Water

Water. We all need it, we've all heard the eight cups a day rule. Some days this is easier to "swallow" than others.

My sister religiously carries a water bottle with her everywhere, she gets her minimum requirement and then some each and every day. My parents, especially my dad, get their water intake through just about anything else besides water! We have been after him for years to drink more water.

A great way to start your morning is with a nice glass as soon as you wake up. It hydrates you and helps you face the day, even before your coffee or breakfast drink of choice. Why not start off with a cup and be ahead of the game?

I recently discovered the magic of a water pitcher with a diffuser through the middle. It allows you to flavor your water with anything you like and change the flavor as often as you want. Brilliant! Today's flavor happens to be blueberry and basil, fresh picked from my pots in the backyard! It's refreshing and keeps tempting me to drink more! I've experimented with many flavor combinations, some we have enjoyed better than others. Cucumber, watermelon, pineapple, peach, lemon, lime, mint, orange, all have been sampled throughout the summer. I'm thinking about trying lavender next. Really there is no right or wrong, just change your ingredients every few days and enjoy!

Sounds silly, but water is so important to keeping us healthy and if you can swap out a glass or two of water in place of a sugary drink or soda, it's a win win! Now I have to get to work to convince my dad of this practice. Maybe I haven't hit upon the right flavor, just gives me motivation to keep trying. Water, who knew it could be so fun?

Water

I feel like that has been a dominant topic in my life this summer.

We have spent countless hours already swimming at the pool, whether it's simply to try to cool off from the raging heat or taking swimming lessons with friends. We are about to leave for a weekend family reunion to Wisconsin Dells. My kids, thankfully, love to swim. We will spend hours going from one activity to the next, all while soaking wet! Then it's yet another family, this time to the lake. We will again spend hours getting wet, skiing, playing in the sand, then drying off, only to be right back at it hours later!

While we count ourselves fortunate enough to be able to escape the heat and head to various types of water, it's certainly a very popular topic this summer.

With record heat and droughts occurring, it makes you appreciate just how precious water is. Is this the face of the new summer? Will we have a winter like last year, barely any snow only to head into a summer with little rain and scorching temperatures? It scares me what this will mean for my kids when they are adults. I guess we won't know for sure, but as I pack for yet another pool day tomorrow, I will be talking to my kids about soaking it up and enjoying every second while we can.