5. Berries
Berries in the northwest are like little drops of heaven. They are sweet and juicy and plentiful. I get some every weekend at the farmer’s market. The ones in the grocery store sent from California don’t even compare. Eewww.
Fresh Hood strawberries abound right now. Then it will be raspberries and blueberries and marrionberries. And they will all be turned into jam and berry crisp and pie filling and toppings for my cereal. And more jam.
Then there are blackberries. Oh the blackberries! The great thing about blackberries is that they grow wild here EVERYWHERE. We park on the side of the road, get out with our buckets and pick away. There are certain places I go back to every year. But I’m not going to tell you where they are. Then you’ll know my secret and my berries might be gone when I get there! That would not be good. Not good at all.
Note: The above picture is from one of my new favorite family blogs. Check it out: Jessica Woodford Family & Photography
4. Water Slides
And by “water slide” I mean the slide on our backyard play structure going in to our inflatable pool. With the garden hose perched at the top, wetting down the slide.
It is awesome. Epic (as my son would say). Great Wolf Lodge has got nothin’ on this! Ok. Maybe they’ve got a little on this.
But it entertained my kids all summer. And we had a blast watching them. It is how we’d fill up the pool. Every time.
My kids also loved placing the pool under the swings so their feet would splash every time they swung passed. Or placing the pool in the “jump zone” of the swings. You know, the place you would land when you jumped off the swing at the top of the front arc. I have very creative children.
3. Road Trips
Anywhere. The beach. The mountains. Another state. Across the country. Pack the car, toss in the kids and away we go. It’s the perfect vacation in my opinion.
Road trip to Fort Stevens to camp and dig for treasure by the Peter Iredale.
Road trip to the Olympic Peninsula. Looking for crabs under rocks on Puget Sound.
Same Olympic Peninsula road trip. Hiking back up from the beach and jetty near Sequim.
Road trip to Pacific City. When facing the mighty Pacific Ocean you must always have a life jacket and the hand of your older brother.
Road trip through Northern California. No, we did not really get eaten by this shark.
Spontaneous road trip to Eugene to go to a museum and play at the riverfront water park.
Leaving the Jelly Belly factory in the Bay Area. This is how we roll. Blankets, pillows, water bottles, books, toys…all packed in tight. Love it.
2. Early mornings in the backyard with coffee and sun
One of my very favorite parts of my day.
Before the rest of the house is awake, I get to spend time in the sunny backyard reading, blogging and enjoying my morning coffee.
It is peaceful and wonderful.
I. Love. It.
Ahhhhh…
1. Having this man home for the whole month of July
Honorable Mention:
Seeing neighbors more often – we all go outside when it’s finally sunny.
Making our summer bucket list {the 10 things we HAVE to do before summer ends}.
Going to matinee movies or the Regal Summer Movie Express at 10am {older G and PG kid movies for $1}.
All of the around-town summer activities.
Flip flops.
