It was called The Summer of Sloany and it was glorious. But all good things come to an end and here we are on the eve of Sloan’s first day of school. I think I am more bummed about the ending of summer than Sloan. I love having her at the house full time and doing evening time activities that aren’t feasible for a girl on school nights. Sloan, on the other hand, has been counting down the days for a couple weeks now until her first day of school.

But that is the last time I am going to say that six-letter “S” word because I am going to focus more on that other six-letter “S” word for today’s post. Here are the five themes from The Summer of Sloany.

The four of us take a selfie as we wait for the fireworks show to begin at Pavillion Park in Liberty Lake. We had an awesome summer!

Friends – Our cul-de-sac really came alive this summer, starting pretty much on the very first day after school was out. With multiple houses on our street with little children, our small corner of the neighborhood was busy from morning to night with kid traffic. I especially enjoyed the evenings after dinner when Sid and I would sit in lawn chairs on our driveway and watch the street activity as the sun went down.

Sloan, Beau, and neighbor children play with each other in our driveway. This group has so much fun together!

Pool – Summer took a little longer to reach Spokane this season but once it did the hot temperatures were here to stay. We took advantage of the consistently gorgeous days by heading to the pool. We spent every weekend at either a city or county pool as Sloan (and sometimes Beau) splashed in the refreshing waters. And it wasn’t just the public pools that we played in. Throughout the summer, my parents’ neighbor, Kathy, allowed us to swim in her beautiful pool.

Sloan spent so much time in the water this summer. This photo is of her exiting Ms. Kathy’s pool.

Parks – It’s not a Reser summer without numerous trips to the plentiful parks in Spokane. Our favorite this year was Discovery Park where we spent plenty of hours frolicking in the splash pad and hanging on the innovative playground equipment. We also enjoyed ample time at places like Riverfront Park, Camelot Park, Greenacres Park, and Edgecliff Park. Picnics, meeting new friends, and trying daring stunts were all regular characteristics of our frequent park visits.

Sloan spent a lot of her summer at Spokane parks. This is her at the incredible Riverfront Park playground.

Bike Riding – Sloan really came into her own when it came to bike riding. The training wheels came off in the spring and she spent the summer racking up the miles on her “big girl” bike. She tore up the cul-de-sac on it and rode it every time her and I walked to get the mail. Sloan even inspired other neighbor kids to ditch their training wheels and keep up with her.

Sloan did some serious riding on her bike this summer.

Grandparents – The long days of summer proved another way that Sloan and Beau could spend special time with my parents. They were over at their house a lot over the past two and a half months to swim next door, play at the park across the street, and raid their freezer full of ice cream treats. In early August, our kids spent five straight days with “grandma and papa” as Sid and I went to Hawaii. Lots of memories were made!

Sloan and her papa spent a lot of quality time together this summer. This photo is of them at the East Valley High School track.

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The summer was characterized with other fun events such as Catholic Summer Camp, Silverwood Theme Park, Hoopfest, Fourth of July, Pig Out in the Park, and much more. But the daily core staples sure made Summer 2022 a whole lot of fun. Thanks for letting me go on the ride with you, Sloan! Don’t Blink.