A little bit of Summertime

A little bit of summer fun that spanned between the 4th of July and when we left for our trip to the coast....



We were outside spreading bark dust and this little one went inside and got her book and "garden doll" and sat down to read (shirtless, no less) while we worked. She doesn't usually run around unclothed, but there was just something about the innocence of this photo that I loved and so I grabbed my camera and took a couple shots of her.



Notice the drawing on her leg?  :)



Dan chipped away at our pile of mulch while Matthew made a "chair" out of it.  Despite the leisurely appearance of Matthew, he and Andrew really were great helpers (Andrew especially).  It felt good to get this chore done.  It was overdue and has made weeding this summer SO easy.



We moseyed down to the car show one evening in downtown Camas this summer.  This is exactly what I wanted summer to be.  Spontaneous fun.   

We took this photo in front of the bug because this was my first car.  A 1969 VW Bug that my Dad refurbished.  It was white with red interior.  I remember trying to talk him into painting pink polka dots on it, and that was a no go, so instead my parents put a "Pretty in Pink" license plate holder on it.  It was fun to show the kids, "This was Mama's first car!"

Side note:  Kaitlin's sash was a "Princess" sash that went with a costume at home.  She put it on herself for the car show.  She was a beautiful car show princess.



There was a lightening McQueen look alike there which was fun.  There were all kinds of cars from all decades dating back to the 1920s and I loved looking inside of the old ones and seeing what they looked like. I couldn't help but to think of my Dad and how much he would have loved it.



The dance studio that Kitti takes lessons from had a group perform.  The kids went up to the front to watch and I was too late in snapping this, but Andrew had gone with Kitti and had his arm draped around her as they watched.  It was so sweet.



During the school year I told Andrew we would do something special when he was done with therapy.  I let him choose and he said he wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese with Aiden.  So I was finally able to make that happen and it felt good to see that commitment through.  Aiden is a very sweet boy and the two of them had a fantastic time.  Chuck E Cheese is not my favorite place, but I loved seeing how happy they were.



They sweetly pooled their tickets and shared them.

Our friend Kyle popped up one night to borrow something for his daughter's birthday party.  Dan understands the pain of being married to a crazy birthday party thrower and offered Kyle a drink.  He was happy to oblige.  I love this picture because while the guys enjoy a moment of peace the background of this photo and the upside down play area speaks the truth about our life.  Once again...spontaneous fun.



And here's the birthday party thrower, herself.  Sweet Katie and I on our Small group girl's night out.



And the rest of our group.  I adore all of these women.  Just looking at this photo makes me happy.  Cherished friends.



I have so much more summertime fun to share.  But I need rest for now, so that I'll have energy for more summer fun tomorrow.  The countdown is on and we're squeezing every last drop out of summer.  I have LOVED this summer.  I am very sad to see it draw to a close.  My goal is to do at least one post a night to try to get as caught up as I can on the blog before school starts.