our weekend in photographs.

It was a weekend that marked the beginning of summer.
A warm breeze filled the air,
our house slightly muggy on the inside
but the kind that makes you smile
you know summer is here.

Crickets sang through dancing curtains
dirty sandals pranced over floors
brick patios felt cool to touch
and in the distance i could hear the back door
slamming to the beat of children's feet.

Summer is in the air.





Our soccer seasons are coming to a close
the tball games are over.
We have moved on to swimming and golf.
The boys are good at golf, and Jonas is really good at swimming.
We have our first meet tomorrow.

Friday was a lazy night, but I'll take a friday like that any day of the week. We were simply exhausted and the best fix for that is a pizza and movie night. Soccer saturday is always a family favorite, especially when Jonas scores four goals in one game (proud mama moment). I escaped to the restaurant that night with my best friend and her boyfriend for a nice dinner with Jon. We even all sneaked away to have a drink before heading home. It's so easy to get swept into staying at Benders, so when we get a chance to go elsewhere it's nice.







Sometimes the children catch a moment, like when I change the beds, and make it into a game. I love these moments. We pulled the masks off Jessica's wall (you know, the one's that scare Jon) and turned a game of jumping on beds into a real adventure. The kids became lost in their characters and laughter. I became lost in my own laughter.

It's amazing how children can make you laugh.
It feels good to get lost in their laughter.







An overstuffed pool bag lingered in my car,
wet hair wrapped around circles
and bare feet roamed over open grass.



We walked through woods
gently ducking underneath trees
and when the rain came
we felt protected, safe.

I shouted from the back door for the boys to come in,
it's raining,
but they couldn't hear me.
They were lost in their own adventure.
Stranded on an empty island
surrounded by pirates
tigers and lions.
I could head a wild roar behind the bushes.







We pitched a tent in our backyard
we pretended it was our own island.
we stomped through a thicket of brush
searching high and low
we circled the house
round and round
until we landed home.







Night settled in quickly
a blanket thrown over our evening
bellies became full
sticky s'mores oozed between fingers
sparklers danced in time.

That's what summer is all about. We found it in one weekend, and I hope the story continues.