Summer, my favorite season, is now coming to an end.

I love summer for many reasons, the bright sunshine, the scorching heat, the exhilarating outdoor activities, the smell of freshly cut grass, the vegetables and flowers at the farmer’s markets, the juicy burgers on the grill, and mostly, the cheerful moods everyone is in. I love summer. I even turned 30 this summer, and still loved it.

Fall, on the other hand, is a gorgeous season. I love sweater weather, boots, fires on the patio, and the changing colors of the leaves and trees. But, it’s the calm before the storm of winter with what’s looming ahead. The bitter cold of South Dakota winters and, ugh, I’m actually going to stop right there because I am NOT ready to think or talk about winter. I want to talk about summer and live it up until 9:29pm, when fall specifically starts (or so says the almanac).  So here. Here was our summer, little tidbits of random that didn’t make it in an earlier post. This was our spectacular summer. (Siiiiiigh).

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Summer Memory – PLAYDATES

Ivy and Natalie

  Ivy, Natalie, and James

Spending the warm summer hours at McKennan Park. Favorite.

 Sam and Ivy

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Summer Memory – BOATING

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Summer Memory – FAMILY

Grandma Betsy would meet us at McKennan Park for Children’s Theatre

Grandma high fives at Lake Madison!

Cousins Anna and Nora reading to Ivy. SWOON

 A visit from Grandpa Bill!

Hanging with Auntie Jillian

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Summer Memory – Just. Plain. Fun.

Spent lots of time on our patio

LOVED visits to the Great Plains Zoo – I hadn’t been there in YEARS! So I think I enjoyed it as much as Ivy :) And Erin and Natalie were regulars with us too

STUD at her walker

Loved the cool hottub

Jazz Fest

Like a good teacher’s baby, loves books :)

Lots of time at the pool

Backyard Shenanigans

Loves to swing

Became obsessed with her blankie

Enjoyed mornings in bed watching the news with Mama

 And she STOOD on her OWN this summer! WOO HOO. (Don’t mind the tampons in the pic : / )

Overall, summer was damn good.

So long, summer. So long.

I’ll begin my countdown to next summer now.