So Long, Summer.

We've washed the beach towels, we've packed the school supplies.

One last weekend fling at the farm and then we begin a new year on Monday.

It's been such a delight to savor a summer with my children, re-living all the things that made summers great before I had to grow up.  It's better the second time.

I spent long cool mornings reading with a pot of french press at my side while the kids slept as long as they'd like.  Every morning it was assumed we'd be at the park with the dogs by 8:30 for an hour on the bike path for me, and an hour of playing hard for them.

We spent our days doing all kinds of summer randomness and I barely took pictures of any of it.  There were bugs and games and experiments.  Lots of paint, and lots of "Hey you guys!!  Come look at this!!!"  We did a lot of nothing, which was everything.

Hot afternoons were stretched out at the water park, and I got to be both the mom who didn't mind getting her hair wet with the kids and the mom who devoured fiction books poolside, in uninterrupted peace.  If you have small children and aren't "there" yet, you will get there. It's every bit as awesome as you think it will be.

It's bittersweet to see it go, but we are all excited to begin a new chapter. All good things must come to an end.

So, so long, summer.  We got dirty, we got sweaty, we filled our minds with great books, we played with friends, we ate food from our garden.  We savored a long warm season of everything awesome under the sun.