summer is sweet.

Before I went back to work, I didn't quite realize
just how sweet summer is.
{well, when you're a teacher, that is.}

But now...
it's so clear.
Summer is precious time.

I love the feeling on a Sunday night
of not dreading Monday.

Come August, I'll be back to those dreadful Sunday nights.
I'm going back to teaching full-time next year:
second grade.
I'm excited, and anxious, and...not ready.
I need this summer.
So I'm trying to soak it all in.

We made our annual summer list.
It has the usuals:
go to tahoe
camp in the backyard
go to the pool
make ice cream
go to the beach
etc.

So we're slowly and deliberately crossing items off of the list.
And I'm loving every second of vacation.
{almost every second.  i don't love the kids bickering.  or the complaints of being bored.
or taking all three kids with me to costco.
i don't love that.}

Water fight with friends...check.
Actually, I'm not even sure it was on the summer list.
But it was fun.
Even if my windows did get soaked.



Other things that make summer sweet:
peony season.
I'm just sad that the season is so short.
They are the perfect flower.



Bed canopies.
She really, REALLY, wanted one for her birthday.
{i kind of want one, too.}



A Hobby Lobby recently opened in our area.
Before it did, I hadn't been in Hobby Lobby since we lived in Texas
in 1999-2001.
It was just as glorious as I remembered.



Another sweet thing this summer?
Ikea.
I took the kids on our very first day of break.
What better way to celebrate summer than with Ikea meatballs?



Also sweet...summer movies.
Avery was my date to go see Maleficent.
She had already seen it but wanted to go again with me.
And she had to try to win a bouncy ball in the arcade,
because we definitely don't have enough of those around the house.
{darn...we weren't winners.}



I've decided 2014 is the summer of the white nail polish.
I have a tiny little obsession with it.



Don't you think if summer had a taste it would be
watermelon and caprese salad?
I could eat caprese all day.
#tomatobasilmozarellaforever
And I used to hate watermelon when I was a kid.
I probably didn't start liking it until my thirties.
Weird.



Gary bought me The Art of Racing in the Rain
because he thought I would like it.
It's an easy read.
Have your kleenex ready at the end.



I am not a very good board game player.
Candyland...kill me.
Monopoly...I might die.
Old Maid...zzzzzzzz.

But Quirkle?  So fun.
I actually enjoy playing it.
And it's colorful!  Bonus.



And, of course, soccer.
The World Cup is on,
and nothing much else gets done during a game.
Especially when Mexico plays Holland,
and your husband is half Mexican, half Dutch.
{#dutchican}



The World Cup has also inspired someone to keep that soccer ball
with him all throughout the day.



And with the Fourth of July this week,
we had to make a stop at the fireworks stand.
I'm pretty sure one of those four people is the most excited
about fireworks.
{hint...he's over 40.}


Summer is sweet.
And there's more to come.

a tradition of dirt and s'mores.

There are so many things I want to remember about our vacations to Fallen Leaf Lake
when I'm 80 years old and sitting on my front porch with Gary drinking tea
at three o'clock in the afternoon.

...the Suburban packed to the gills with not an inch to spare



...the way the tent gets so crazy hot during the day and coldddddd at night



...the kids making finger shadow puppets by lantern light in the tent



...how camping coffee is so super delicious



...how he was all smiles, even though he was on heavy duty antibiotics for a horrible ear infection



...that they took the raft out on Lake Tahoe all by themselves



...that little boys like dead, stinky crawdads



...kids and dirt and forests go really well together



...how much they love the campfire every night and how good the boys got at starting it themselves



...that tin camping mugs from my grandpa are perfect



...that little boys like live crawdads with enormous snapping claws



...the view on the hike we take every year



...the sound of the wind on fallen leaf lake



...huge ice cream cones



...sunsets over the lake





...how the thinner air makes you sillier



...camping hair



...and freedom.



I probably won't remember what a pain it is to pack for camping,
or how many days I spend doing laundry after we get home.
I'll just remember how the kids think it's the best vacation ever
and how spending every night with all five of us in one tent
pretty much makes me the happiest in the world.

my new favorite tradition.

You know how when school is winding down
and you are SO ready for the year to be done
because if you have to pack another lunch you are going to cry?

And then school is out and you head home
after the class parties and the goodbyes
and you unpack the backpacks and throw all of the crap
{did i say crap?  i meant treasures}
in the recycling
{did i say recycling?  i meant special archive box}
and twenty minutes later your freshly graduated kindergartner is telling you
she's bored?

Yeah.

