Summer Lovin'

Pool time somewhere in Utah

It's only now, that my children are school-aged that their childhood has begun to awaken memories of my own. Of course their toddler years reintroduced me to places I had long forgotten, the zoo, the playground, the cereal isle at the grocery store, but it is only now that I can really begin to identify with what they are feeling.

The experiences we have had this summer brought back vivid memories from years ago. As a child summer was always somehow magical.  Hot, sticky school-free months that seemed to stretch ahead for years. The anticipation we felt those last few days in class, that tickley feeling of butterflies in our tummies as we envisioned sun-splashed afternoons enjoying the water parks of the Wisconsin Dells, the lazy days of beach and Popsicles, and the evenings spent outside with our friends playing kick-the-can and ghost-in-the-graveyard until dusk.  

Evening bike ride

Over the past couple of months we have had after dinner strolls for frozen yogurt, reminding me of my own frozen custard pilgrimages as a kid. We have hiked the Rockies, played in the rain, endured the Renaissance Festival, visited the zoo, splashed in the pool, drove across country, played with friends, stayed up too late, enjoyed all things grilled and did the ceremonial back-to-school-shopping.  And all these years later as August slips past I still feel the old familiar twinge of excitement in anticipation of the coming school year. Growing up in the Midwest, fall was always a welcome reprieve from the sticky heat of summer.

It's always a little sad to say goodbye to the summer, but I think the kids and I are ready. We have made sunny memories and are now eager to embrace the "new year" to come.

Wine in the rain

Rocky Mountain National Park

Fireworks over downtown Denver

Fun with friends.

Lots of summer ice cream! 

Even Bascom got to play!

Arches National Park