A Day in the Sun

Summer is finally here!!! HOORAY!! The sun stayed out all the day . . . and with just the right amount of breeze, it was to good to be true and necessary to stay out in it as long as possible . . .

While I pruned some of the neglected roses and hydrangas, Haley found herself a handful of snails . . .

She named them all . . . Shelly, Speedy, Cutey, Yucky, and Betty No Shell. And they participated in a wide range of activities from races to climbing contests and finally a tour of their new home complete with leaves and grass and dirt "cause they like it that way, Mom."

We then pulled out the washable finger paint and started the fence mural for the season . . .

We've let the kids paint on the fence every summer since we moved here . . . the first year, we thought it'd spray right off and we needed to stain it anyway . . . we learned, it doesn't spray off at all and what's the point of staining a fence when you have little kids who have way to much fun painting a fence each year? The time will come when these little bugs are ready to fly out of the nest and I'll stain the fence with tears in my eyes that no one wants to mess it up any more . . . in the meantime, paint away!!

And finally, the girls ran around the yard blowing bubbles . . .

It was hours of fun . . . no deadline, no errands, no plans . . . just fun . . . these are the little things that make being a stay-at-home mom the greatest job in the world! The girls are currently in the shower in an attempt to wash off the snail slime, "washable" finger paint and bubble soap . . . I've cut up a fresh mango and an apple with a pitcher of lemonade waiting to celebrate the first official looking day of summer.

The days are so long sometimes . . . and life can get bogged down with all the necessary tasks of laundry, dishes, cooking, bills, errands, phone calls, organizing, planning . . . and sometimes life can be a breath of fresh air . . . the blessing of an ordinary day.