Summer nights

"We laugh until we think we'll die, barefoot on a summer night."
-Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros


Oftentimes we become so caught up in the hustle and bustle of our busy lives that we don't always stop to enjoy the single moment we're currently existing in. The thing I could quite possibly love the most about summers are the slower nights. The sun sticks around longer in the summer and allows us to soak up as much of the day as we possibly can before retiring indoors for the night. The easy-breeziness of summer nights are what I live for. Here are a few of our summer nights this week:


A family walk around the lake.
We were ear-to-ear grinning as we watched Spencer cruise along the path on his bike with "turning wheels." He, by nature, is timid and reserved and needs a gentle nudge or two to tackle something new and seemingly risky. Although he got this new big boy bike in the spring, he hasn't quite taken to it yet. He had one or two spills early on in the season and then reverted back to the trusty trike. Recently we've been encouraging him to get back on Rocket (as he aptly named the bike). Thursday night was his first spin with Rocket on the path around the lake. A bit shaky at first, but then he was off, laughing, beep-beeping and weaving around the narrow road. We chased behind, proud of our son, who seemed to sprout into a big boy overnight.

We made a pit stop to feed the ducks, of course.



Then it was off to end the night right: ice cream!

An evening picnic on the river.
Before we had kids, Dave and I spent many nights on the river. We sat in chairs, beers in hands, watching as the sun ever-so-slowly kissed the water. Our river nights look a bit different now. We have yet to witness a sunset with the boys, but different is still just as good. Friday night we packed a cooler and spent the early evening on a deserted Mississippi River. The dog even joined us this trip, although the logistics of this addition were a bit tricky. We played. We fished. We ate. And I took a bazillion pictures. Although we packed it all up before the sunset, the same mood from our pre-children evening river trips still permeated the air.

A family night at home.
We spend a fair amount of time away from home on the weekends. Since I'm home with the kids throughout the week, I tend to fill our weekends with plans that get us out of the house. I need the change of scenery. But there's something to be said about a casual weekend night at home with your family, especially when it includes a summer-style supper of beer butt chicken and corn on the cob eaten on the deck. We topped our Saturday night off with good old fashioned fun in the front yard--on a tractor, of course. Now that the tykes are tucked in bed and I've gotten my To-Do list checked off for the day, it's time to pour myself another margarita because my husband and I have a date with the DVD player.

Happy summer nights!