Week 24

   Summer is officially in full swing! There is something about this hot, sunny season that brings me back to my childhood when it was the most exciting and exhilarating time of the year. As a kid, it meant my skin smelled like Banana Boat sunscreen and my feet had a permanent layer of dirt from running around everywhere without shoes. It meant school was out which equaled pure freedom. Summer days were filled with barefoot badmitton rallies and water-fight battles with my mom and brother in the street. I stuffed myself full of watermelon, ice cream and home made orange juice popsicle sticks. It meant family camping trips to my version of Disneyland, the most magical place on earth: Yosemite. My ideal summer nights were camping in the backyard and making shadow puppets with flashlights in the tent. 

  

    As an adult I find myself filled with that same enthusiasm I had as a kid about summer, with only a few differences. Now, my skin smells like zinc oxide sunscreen (paraben free- that's just sooo 2014). I know that I probably request a little too much time off of work so I can still experience that same sense of freedom. I've kept the tradition alive of visiting Yosemite every summer, but now it's even more of a jungle gym and magical world since I discovered rock climbing. I still stuff myself full of watermelon and ice cream, but now I prefer a citrus flavored vodka over orange popsicles. And I think I'm overdue for a good water-fight with some friends. Ultimately, I'm still pretty much a kid, except for a few details. My ideal summer night is still a backyard camp-out with flashlights and shadow puppets... just add a burly mountain (or Polynesian) man next to me, but those are just some minute technicalities I'm still working out...

   So hooray for summer! This means BBQs, beer, and homegrown veggies( I have 14 tomato plants and I'll share!) It means my clothes will smell like campfires for days and my feet will be covered in dirt from playing outside. It means I'll dump out all my camping gear, reorganize it, and come up with several frivolous items I absolutely need to complete the perfect Camping Gear Collection (for the 100th time). It means hammocks and good books, mojitos and sarongs. So thank you summer, thanks for arriving and helping me relive some of my favorite memories...and here's to making a few more (uh-hmm...that means you, burly man,...get in my tent!Just kidding! Actually, not really).

Yay! This is the first dress of the summer that smells like campfire, 

thanks to a lovely outside fire-pit evening with great friends!