little junebugs

and then there is just the essence of summer....i am drinking in summer like a thristy toddler sipping water from the hose or the kid trying to catch the drops of water on their tongue from the sprinkler. it's refreshing. it's calming. i don't know whether i am in a new place this summer and am able to enjoy more or if this summer simply has more to offer. obviously hudson is at a totally different stage....he is a walking/running mobile this year and ava is at a totally different stage as well with her miss independent, i can play mama stage.

it is such a virbant world out there....i'm finding myself ..... happy. my kids are a rich blessing making me so entirely happy.

in summer, we make lists. we make lists of all the things we want to do or plan on doing....not that we actually do everything .....but the talking and process of writing a list is exciting. just like talking about the vacation i dream of. envisioning islands that seem so far away where there are colors and sunshine and clouds that stand out against vibrant skies so amazingly, just talking about it makes me crazy.

so, now that june is ending, paul and i did one of our dreamy let's do more chit chats.....let's have more barbecues. let's chase fireflies at night and watch the stars come out. let's make lemon-lime mojitos with friends while the kids dance around the yard playing hide and seek. let's take the kids on a duck ride ....you have to live in wisconsin to get this one....

i can feel it. that peek of childhood wonder that brews within and gets stirred up now and then to release a storm of happiness. Like the waves of the ocean swirling, rising and crashing awakening an adventurous spirit.

that's what summer does. frees me. inspires me. to relive childhood happinesses and somehow strive to create some magical land of never-ending happy days and colorful memories for my kids.

so, the list goes on.

spend the day with friends at the lake...Check.

blow bubbles in the summer heat and throw water balloons....maybe a giant one...

visit the beach often and watch my summer sprites take on the waves and sand.

let's go mini-golfing.

splash in the puddles with my children. check.

 

dance in the rain. check.

 

catch this kid. he is out that door as fast as can be. give him lots of hugs and kisses. check.

play outside. color outside. have picnics in the shade. everything is better when you are outdoors. check.

make an after dinner trip to get ice cream in our pajamas. why not.

"the aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely, aware." henry miller

i am living my happies. to sidle up next to little bodies and kiss tiny feet, hold tiny fingers, wisp away blonde curls from sun-drenched checks and tell stories of summer adventures. like barbecues. and trips to the beach and diving into pool waters for late night swims.


so far, we have had one delicious june. and i'm loving my little junebugs.