Did I say I love summer?

If I didn't I should be ashamed because I do! I love freedom, I love my kids being home, I love popsicles melting on my patio and I love that my sprinklers are under the tramp most of the day. I love that my kiddy pool in the backyard is always full of bugs, grass and kids. I love hot nights that force us to go for long drives and eat ice cream to pass the time. I love that it is so hot that Miss Layla dresses in cute little sundresses that show off her fat little arms and legs. I love that Jake' hair has not been combed except for Sundays, Braden dresses himself daily which usually includes no pants or shirt and that if you knocked on our door at 10 am we might be dressed and we might not. Well, BMan would be dressed because remember....he doesn't really like clothes anyway!

Well if that paragraph wasn't a little Pollyanna, I must have been in a "glad" day mood! Let's get real.... even though the above paragraph is true, I mean "come on", I don't love that my kids fight, or that nap time has been non existent or that every time I step outdoors I sweat. I don't love that I have to monitor computer time and TV time and haul 3 kids to Wal Mart with me. But with that being said... I still love summer! Let me tell you another reason why, Number one reason I love summer is because when Wal Mart gets old and the fighting and whining is a little to much... we can leave! We can vacation, we can sleep over at grandma's house, we can go hiking or camping or to the zoo! No one sends me a mean letter telling me my kid missed another day at school and the excuse was not legit. So, that is the number one and most important reason I love summer.

Here is a quick look at one of our 1st summer adventures!

Headed to Rand's parent's cabin and rode the Rhino for a few days. Jakey loves his little BMan and is very protective of the little guy. I have to post a picture like this because just a few minutes earlier tonight, Jake screamed, "mom get Braden out of here, he's killing me"! Oh brotherly love!

Miss Layla had her first camping adventure all dressed in pink! She is a natural born camper and I must say a stylish one at that. She was a champ but clearly made her presence known at times. I on the other hand went from never touching her without hand sanitizer to wiping the dirt off her bottle from it's fall to the ground on her dirty blanket. Guess what? She didn't seem to mind the gritty texture and was no worse off.

I love camping with my niece Eryka! She is one of Braden's favorite people and she simply meets his every need with a smile! Thank you Eryka! By the way how can something so pokey and not pleasant bring forth such gorgeous flowers?

Braden's second favorite person is "Aunty ShaRee"well 2nd when Paul is not around! Thanks for toting my little guy everywhere! I have begun to ask the question where was I this camping trip because I certainly was not taking care of this little guy!

I love camping and I love hiking but I do not like snakes. We saw 3 of them this trip which is just 3 to many I must say. Rand and Paul wrangled these snakes and did a great impersonation of the late and great "Croc Hunter". But in the end it was not save the rattlesnake day (oh how sad) simply because they were far to close to the cabin. So the guys cut off the rattles and the kids took them home as souvenirs and everyone was happy.

If this is a little to blurry for you...

Here is a close up I made Jake take. I should be turned into CPS for allowing this to happen but I wasn't about to take the picture and he wanted it so I let the 7 yr old win!

Last but not least, this is Jake and his BB Gun in this picture. If you cant see him, don't worry neither did we. He was off exploring the entire time and I was happy he was having the time of his life.