welcome, summer.

I have to admit, we've been waiting for June 2013 for quite some time. It has always been an oasis, a month of respite in Chris's doctorate journey. It has been a party. Along with our trips, we've been having all sorts of fun as we have welcomed in the summer.

The babies got a crack at their first popsicles (thought I'm pretty sure this was in May). Quinn inherited her mother's sweet tooth, and LOVES sweets. She was a big fan. Poor John, he wasn't prepared for the cold. After one bite, he was out. So Quinn double fisted it and the girls enjoyed while John went on playing with sticks.

The past week alone has been hopping. It looked something like this:

A girl in our ward had a kid-friendly afternoon graduation party, with pools and bubbles and a slip n' slide. This was our kids' introduction to the slip n' slide. Carly liked it well enough, Quinn was not a fan, and John loved it. If I had had to place bets, that is exactly how I would have bet. John went over and over. Carly watched and cheered. Quinn accessorized.

The next day, Carly was signed up to do her first running race. It was a 1 mile race at the zoo called the Wild Mile. She has quite the memory, and woke up excited for her medal since she remembered me getting a medal at my 10K in October. Thank goodness she got a medal! She was painfully cute in her little running shorts and shoes with that number pinned on stretching just like daddy. Painful, I tell you. Chris said she was hilarious during the race, talking nonstop. At the beginning she was looking around at everyone's running shoes, saying "Oh, cute shoes!" Sounds like her mother. At one point she started to slow down and said "I'm tired" but then spotted the camels and sprinted off the course to get a closer look. Priorities. They came in around 15 minutes, got her medal and some fruit snacks, and we were off to look at some animals. It was such a fun event and I have since discovered they have a whole series of kid mile races, so we'll have to do it again.

The following day we celebrated our favorite person ever. It was Fathers Day. Fathers Day can't pass without a manly gift basket (because men love gift baskets!) of manly stuff. I also had Carly answer a daddy survey. She was so sweet, and she knows her dad pretty well (except his age, of course). The cutest part was the end, when I asked her favorite thing about her dad. She named one thing, then another, and then paused and held her arms open and said "I like to do all the stuff with my daddy!" It was a simple day of walks and burgers and corn on the cob and chocolate chip cookies. These kids sure love their daddy.

The next day, Chris held down the fort with the duo while Carly and I headed to the lake with some friends (even though two babies at the beach at nap time would have been SOO fun). I love the chances I get to do fun things like this with her one-on-one. We played in the water and went clear out to the rope. She has no fear in the water, a really fishy. She walked all the way to the rope without my help, and then I watched from the grass as she did it with friends. This girl, growing so fast. After we played, she started playing with friends and you know what I did? Sat and did nothing but feel the sun on my skin. Bliss. And naturally, after a hot day in the sun we had to get "drinks from the drive thru!", one of her favorite things.

 Two days later we headed to a ward member's house to pick strawberries. He is kind enough to offer the berries for free. The patch was just the right size for us, since my posse didn't give me too much picking time. John was not in the mood, and Quinn enjoyed raiding the bag to chow down, nevermind her muddy hands. And Carly, sweet Carly, wanted her bucket full without actually having to pick the strawberries herself. What are moms for?

The next day we made our first trip to the local splash pad for playgroup. C family historical precedent says the first trip to the splash pad is not particularly successful, and this held true. While we avoided any breakdowns, John nailed his head repeatedly on the pool chairs, Quinn walked around begging food from strangers, and Carly wouldn't go near the water until the end. We did snap some cute pictures though. And the sweetest thing: I think Quinn could sense Carly's apprehension as Carly sat nervously watching the spraying water. Quinn kept bending down in Carly's face and giving her a big smile, almost like she was checking on her. These kids. Sometimes they are too much.

That brings us to yesterday, the summer solstice. All this summer fun and it was finally time to officially ring in the season of sun. I decided to make a day out of it, since Chris was taking the day off. We started off the morning at the pool. Our pool is not heated, and therefore you can't really enjoy a swim until August, but Carly was determined. Did I mention she's a fishy? The babies also got turns with daddy (mommy doesn't go in freezing pools. What are dads for?). John was shivering wildly, but kept wanting to go back in. Quinn, poor Quinn. Chris pulled her in and she gasped and thrashed and wanted nothing to do with it. She was very interested by the concept, just not the the experience itself. Every time Chris came near her again, she ran 15 feet in the other direction. She did scare the daylight out of me though, as at one point she was standing on the stairs and slipped face first in the water. Thankfully I was right there and pulled her out instantly, before she could fill her lungs with water. These kids. Sometimes they are too much.

After the pool we had a picnic lunch on our living room floor, and while the babies napped, Carly and I headed out to get ice cream. We just love our favorite local spot, where you get sprinkles and eyes and a smile and a little umbrella. That evening Chris had been hired out to conduct a survey for the Summer Solstice Jazz Festival, so we joined him. It was a fun atmosphere. Jim and Linda were kind enough to come help him, and Carly went off with Linda and came back with all sorts of fun stuff. We got free dinner and headed home too late. It was a perfect summer solstice.

Its only the second day of summer, and between our trips and our fun at home, we have already had quite the time of it. But that is what June is for. Chris starts teaching again the first week of July, and with that comes full(er) days prepping his dissertation for a proposal in early fall. It will be hard to have him gone more, but it will be good to ease our way back in before fall arrives. And we still have a lot of fun planned this summer, including a 4th of July trip to Chris's extended family in Chicago, a family vacation here in Michigan with Chris's family, and a visit from my parents and Uncle Brady. Yes, folks, Uncle Brady is coming to Michigan. We can't wait to see them. And I think someone is turning 4 at the end of the summer? Heaven help me.

Needless to say, life is good in the C House. This summer is drastically different from last summer. Last summer was so dang hard. So this year, even though we're crazy, we're just going to live it up.

Oh, and what would summer be without ice cream?

We eat a lot of it.

From the store, Dairy Dan, MSU Dairy.

We don't discriminate.

xoxo.