Sunshine and Summertime

September. You guys. How is that even possible?! It feels like this summer just flew by with no time to even catch my breath. Summer is my most favorite season and I just can’t seem to get enough of it. Each year I struggle hard to wrap my mind around the closing of the summer chapter. Don’t get me wrong, fall is a close second on the favorites list, but every year, without fail, I’m just not ready for this transition period…. back to school and all the things that come with it leave me feeling a bit sad. In fact, I absolutely hate the end of August/ beginning of September. I hate it for many reasons. It has always been bittersweet. It signifies another year gone by; another collection of firsts and lasts. It’s actually a more difficult time for me than New Years’ Day (the true passing of another year). This is a reflection of summer days gone by.

I love everything about summer (probably because my birthday is right in the middle of it☺). Fifteen summers ago I fell head over heels in love with my soul mate. We’re not so great at ‘selfies’ as you’ll see below but we sure do have fun together. This summer had a lot of firsts and some lasts and some “didn’t quite make it on that adventure” moments. Two of our very best friends got married and the boys and I were in their wedding ♥ Jacob played his violin for the wedding ceremony (first time he has ever played for that large of a crowd)…Kev and I could not be more proud of the man he is becoming. Jake and I went on a road trip to Omaha, Nebraska to visit some of our family. The boys went camping, we tubed the Grand River twice, we had back yard fires and watched lightening bugs dance their way across a field. We went on hikes, had a backyard camp out, ate Dairy Queen blizzards for dinner, went to the beach, BBQ’d with friends (and family), spent time with some of our very best friends at their cabin, laughed until we cried, cried until we laughed, and overall, just enjoyed all of the summer moments that left us without a schedule to keep.

I celebrated making it to 42 with one of my best friends and her mom making me steak dinner with sautéed mushrooms and onions (my very favorite meal). The boys took me to my favorite local restaurant that overlooks the Grand River. Jake advised me “not to have a heart attack now that I’m 42,” and also informed me that he and Kev have started saving up for the installation of a chair lift for our stairs to make my transition into the elderly years smoother (clearly he does not wish to live past his next birthday with comments like that freely escaping his lips). I have spent 15 love-filled birthdays with my soul mate. We celebrated this milestone with a Quentin Tarantino movie (don’t judge me…I absolutely love his movies and this one did not disappoint).

We won a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. While there, we saw some things we’d never seen before and learned a few new facts, for instance, we learned that scooters apparently don’t have a weight limit, and tested our stomach’s ability to stretch by regrettably eating way too much at a seafood buffet, which inspired our decision to walk the epic 10 miles back to our hotel. Clearly one bad decision led to another and the end result was more blisters than I have ever had on my feet in my entire life (and I’m a runner!), needless to say (also in an effort to focus on the positives) we burned off our 20,000-calorie buffet meal ☺ Jake and I thought we were going to DIE on this walk, while Kev thought it was the BEST walk ever (if only Jake and I would stop complaining ☺). In our defense, we were the ones with the blisters at the end of this journey, while Kev’s feet were pretty as a peach and smooth as a baby’s bum.

Some of the activities I’ve listed are summertime traditions in our house and some are completely new adventures. I love traditions and have loved making new ones with our family while keeping the old ones alive. Summer for me is a truly magical time and has been since I was a little girl. I love fishing and camping, going to the local drive-in movie theater, backyard fires and wake boarding and lazy days spent lounging in the sunshine with a good fiction novel. Give me more sunshine and summertime and you are speaking my love language.

What are some of your summertime traditions? What’s your favorite season?

Some fun captured summer moments….