monday.

2. What were your summer jobs when you were younger?

Once I turned 16, I got a job at a local dental and ortho office. I worked year round, but I picked up more hours in the summer.

3. Ice cream or popsicles? Favorite flavor?

When I saw this topic, the first thing I thought of was orange sherbet push pops when I was a kid. Those were the best. Now, I’m probably more of a ice cream girl…mint chocolate chip is my fave. I still love the little mini cones from Trader Joe’s as a sweet treat.

4. What do you like on your burgers and hot dogs?

I only like cheeseburgers, and I typically put pickles and onion on if there are those options. For both hot dogs and burgers, I like both ketchup and mustard which seems to be controversial?

5. Beach, lake or mountains?

In the summer, I like the beach or the lake. We don’t get to the lake often, but I love a beach vacation. That being said, since we’ve started going to the beach for fall break (and sometimes spring break), we haven’t had a summer beach vacation in a couple of years.

Last year, Trav and I went to Lake Michigan, and it was truly a highlight of my summer!

6. Share any travel for summer 2026.

We’d tossed a couple of ideas around…rather big ideas actually, but Hadley has a volleyball tournament in Orlando, so I think we’re going to pin bigger travel ideas for the future, and instead try and carve out some beach time before her Orlando tournament.

7. Do you visit amusement parks in the summer? Tell us your favorite.

When I was a kid, we went to Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun in KC…truly a highlight of my summer as a kid.

Now, I’m not a big amusement park person. Trav loves a roller coaster, and as I’ve gotten older, that’s just not my thing….especially if the coaster makes me go upside down.

We have some fun memories at Disney World. We’ve taken the kids twice…once when they were five and then again when they were nine. We all enjoyed it, but we’re not Disney fanatics.

8. Do you enjoy dining outside in the summer?

I do enjoy dining outside in the summer if it’s not too hot. If patio seating is available at a restaurant, we’ll usually take it….and we enjoy our back patio in the summer too.

9. Favorite summer beverage?

It depends…if I’m having a beverage in the summer, I will drink a margarita, a White Claw or a glass of white wine.

As far as non-alcoholic beverages, when I think of summer, I think of cherry limeade from Sonic! The kids put Nerds in their cherry limeade, so I do that now too! Hadley just went to Sonic yesterday, so there was a cherry limeade in the fridge waiting for me when I got home from school.

10. Favorite side dish for summer parties? Please feel free to share recipes.

This is my “go to” pasta salad if I’m bringing something to a get together:

I’m soooo ready for summer break!