Dog days....

Yesterday, I stopped by Target to pick up cupcakes for Henry's much-belated birthday party. (And bear with me - - I am going to divert from my intended story for just a moment....Did you know that they sell decorated cupcakes at the grocery store? You can just pick them up. Done. You don't have to find a recipe and buy ingredients and bake and cool and frost and decorate them yourself?? I know, I know....I'm the last person to the party on this one, but WOW!! This is about the best thing since I found out macaroni and cheese comes in a box!)

Anyway.....so I'm at Target, and I swear, I had to walk the loooonnnngggg way around the store in order to avoid coming face-to-face with the "back to school" aisles. Seriously? Do we really need multi-colored wide-ruled notebooks and glue sticks and mini-kleenex packs when it isn't even August yet???

Of course, what makes this so tough for me, is that I am a countdown fanatic. It's just in my nature.  On the first day of a two week vacation, I'm obsessing over the fact that I only have 15 days left. And I may be the only one who knows that there are 146 days until Christmas. (okay, I really googled that fact, but I have started making my advanced planning lists for the holidays.....)

But back to school??  Now?? Forget about it....

This year, I am completely ignoring any indication that summer is coming to an end until - - wait for it - - until it really is the end of summer.

Radical, I know.....

This year, we are squeezing everything out of summer.

Every. Last. Drop.

Fabulous warm weather.  Bathing suits and bare feet.  Picnics, the park and the pool.  Lots of friends and family.  And fruit at its peak.


(the kids thought I was crazy to drag them outside so I could take pictures of their bedtime snack.  Yup, maybe a little crazy....)



















My garden has been pretty much a bust this year.  It was a late effort, and the weeds have taken over.  But, that is really besides the point.  We just want to get our hands in the dirt and see what happens.

None-the-less, Anna and I trekked down to see if we could find anything that might make it to our dinner table.  Anna searched and searched for her carrots, to no avail.  But, it looks like we will have pumpkins in fall.  So all is not lost!





I love the way a tub of water can entertain for an hour....and I love not caring that Anna gets soaked from head to toe.  My favorite summer sentence:  "it'll dry...." (Well, that and "let's get ice cream!")













Henry is taking swim lessons right now.  And the weather is perfect.  He's had Emily as his instructor for the past three years.  She's the best ever!   





And since the pool is officially closed while Henry has his lesson, Anna gets the kiddie pool all to herself.  Well, her and a floating Spiderman. 









Big news:  Henry jumped off the diving board, unassisted for the first time!  Henry really wanted to do it.  And he did. 

It is such a privilege to watch these bold, brave acts from my kids. They inspire me everyday. 







These last weeks, Henry has had quite a few play dates. And on Friday, Anna cried foul.  Henry was off to attend a play with his friend Jonathan.  "That's not fair, Mom" snapped Anna.  And she had a point.  So, we called Anna's friend Emily and all headed out for pizza and ice cream.

These little girls are just so darn cute together.







At a sleep over last week, Henry and his friend asked that I take some pictures. However....

Henry's friend (who shall remain nameless), requested that I disguise his identity in my photos.  So, the boys tried all sorts of elaborate means for maintaining his 7-year-old privacy!  These were their favorites....


(those are Henry's clothes to even further the disguise.)



One of my favorite parts of summer is a good thunderstorm.  Obviously, not the "severe" variety.  But the warm summer evening shower, with rolling thunder and a soothing rain.  We had just that last night, along with quite the lightening show. 

Nothing feels more like summmer to me than sitting on the front porch, surrounded by the warm dark and watching a storm pass by.



I'm so grateful that we have so much summer left to enjoy.  And enjoy is exactly what we will do. We'll relish and savor and linger in these dog days of summer.

(And I'm pretty sure that Target will have school supplies left on Labor Day - - when summer officially draws to a close!)

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One other note....

It's hard to believe, but this is my 200th blog post.  TWO HUNDRED!!!

Crazy.  Two years ago, I would have NEVER EVER imagine (even in a google years, as Henry would say) that I'd be blogging, and much less - loving it!!  But now, I often find myself thinking in "blog."  (As in: hmmmm, that could make a good blog post topic or picture or grateful entry for the day). 

Thank you for taking time to visit me and my ramblings.....

And, if you are reading, leave me a comment below. Let me know you stopped by.   (Otherwise, it feels like I'm talking to myself....which isn't completely out of the ordinary, but company is nice too!!)

Happy Last Day of July!!