Days of Summer

I watched Ryley run around the backyard tonight with the two little kids who live next door. I've felt a little shorted in my amount of Ryley-time recently, so it was tempting to call her inside just so she could be with me. But watching her swing on the swingset, I realized that she was happy right where she was, not a care in the world. She and her friends chased Juliet around the yard, and Juliet chased them. Ryley fell, but she bounced right back up without whining. Then they all sat on the grass, as darkness closed in around them, and talked about what only children talk about.

When I picked up Ryley from her babysitter today, she showed me her "Outside Soup"...a big bowl full of water, dirt, leaves, weeds, bark, and bugs. She stirred it, and I marveled at her creativity.

It reminded me of another big bowl in another backyard 20 summers ago. Has it really been that long? And when Christie and I stirred our outdoor concoction, our parents probably wondered if it had really been 20 summers since their own. Time is certainly a funny thing, much shorter than we think.

Here are some pictures chronicling our mid-summer days and nights. I wanted to make sure and squeeze this post in because, come Thursday, I'm sure I will have a full-fledged picture-by-picture tribute to the birthday princess tea party of the century. :-)

Time with Friends





Vacation Bible School Finale





The Scottsbluff Zoo (actually pretty cute!)






Fourth of July Weekend with Family





80 Candles on My Grandma's Cake!