summer lovin...

Besides the heat, summer is pretty much the greatest!

Here are some of the reasons why I love summer:

1. Homemade ice cream. This might be my favorite though these are in no order. I'm not a huge ice cream fan, but I just cannot resist the creaminess. My favorite way to have it, is made by my Daddy and topped with blueberries!

2. Visits with out of town friends. This is just one of the pictures of our summer trips to see friends. Summer just seems to allow time to get out of town and clear schedules so we can all get together. I love all of our children to meet and start building life long friendships like we've found.

3. Backyard Play! I wish you could see their faces in the picture below. I love this pic and it makes me so happy that they get excited over little things like a foot deep plastic pool. (BTW, don't you love our ghetto grill in the background. Yeah, long story. But The Man is due a nice grill. )

4. Enjoying friendships over long dinners. Whether it's family, a friend or just the four of us. I've noticed dinners start later these days and last a good while.

5. Sitting on my parents porch watching everyone play! I like to think that the memories I had growing up on this very same piece of dirt will be the same place my kids enjoy childhood. I know you can't tell through my many rants, posts and pictures...but this is my favorite place!

6. Going on adventures with my favorite two blessings. We've covered many trails, parks and country road to see where our newest adventure will come from. They love it and are such troopers. It makes me excited to see what all our family will get into for years to come.

7. Treats!!! I asked Scott the other night if he had to choose from one nice sit down dinner or a month of Gas Station treats. You see I'd probably choose the latter. I LOVE treats from a gas station. Weird, I know. But I get excited to go on trips because I feel justified to get an Ale8, candy or a bag of chex mix! My kids feel the same about bug juice and gummies!

8. Being Granny and Grandaddy's pool rats! It's soo nice having a pool to go to on hot days. We even get to have play dates there and swim with our cousins too! Thanks, guys!

9. Lots of fresh produce! I love all the fresh fruits and vegetables. It just makes me happy and feel more like a real cook when it is with REAL produce instead of from the can.

10. I feel like I should have one more just to make it ten so I guess why I love THIS summer so much is that I've had so much more time with my bestfriend and husband, Scott. It's been neat to see how God has used all our free time and days at home to grow closer as a family!