summer

Ahhh, summer.

Summer, with its late mornings and late nights.

Summer, with its lazy days.

My babies are cotton topped and smell like sunscreen.  Their noses are pink, their feet are almost always dirty, and they're completely exhausted at the end of the day. 

I love summer.

Every movie is my favorite movie.  Every song is my favorite song.  Every book is my favorite book.  I'm one of those people.  But my favorite season?  It's summer.  Truly.


We're a water loving family.  Well, 3 of the 4 of us anyway.  Wes, as it turns out, doesn't quite put the Fish in Fisher the way the girls and I do.  We love to swim, love to be in the sun.  In fact, there's so little shame in my swimming game, that if you drive by our house during the peak sun hours of the day, you're likely to see me wallering sitting in the girls' small plastic wading pool.

The best is when the girls grow tired of the pool and decide to play on bikes in the driveway, leaving their poor, full grown adult mama in the kiddie pool all by herself. 

The hypocrisy:  I caught myself relaxing back against the hard plastic side of the pool and doing the 'ol neighborhood sweep.  I surveyed the neighborhood, studying each house, each yard, each occupant.  I stared with narrowed eyes at the home of our next door neighbor... 

"Ugh," I mentally seethed, "their yard is so unkempt." I shook my head and clicked my tongue, "and look, they haven't even picked up their paper in days!"

.....and then I remembered:  I'm sitting, alone, in a kiddie pool in 6 inches of water....in my front yard. 

I'm thankful for humbling reality checks.





A smattering of pictures to tell the story of our summer thus far:


-A very hot visit to Log Cabin Village:

-The girls have really taken an interest in their wardrobe these days....

...and since they each insist on wearing no less than 5 individual outfits each day:

...we've been having a few laundry lessons.   Because, let's face it, I could use a little help with the laundry (although you'll all be proud to learn that for about 8 hours last week, the dining room table was completely laundry free and all clothes rested in their proper receptacles!). 

-"Rapunzel hair" has been a hot commodity this summer. Take it or leave it from Ava, but a full on I'm-not-leaving-this-house-unless-my-hair-is-in-a-braid from sweet Leah Jane.

- More menu's made by Ava.  On the menu for tonight: 



BBQ, also known as "Ava's Br-b-Cubs." 

Her writing is still, hands down, our favorite milestone yet.

Much like the anticipation of any good vacation, I'm already dreading the day that our summer comes to an end and we're faced with schedules and responsibilities again. 

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.

Such a sweet quote and reminder of how truly precious each day is, and how quickly they pass.


Until next time...

celebrating ruthie...

Wes' sweet grandmother, Ruthie, passed away last week, the third grandparent of his to have passed in 3 years time. We have such sweet memories of her, especially from Ava's baby days, and we're so glad that our babies got the chance to know her.

Wes' siblings and their families were all in town (we're the only losers still married to DFW) for a few days so we soaked up our fair share of cousin lovin'. 


5 under 5, that's the grandchild status in Wes' family.  And while this picture really couldn't be more unflattering, I thought it was necessary that I share it, along with the feeling of complete hysteria I felt when I viewed it for the first time and considered-hypothetically, of course-what it would be like to have 5 under 5.

I promptly died, just at the thought...

Aren't they cute though?  Ava's the oldest, having dressed herself this day in thick jeans, despite the heat, because proving a point to her mother is so much more important than listening to parental advice and wearing weather appropriate clothing...Naomi is next in line...followed just a few months later by Leah Jane....followed by Declan, who stands alone as the only boy grandchild...followed by our newest family member, baby Elena. 


We had a great time visiting with everyone, as always...

(Wes' youngest sister, Mandy)

(Wes' brother, Paul)

This girl, this girl.  She and I have a tumultuous relationship this summer.  You know, being that we're on day, what, 4 of summer vacation so far?

I embarrass, exhaust, and exasperate her.  She embarrasses, exhausts, and exasperates me.  We are the epitome of the standard, strained, mother/teenage daughter relationship....except, oh yeah, wait, SHE'S FOUR.

I love her.  So much.  She makes me cry in frustration near daily, but every night, when I lay my poor, heavy, exhausted head on my pillow, I'm overwhelmed with love and pride for this sweet girl.  And I know, I know that the things that can be so overwhelming to parent right now, will become her most admirable traits and qualities in the future, if fostered correctly....so let's just hope I learn to foster sometime soon...

It's an awful cell phone picture, but this is the new bathing suit I bought last week:

 "Wait. You bought me a zucchini?!" Ava shrieked. 

"Not a zucchini, silly," I told her.  "It's called a bikini."  Except the real life version involved me laughing for about 10 minutes straight and included Ava getting mad and stomping her foot, demanding to know "What. Is. So. Funny?!"

I embarrassed my girl by telling that story to so many friends and family members that she finally said to me, "Ugh, we get it, Mom.  I called it a zucchini, it's really a boo-kini.  Stop telling that story!"...which sent me into a fit of hysterics all over again, thus repeating the story-telling cycle....

That one was too cute to correct though, so my poor girl is still proudly sporting her new bookini.

***

Anyway, we really enjoyed our time with our girls' cousins while they were visiting, even venturing down to the Stockyards to partake in the daily cattle drive:

                                                                      (love this picture)

Thanks for a fun time, family.  We miss you. 

...

In the meantime, here's to:  movie nights, summer, great friends, charades, car naps, king sized beds, diaper-free "big girls", good books, watermelon, bath tub-drain-fixing-husbands-who-save-us-a-visit-from-the-plumber-on-a-Sunday, new car fever, bike riding, little girls who sing "Where is Thumpkin?  Where is Thumpkin?  Here I'm is.  Here I'm is...", alone time, coffee, and Ikea. 

Until next time...