And then by God's grace you've reached Summer, Day 8, and you've logged
a lot of togetherness already
{because don't summer days go by at a snails pace?}
and you're just kind of missing those days when the kids are in school
and you can go to Trader Joe's by yourself
and browse the frozen foods section in peace?

Yeah.

This weekend I was mourning my alone time.
But thinking at the same time I love having them home.
I know.  I don't get it either.

And then a little idea was born.
I'm not even sure who spoke it first.
But born it was,
and it was a beautiful thing.

"The Night Before Father's Day Backyard Campout"

Don't you love the ring to that?

It's so simple:
tent + backyard + everyone except mommy
{key words: everyone except mommy}

At first mention of the idea the kids were sold.
Like, so sold they practically set up the tent all by themselves
and couldn't wait to get to sleep in it.







This first annual backyard campout there was nothing fancy.
Just the tent:
Hanging out in the tent.
Reading in the tent.
The dogs in the tent.
The cat in the tent.
Shining the flashlight around the tent.
Selfies in the tent.



And then after the selfies mommy said,
"ok guys, good night!  have fun!  stay warm!  love you!!"

And mommy went inside.
And mommy had the house to herself for the evening.

God bless the Night Before Father's Day Backyard Campout.

Next year - because there WILL be a next year - we'll get fancy:
we'll grill burgers
and roast marshmallows
and sing campfire songs.
{no we won't.}
And then mommy will still go inside
and rejoice in one night of solitude
and watch So You Think You Can Dance all by herself.

And the next morning she'll be happy and refreshed when the crew
comes running back into the house at 7:30.
And then when she has to roll up all of the sleeping bags
she'll vow that next year those kids are going to learn
how to roll up their own dang bags.

spring break tuesday.

I forever associate the smell of vinegar with dyeing eggs.

I love Easter.
And dyeing eggs is one of my favorite traditions.



We don't do anything fancy.
Just regular Paas dye.  Chalk full of artifical colors.







No one else in my family likes hard-boiled eggs except me.
So guess what I've been eating for breakfast every day since this....







They were really itching to peel an egg.
They gagged and "ewww"ed the whole time.



Easter morning was gorgeous.
Before church Gary and I sat outside under the pergola with our coffee
listening to the rain and looking at a rainbow off in the distance.
Perfect.



And this year the Easter bunny brought her hair chalk.
She goes by the philosophy that 'more is better'.
{allllll the colors!}



And let's talk Easter candy.
I've avoided all the Easter candy this year.
Which is NOT LIKE ME.  At all.
Even the Cadbury eggs...sigh.
I did have two Bordeaux chocolates from See's, though.
Seriously...who can resist the Bordeaux?!
But other than that my sugar boycott remains in effect.

The kids are on spring break this week.
Today we had a little mini beach party here in our town.



Tomorrow Gary took the day off and we're going to go
looking for more adventures.
Why can't every day be a vacation day?

reasons why i like today.

I've had my windows open since nine o'clock this morning.
It got to 70 degrees here today and felt like heaven.
Lucy and I soaked up our fair share of Vitamin C this morning,
and that set the tone for the day.



Sandals and tank tops in February?
I'll take it.

This morning I threw some chicken breasts and homemade bbq sauce in the crock pot,
so dinner was done by ten o'clock.
Easy dinners that are prepared by mid-morning are my favorite.
Don't you want to kiss the inventor of the crock pot?
No?  Just me?



I like this little corner of my kitchen right now.
The gumball machine is stocked,
and the happy jar is there to remind me of life's little happy moments.
And oh, do you see that picture of my little Riley?
It was his kindergarten picture.
I have to turn in so it can be included in the yearbook next to his 5th grade picture this year.
Oh my aching heart.

And that little boy, who is now not little,
and his brother gave me the sweetest valentine gift ever.
This: because "you like this color, and you like jars and chocolate."



Again, my heart.
Those boys are going to be good husbands.

And speaking of Valentines Day,
I do believe we started a new Valentines tradition last night:
homemade heart pizzas.



Pepperoni and cheese for the kids,
tomato, basil, and fresh mozzarella for Gary and I.

I had a post-Valentines glow this morning,
which has everything to do with the two Ghiradelli dark chocolate salted caramel squares
Gary and I ate after the kids went to bed.
I forced myself to stop at two.
If ever there was a winning combo, salt and caramel is it.

We squeezed every last drop of sun we could out of this day.



Tonight after the kids are in bed I'm going to have another salted caramel Ghiradelli
and curl up on the couch with my husband and some Project Runway.

I like today.