sweet sweet summertime

Summer is in full swing here in the Midwest. We have been taking full advantage of the longer days and the warmer nights. I am a strict bedtime person- we go to sleep by 9:30 folks...strict I say. But, this summer it seems like I've lost my sense of time. We stay up until midnight or 1 o'clock just chatting. There is something magical about sitting around our little fire pit watching the lightning bugs light up and listening to the wood crackle and the cicadas chirp. It's our own little slice of paradise and we've got the mosquito bites to prove it.

We're trying to milk this summer for all it's worth, especially after the long hard winter we just endured. We've been eating ice cream almost daily, going on walks long after the sun has set, riding our bikes to work, walking up to the farmers market on Saturday mornings, grilling everything we can get our hands on, cheering for the Cardinals and spending as much time outside as humanly possible. The best and worst thing about living in the middle of the country is that we get all four seasons and we get them to each extreme. It's hard to say that I have a favorite season because there are things about each season I love, but I will say that summer is in my top 4 favorites.

Happy summer friends!

Our adventure at Pere Marquette State Park with the Mighty Mississippi in the background. Moose was a trooper all day and walked about 6 or 7 miles. We carried him for a little bit, our clue that he was tired: he laid down in the middle of the trail.