It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Andy Williams may have you thinking that I'm referring to Christmas...and while I adore everything that has anything to do with that holiday, let me just tell you that to me, Summertime is in fact THE Most Wonderful Time of the Year! Sleeping late, playdates and playgrounds, lazy afternoons spent in the backyard, afternoons soaking in the sun at the pool, late night walks and catching fireflies...popsicles and sno cones, the smell of suntan lotion (oops guess it's sunscreen now...have you seen how pale my kids are? where DID they get that skin! And really, it's not quite the same as the Hawaiian*Tropic oil we used growing up! Mmmm open a bottle of that and it takes me right back to summers spent laying out on my cousins' driveway...competing for the darkest tans!) the way the grass smells after it's been freshly cut, bbq's and the ice cream man, diet cherry limeades and slushies, fresh produce from my fruit stand guy, a tub full of sand and dirt after 3 kids have scrubbed off the fun from that day and even the hum of the mosquito truck...this all defines summer to me and I love every bit of it! The past few weeks have been a bit of a blur and we haven't really been doing much...still working the ridiculous overnight shift at kohl*s! So I've been sleeping only 2-4 hours each weeknight, then attempting to catch up on the weekends, but that never happens because there's too much of my "stuff" to catch up on! I'm not sure how, but I am surviving...some days better than others! Gotta tell ya, I'm not too sad that there's only 6 more weeks to go!) So back to my point...SUMMERTIME!!!! I LOVE me some SUMMERTIME!

What better way to kick off the summer than with a carnival...

Overpriced wristbands for unlimited rides meant unlimited fun! I was amazed at how brave these kids were on some of the rides (this is the girl who went to Disney*World and rode a total of 3...including the Carousel and It's a Small World!) Dillon's favorite was the dunking booth, where he successfully drenched the guy not once, but twice!

We found their cherry limeades hit the spot quite nicely!

I just love it when the biggest decision of the morning is...which playground should we visit today? Zachary*s Playground is our new favorite and worth every second of the 25-30 minute drive! after a few wrong turns, we finally found it and WOW...the kids spent several hours playing in the fountains, walking around the lake and climbing on the castle!

It has suddenly gotten so dang hot, we'd melt without the water fountains...

And when that's still not enough to cool us off, we head to the pool...

I am still amazed at how easy it is to have three kids at the pool this year! The big kids still can't swim as well as they should, but are both tall enough to touch everywhere. They know the rules and follow them...it's great! Dressed in his "Robot" outfit, Brady's pretty safe as long as I keep a good eye on him. Unlike his inquisitive brother at the age of 2, this guy pretty much stays in one place, then walks to his next spot! He likes to hang out with me (rather than run away!) and loves doing "Cannon-balls" off the side!

After an afternoon at the park and the pool, there's nothing quite like a frozen treat to motivate a kid to get into the car and go home! A friend of mine once posted that she loved the smell of her kids after a long day of playing outside...and after a long soapy bath! I completely agree...I love my sweaty, sunkissed, stinky, summer-time kids and the trail of dirt and smudges they leave from the back door to the basement playroom. I also love my snuggly, freshly tubbed, hair still wet, smellin' like cherries (our yummy new shampoo!), skin still warm from the sun, pj'd kids who fight for my lap as we wind down watching a movie or reading a book before finally drifting off to recharge for the adventures that lay ahead tomorrow! ...And then I go to work! It's actually a pretty good deal...I get to work full-time and spend all day (minus a few hours in the morning) with my kids. I've paid off two credit cards and am more than half-way through the really big one! I am a bit sleepy though, and have now (finally) learned to think twice before spending money I don't have!