Summer Love

I am totally in love with summer. And even though the first day of summer only started this week, I'm personally a month in. I'm loving every minute of it!

I love that the windows can be opened and the house aired out. 

I love that I can serve pudding with a good conscience that I'm not heating up the kitchen and that at least it's a dessert with milk in it. 

I love that I can get up in the morning and have a whole hour to myself before everyone else gets up. I establish my quiet routine and sit down to write things I've been thinking and studying about for awhile - a project that's been part nemesis and part greatest gift. 

I love that things are growing in my backyard. And not just the weeds!

I love that Will's home and we're all together and I can enjoy what a great kid he is!

I love Zanna and her neighbourhood gaggle of girls playing on the slip and slide in the backyard and making pictures with colourful chalk on my driveway. 

Yes, Will is driving me around so just call me Miss Daisy. Except that I'm not elderly and I don't sit in the backseat but other than that...

These are a few of my favourite things:

• Spotify - thank goodness I have a teenager who lets me know about these things! Now I can avoid listening to the same music over and over again on the radio. I'm loving the "Dinner Music" and "Coffee House" mix for my salon. 
• Tim Horton's Maple Iced Capp. Just when I thought they couldn't really improve on the regular iced cap, they went ahead and added maple flavour, whipped cream and this lovely little crunchy topping of maple tidbits. Delightfully Canadian!
• Downton Abbey - getting in on this late in the game but oh.my.word. I'm addicted bad. Thankfully we don't have to wait a whole week between episodes or longer between seasons. Will calls it "Downtown 'N Crabby" and is not amused at all by it. 

I've stepped outside my own comfort zone this summer to try something new - an online mentor/accountability group lead by one of my favourite bloggers I've been following for years. I'm really, really loving it and can't wait to get to the end (in a good way) so I can glean all I can from it! It's been challenging, encouraging and eye opening for me. Dare I say, life changing? More to come on that! 

Otherwise, we're filling this summer up with fun, local outings in-between Wayne's work commitments, my salon appointments and whatever the kid's commitments are.  When we're at home the daily rule is no screen time until 4pm and that's after you've exercised your body, read your book and contributed to the household in some way. 

This past weekend our ladies church group hosted a tea. It was so much fun to transform the basement into a feminine space to gather ladies in fellowship and fun! We shared great conversation, multiple cups of tea and too much food - haha!

 It's hard to believe we've been here 14 years this summer. Surrounded by these precious women who have such varied backgrounds but connected by grace through faith, I am blessed to know each one of them. I am humbled when they open their hearts and share a bit of their past, their personal struggles and their greatest joys. In the absence of blood family, they've become our family through thick and thin. 

Summer also includes birthdays around here - mine and Wayne's - along with our wedding anniversary. Granted birthdays aren't quite as exciting the older you get, they are still a special day and an occasion to make the one you love's day extra special. We're approaching 18 years of marriage which pales in comparison to my Grandparents who are celebrating 70 years next week!!! 

Summer days are fleeting and if we only get "18 summers" a kid, the clock is ticking on the 16 year old. Trying hard to cherish the moments ...