summertime.

Rain has outnumbered our sunny days in the past few weeks, but this week has been the start of more blue sky, sun, and happiness. Trying to keep two kids entertained on the rainy days is never fun, and so, I very much appreciate this sunny 70+ degree weather. On days like this the doors and windows are open, the sun shines in, and the kids are outside all day! It's WONDERFUL. It's summertime.

With summertime comes an early sunrise accompanied by early morning birds, that sing at 4:30am. Enough said. It also brings bees, and we have A LOT of them around here. We have a wasp nest somewhere, we think behind our window shutters, and boy are they a nuisance. They manage their way into the house on a regular basis and so far we've been lucky to catch them before getting stung, and by "catch them" I mean we smack the hell out of them with a shoe. My apologies to those of you who feel all creatures should be saved and freed but I don't mess around with bees, not after being stung by one 3 times in one night a few years back. If you fly into my house then I'm sorry, but you will no longer see the outside.  The kids are terrified by the bees as well so our nice warm days of playing outside quickly turn into a not so fun adventure. I do my best to keep my cool when they come a buzzin but when they fly in my hair I will react, and it's not in a "stay calm, keep your cool" kind of way. But let them buzz for now because in a few weeks their time will come, in the form of a ladder, a spray can, and the brave male soul who decides to make the climb. Good luck babe, I love ya!

We lucked out over the past week and the few nice days we did have just happened to land on days where we needed to be outside. We first enjoyed Max's Boy Scout award ceremony. I love seeing all the little guys in their scout uniform, all on their best behavior. It's fun to see them receive their awards, they're all so proud. Max is really enjoying it too. He especially enjoyed the pinewood derby race this year, along with the day camps. He has his next weekend of day camp here in a few weeks and as we sat at the ceremony he leans over and whispers "I hope dad signed me up for that." As I leaned over to whisper back "I'm sure he did" he was already off, running to the front where Josh stood with the other leaders, just to make sure. When he returned and sat back down he leans over and whispers "he did, and I'm SO excited because I get to shoot bow and arrows and a BB gun." He then leans back over and whispers "Oh and mom, I'm SO happy that dad is the new cub master." This kid is just too sweet. By far he is one of the kindest people I know and I hope that kindness always sticks with him.

Being recognized.

At the end of last week we had another gorgeous day which landed perfectly on the day family came into town for an early birthday celebration for Miss Lila. Saturday was the day of Lila's first dance recital and so we figured hey why not celebrate her birthday with the grandmas and grandpas as well.

After the party we were headed to the DECC for a night of dance. I know my parents along with my grandma were all having flashbacks from the 10 years my sister and I danced, and the many recital nights they had to attend. My dad thought he had already put in his time and paid his dues by attending all those years, nope. Lila made sure they were not to miss it. And let me tell ya, it was worth it. Those little girls are just too funny. I could sit there all night watching the 3 and 4 year olds dance. There's always the one girl in the group who knows the dance, top to bottom, and she leads the rest. Then there's the one who just can't quite find the rhythm, the one who sings (yells) with the song, and the two that argue during the dance about who is suppose to stand where. I LOVE it. It brought back so many memories for my sister and I. Memories that I love and moments that I always enjoyed.

The night went GREAT and her class did so well, receiving more cheers then any other group. I was worried that the night would get too long and she would be too tired by performance time but nope. She did well, they did well, and at the finale balloons and candy fell onto dancers. She LOVED it. I played it off and asked "where did you get that balloon and all that candy?" Her eyes got big and she screamed "it just fell from the dance sky!"

Josh has always said that he hopes Max will always love scouts and stick with it like he did. My hope is that Lila loves and enjoys dance as much as I did. But if they don't that's okay too, because the world is full of opportunities for them to explore.