Hi all…
It’s been a month!
Since the last time I had a goals post was back in June and so much time has passed since then, I’m not going to do a re-cap as part of this post. Just going to look forward and talk about my August tending list…

This month I am trying to really keep things simple and focused

August Monthly Goals:
*End of Summer Memories & Fun: Odds are good that next year around this time it will officially be the end of summer break for my oldest kid. He is going to a school this year that starts a bit later so we get two more weeks to indulge in summer shenanigans and we have some last things to check off our bucket list including ice cream for breakfast, a sleepover in the front room complete with hot chocolate (yes, my weirdo Phoenician son wants hot chocolate in August), and visiting the aquarium with grandma. And of course some final back to school shopping… am I the only nerdy one who thinks that counts as fun?
*Establish School Routines & Re-Set the Rhythms: While our summer lasts a bit longer than others in the state, we will still be transitioning into the school year this month and my daughter will be attending preschool for the first time this year, quite a bit earlier than her brother started but she can hardly wait to go! So we have some routines to establish to help the school year go well and to start this new season of life.
*Research car options: We had some huge car issues last month… like hugely expensive repair kind of issues… and we are currently starting to figure out a plan for a new car. we probably won’t buy this month, but we’ll need to research to make the best decision for us in the next few months. This is totally the kind of thing I’d put off if I didn’t hold myself accountable in some way.
*Date Night!: For the first time in a long time, we didn’t have a date night last month. Ready to fix that this month, and it’s going to be an extra special one since we’ve had this one planned for over a year- we bought tickets to Book of Mormon for my husband’s birthday present last year and the dates for it have FINALLY arrived!!
*Read 4 Books or More: It’s the end of summer reading season and I know the fall will probably mean pulling back on the insane amount of reading I’ve been doing the last several months, so I’m savoring it while it lasts.
*Finish Lunchtime Theater Script: It’s all officially official so I can announce that we are going to be working with the Herberger Theater’s lunch time theater program to bring a new addition to the Alphabet Shakespeare plays my husband and I write together. More on this in months to come!

August Weekly Goals:
*Budget Check in & Family Meeting: I got discouraged last month (from the car drama stated above and we had a few other large expenses which we’d prepared for but not quite enough) and I went three weeks without a budget check in… which wasn’t great, though thankfully the positive frugal habits we’ve developed kept us from straying tooooo far off track, we could have done better. But I’m ready to get back on the wagon and make this routine again.
*Family Friday: This feeds into the summer memories and fun goal. I love our movie night tradition over the summers and focusing on time together.
*Photo Routine: Another place where I got pretty far behind- I think with school starting I’ll take some of the alone time to really focus on catching up here!
*TV free night: With the hot summer nights, it has become easy for my husband and I to slip into the routine of just watching more TV than usual after the kids go to bed and letting other things around the house that need to get done just kind of sit there and add up… It was a great break of a month but time to get back to a more productive balance.
*Write Blog Post: Yes, even this routine seems daunting at the moment, but I’ll do the best I can to get a weekly post up!

August Daily Goals:
*Hydrate/Take care of my body: Hoping the monsoon season makes it easier to get out of the house and stay a bit more active but my top priority is keeping my water intake up.
*Morning Routine: Not just for myself to get back in the habit, but also for my whole family as part of transitioning to the school year.
*Evening Routine: Not just for myself to get back in the habit, but also for my whole family as part of transitioning to the school year.
*Fresh Faith Challenge: I’m joining the Fresh Faith Challenge with Cultivate What Matters and have a goal of using my Write the Word Journal every day in August. Looking forward to what I will learn.
*Sleep Hygiene: This mostly means trying to get into bed near the same time every night and making sure I’m not looking at screens an hour before bed. Also not charging my phone by my bed and not checking my email first thing in the morning.

And as much as I tried to simplify… that still looks like a lot! Whether your summer is still in full swing or back to school is your focus, let me know what you’re focusing on in this season so I can cheer you on too!