Welcome, Summer!

It feels as though summer has officially started.

It was one of those "life is wonderful" weekends where each moment just screamed, "Summer is here!"

My in-laws came to town and we grilled chicken, ate out on the patio, and watched the kids play in our yard and run up and down our little hill, I took my boys to a birthday party at a gymnastics center, my hubby and I went out to dinner with friends for a super fun "Couples Night Out" (and left our baby for the first time!), we went to breakfast at my in-laws' hotel, enjoyed being at church, attended a graduation party, and then ended the day at a birthday party for two of my nephews.

Throughout the weekend, the kids did sidewalk chalk and blew bubbles, climbed in the backyard, did races down the hill, ran down trampolines, jumped into a giant foam pit, ate the frosting off birthday cupcakes, brought home new kites, learned how to play volleyball, swam in the pool, dunked their heads in the water, got covered in frosting, ran and giggled with their cousins, ate hamburgers fresh off the grill, and ate more watermelon than any other food for three days.

It was the kind of weekend where they spent more time messy than clean, more time barefoot than with shoes on, more time wet than dry.  It was the kind of weekend where they spent more time with others around than alone, more time at parties than at home, and more time laughing than crying.

It was the pure joy that summer brings.

My daughter, Ella...she just embodies the joy of summer at all times.  Today I watched her, hair disheveled, dripping wet in her bathing suit (and then again later in her only-ten-minutes-dry spare outfit), covered in blue frosting, just smiling at the world, not a care to be had.  She loves life and doesn't let anything get in the way.  She runs and sings and giggles and explores, and she just relishes each moment like there is no tomorrow.  She squeezes the joy out of life as best as she can, and I want to live more like her.

The things of life can often get in the way...chores and schedules, deadlines and sleep-deprivation, discipline and disasters, spills and messy moments...but watching my children from a distance this weekend, I remembered yet again how crazy-in-love I am with all my littles...the amazing miracles that each of them are, and the unique details I love about each of them that make my heart tender and full.  I will confess that my eyes brimmed with tears on more than one occasion this weekend as I watched them LIVE and enjoy the life they've been given.

So this summer, I commit to squeezing the joy that summer can bring, and I commit to living more like Ella.  The days of watermelon, pools, barbeques, flip flops, summer dresses, and sunscreen don't last forever, and I want to live them to the full.

Welcome, summer!

I'm jumping in...