Summer is not over yet

That's what I keep telling myself. Actually, the last day of summer isn't until September 21, although it tends to feel like it's over the minute the kids go back to school. But not for us. As long as the weather is warm and sunny, my kids and I will continue our summer fun.

Lately, we've been busy walking the boardwalk, swimming and enjoying the end of summer fresh local produce while it lasts. You'd be amazed at how much watermelon and peaches I've consumed lately, but they are just so good ... and good for you, too.

The salad at the top of this post is actually the Peach Pecan Salad recipe from Tone It Up's Beach Babe edition, but with hemp seeds instead of quinoa (I also added some orange to make it a "Fuzzy Navel Salad"). It was a lovely way to serve some of the last peaches from my favorite local stand.
 

In the spirit of Endless Summer (I used to have a poster for that movie on my wall as a teen), I participated in Tone It Up's Beach Week, following the program to be in the best shape for Labor Day weekend. I tweaked the recipes to make them high raw vegan (many of them are high raw vegan already or can be with some simple substitutions; so happy to see Karena and Katrina adding so many fresh new recipes), but followed the workout plan rather closely. I also just stayed active in general, which is the best exercise of all.

As usual, I woke up early each day to get in my a.m. workout, while the kids were still asleep (and reward myself with a yummy Beach Babe edition Banana Split; I make mine raw vegan with homemade coconut yogurt or chia pudding, a sprinkling of cacao nibs and served up in a romaine "banana boat"). Later, I'd send Jacob off to school, leaving Hayden home to do my afternoon routine with me (she starts school tomorrow). She likes to do the Tone It Up Beach Babe workouts with me, because they are fun. I tell her we are surfing or dancing, and sometimes she crawls on my back to make my planks even more challenging.

Special for Beach Week, Hayden and I tried to capture us doing the Surfer Girl workout in photos, which isn't easy when you are exercising and working the camera at the same time. Talk about a giggle fest. Here's how our pics turned out.

Hayden warms up with Karena and Katrina.

I managed to get my limbs in a shot, while I "cinched."

The best part was filling our "tankinis" with frozen kiwi coconut water umbrella pops when we were finished. So cute and refreshing.

Hayden agreed :-) 

In the end, all that moving and a shaking really paid off. I felt great at the wedding my hubby and I went to this weekend, and wasn't shy about showing a little leg or my toned arms. I'm proud of myself.

Anyway, hope everyone had a great weekend. Make your summer last! :-)