Summer treats and confessions

There are so many things about summer that are so absolutely delicious. Moments that you want to just bottle up so that when winter days are gray and dreary you could open that bottle and shake some of that summer sugar on to that winter day and eat until your belly aches.

Things like summer ice-cream with friends...






...or that fresh piece of watermelon that is so juicy it streams down little arms making for very sticky hugs later... (and by the way, wouldn't this be a WONDERFUL nail polish color? I mean what is more summertime than watermelon or the color of watermelon? If anyone finds this color, would you please let me know?)


I would also mix into my bottle of summer goodness late afternoons with my kids and the water hose. Not many things are more entertaining. And let's face it, what is better than a good belly laugh?

Telling the kids to stand there with their eyes closed and wait for their big surprise. And incidentally, these pictures are their version of what it means to "hold your nose without using any hands. :)

And letting them have their surprise: being gunned down with the water hose. Pure joy and hysterical laughter.

I would cap my summer bottle off with this:
sweaty little dirt covered bodies that are happy as little pigs in sunshine. (That's a good ol' southern sayin' for ya!)

Half-dressed, dirt-covered, one-shoe-on-one-shoe-off, smile-bearin' boys--grinning from ear to ear.


But, as stated in the title above, a confession now follows. I often write of our story-book moments and most of the time it's all true. But as the next series of pictures will show, life is not always sunshine and rainbows at the Young house. Oh, yes. Our beginnings of each day are fabulous. And we always end our evenings on a high as well. However, sometimes in the middle, the villian creeps in. He makes his appearance subtly until we are in full-blown fit throwing.

As is what happened last evening. Little britches would tell you getting out of the bath tub was FAR less than story-book. It was all out tears. First, he buried his head in his towel and pouted.




When that didn't work he deferred to that lower lip.


And then on to full out crying and fit throwing.




What he hadn't planned on was his bigger brother cheering him up. He tried really hard to keep on being angry.


But he just couldn't help himself.


The smiles creeped in...

...and soon it was belly laughter once again.


See? Somehow we always manage to land on "happily ever after..." even if it does take a little time in between the beginning and ending. ;)