So Long Summer

I have a love hate relationship with fall. I love the crisp weather and the beauty of leaves changing color. Football games, crock pot meals, Honeycrisps, and all things pumpkin, especially a PSL. What I hate is what comes after fall. The cold, snow, and ice. Living in Minnesota, the time after fall gets long. I'm definitely a summer time girl so this time of year is bitter sweet.

I'm going to miss the long days of sunlight where we stayed outside until dusk. Baths were needed every night to wash away a days worth of sunscreen and sandbox fun. Dinners were simple, throw whatever on the grill and bedtimes were later and later. Yes, I will miss my summer days.

Looking back on our summer, I can't help but smile. I feel it truly was one of the best summers of my life. It kicked off with the birth of our beautiful baby girl in late April. I had 13 wonderful weeks off from work where we learned to become a family of four. I'm glad I wrote my Friday Five posts during the summer to capture life at this special time. Reading through them again allows me to relive all the fun things we did. I was hoping to keep up with the Friday Five but with going back to work, severe lack of sleep and the craziness of life right now, consistent blogging took a back seat.

We said "so long" to summer with a family vacation at Gull Lake. Our morning routine was coffee on the patio overlooking the lake while E redid the landscaping with his trucks and diggers. Being in northern Minnesota, the weather was cool so we needed sweatshirts. By afternoon it warmed up and we headed to the beach. Mike and E got some fishing in and Mike and I spent an afternoon canoeing. We lived off ham and cheese sandwiches, watermelon, and grilled hotdogs. The sweatshirts came back on in the evening and fires by the lake kept us warm. I'm grateful we had this time together as a family.

So long summer time, it's been fun. I'll see you again next year.

 Vacation Pics