DeLappenings: Memorial Day 2024: Festive Kickoff!

Okay, peeps.

In all ways except the equinox—and, well, the final, final day of school—summer is here!

You can feel it in the air. In the vibes. In the stinking triple digit temperatures we’ll be hitting tomorrow.

It. Has. Come.

Which means our backyard swim season is HERE!

But to rewind…

It has been kind of a sh** show around our household for the past few weeks. Insane schedules, casts (or boots) on more than one family member, doctor’s appointments, performances, strep throat (two rounds!), a sinus infection, double ear infections for the puppy, and just…man oh man, it has felt like a lot.

More than that…this whole school year has felt like a lot.

I’ve been noodling over the source of this amplified state of living, and I think that’s a whole post in and of itself, but my head has been spinning and life has been so fast-paced that many things have fallen by the wayside.

I realized the other day that one of the obvious things that’s fallen by the wayside is my festive decor and hoopla over holidays and special occasions! It’s long been my favorite thing to make a big deal out of anything and everything, but life has just not afforded us the opportunity for “extras” lately.

In fact, the last holiday we really did up right was Halloween! (Ironically, right when Coda puppy came to us, ha.)

Thanksgiving, we weren’t in town…

Christmas, I barely got the decorations up (and no ornaments or flair due to Coda!)…

For Valentine’s, we were in the heart of our house projects (read: pulling our hair out) and not decorating…

And for Easter, I was supposed to be out of town before schedules shifted and we pulled together some last-minute plans.

Don’t get me wrong: despite all the insanity of this year, there has been so much joy and LIFE and celebration…just not much time for deliberate planning.

When I realized we’d be out of town for the 4th of July this year, I decided we needed to make a BIG deal out of our summer kickoff this Memorial Day, and really do the Americana vibe up right.

And I’m not gonna lie: a little bit of mindless, joy-sparking retail therapy was exactly what I needed!

The other thing the hubby and I really needed: some cooking and baking and just new things for our flavor palettes! We’ve been on such a lather, rinse repeat cycle with food because of our chaos. So it was glorious to really spend a day or two and make some more involved or new things.

Like Daddy’s famous homemade pizzas…

The Sunny Lemon Cake I rarely make but always love (that Little Man official dubbed the Sunny Summer Lemon Cake, this year, tehe)…

And if you can believe it, I made homemade hummus for the very first time!

And homemade dairy free pesto that was GLORIOUS (please note the disaster on the countertops)…

In so many ways—mostly, thanks to the turf!—it feels like we’re living our best backyard life, yet! It’s all so usable and friendly and easy on the feet and eyes. It was a JOY yesterday to just be out there and enjoy it so much.

Hot dogs were a must!

Chicklet was suspicious of my frozen drinks, but pleasantly surprised, ha…

And speaking of Chicklet…holy, YAY, have you noticed that she was in the water and out of her boot?!

She’s been enjoying her doctor-approved freedoms of sleeping without her boot, and sitting without it on the couch at night.

Chicklet’s doc also approved swimming, but gently. No pushing off the ground or walls, and nothing strenuous!

I was worried about how it would go, but Chicklet felt wonderful in the water and I can only imagine it’s the best kind of rehabilitation! It was just a bit tricky carrying her to the water and helping her in and out, but she was a happy fish, and it will continue to do wonders for her—physically and mentally.