~Spring Came!~

With beautiful 70 to 85 degree weather three days in a row last week, I felt blessed beyond measure.  We set out for a long week.  Between work, school, and a work conference for Nick we just didn't see each other until the weekend.  I'm sure the kids missed their daddy, but it was in the back of their minds as they explored the great outdoors.  Every day we went to at least two playgrounds, and when we weren't at the playground we were in the backyard from the moment the kids were dressed to the time they were putting on pajamas and heading for bed.  We ate lunch at the park.  We bought flip flops!  We got pizza for dinner and ate on the back deck.  We left the windows open all day long.  I even took the kids out for ice cream at 7 o'clock at night when it was still a balmy 80 degrees.  We drove around town with our windows down, babies singing "Dancing Through Life" and "The Emerald City" from Wicked everywhere we went.  And the entire time it felt like summer.

I felt like summer mom.  I'm way more relaxed and laid back in the summer.  I'm way more fun too.  I do things I wouldn't normally do and ignore my house turning into a disaster zone.  We spend our days playing in the sunshine, eating fruit by the pound, splashing in the water, slurping down popsicles and ice cream and digging in the dirt.  We read books on the deck, swing for hours and explore everything from the rocks on the ground to the clouds in the sky.  We laugh.  We play.  I sit back and watch my children learn, and get to answer questions like "Mom, where does water come from?"  I love being summer mom.  It's so much more fun.

Unfortunately summer mom forgot to take many pictures.  I was having too much fun playing and basking the glow of the happy moments to stop and grab my camera.  Just picture bright blue skies with the occasional white puffy cloud, sun shining down everywhere.  The greenest grass sprouting up all over the backyard, with bright green daylily bulbs, deep purple hosta shoots, freshly turned soil, tiny little leaves just starting on trees, bunnies bouncing, cardinals landing on tree branches, birds singing all around and squirrels running up and down the already green tree trunks.  Picture my kids running around, collecting rocks, climbing trees and jungle gyms, swinging high and Alec trying to teach himself how to pump in the big kid swing.  Picture me, relaxing on the deck at my little bistro table, smiling, sunglasses on and lemonade/popsicle in hand.

It was a lovely few days full of hope and excitement, full of Spring.