Fresh Air Please!

Andrew enjoys talking to himself. Sometimes he talks to me and I don't think he's talking to me because he is usually just talking to himself. Sometimes I think he is talking to me and I say something and he says, "I wasn't talking to you." I guess that's another story, but he had a funny conversation with himself this morning in the backseat of my car on the way to the babysitter's house:

That's stinky.
Get that smell out of here.
It's a stinky fart smell.
Get that stinky fart smell away from me.

And then he rolls down his window and announces to me:

Mom, I am getting the fart out of here so you don't smell it.

I thought I was going to wreck the car I was laughing so hard!

Is that funny to you or is it too gross?

Summer is Here!

First sign that summer is here:

I have the urge to cut my hair! This year, I was unable to resist the temptation and I cut it. I am very happy with it, though! It was pretty easy to style this morning and it looks like I did something with it besides just blow drying it and putting some styling wax on it.

Second sign that summer is here:

It's over 100 degrees the past two days and in the 90's today. Ugh!

I was reading Kate's blog and she was sharing the reasons she is looking forward to summer and it made me think of the things I enjoy about summer or things that remind me of summer.

Wisconsin

This will be our 5th year in a row traveling to Wisconsin in August. This is the ultimate enjoyment of my summer! How nice it is to spend a week in warm weather, in a cottage, on a lake, surrounded by towns full of restaurants with food unlike anything in AZ... Aaaahhh, it's the life I tell ya! We have been blessed the last 3 years to spend 2 weeks in Wisconsin, but this year and upcoming years we will only be able to head back there for 1 week (unless AZ decides to start their school year later like it used to...).

Camping

Besides staying indoors for the entire months of June, July, August, and September, the only real way to escape the Valley heat is to head up to the high country. I can remember being young and hearing my parents talk about how it was time to take off camping to get out of the heat for a long weekend. We NEVER camped in the winter time, so obviously when the hot weather hits and I am desperately wondering how I will survive, my mind wanders to the mountains in AZ. A plan quickly forms in my mind for a nice weekend away, far enough from the heat, yet close enough to not have to take off of work for these mini-vacations.

Swimming

Another option in escaping the heat, besides staying indoors 24/7/120 (June-Sept.), is to take a dip! Not really take a dip as in get in and get out, but you must immerse completely from sun up to sun down (and in some cases, until bedtime, because it is still so hot outside after dark). You literally have to make sure your hair is completely wet or else you will begin to feel the heat on your head. Every inch of you must be wet to be completely refreshed! Seriously.

This was how I grew up! We always had a swimming pool and always had access to the swimming pool as my parents were always out there immersed! Since I have my own house, however, I have not had that luxury of the swimming pool access. Jeremy and I are dreaming of the day that we will have our own swimming pool to hang out in ALL DAY! In the meantime, we will commute to Gilbert for the swimming fun!

Swim Suits

Speaking of swim suits, this is an obvious reminder of summer! I used to thoroughly enjoy the season when the swim suits hit the stores. I would buy a new suit (if not more than one) each summer. I do not enjoy that any longer and do not want to spend the money for a new suit every year, but am dreaming of a nice pair of board shorts to match my suits I already own. I don't know what it is that makes this unenjoyable now, but I still get a little excited when I see the suits in the store as if I am going to be purchasing a new one. Hmmm... maybe it's the idea that summer is here when those suits come out. I don't know...

Fragrances

I have noticed that Bath and Body Works have there certain fragrances that only come out certain times of the year? There is something about these seasonal lotions and sprays that take me back to summers past just by smelling them again. Cucumber Melon is one with a memory behind it. I read in Seventeen Magazine once that a good way to cool down after a shower or getting ready is to refrigerate your body sprays. So, I refrigerated my body sprays and can specifically remember the chill of the spray hitting my skin and me being a little miffed at how COLD it was. Even if I was hot, I discovered I do not like the cold spritz of the spray on my skin. Maybe I'm weird, but I don't do that any longer. Plus, I felt it was weird to be spraying that stuff in the kitchen (not to mention what people must've thought to see sprays in the fridge.

Tanning

Another summer favorite is to sun bathe! I love it! And the fragrance of the sun tan lotion can almost be categorized in the aforementioned memory. I enjoy the relaxation of laying out by a pool or on a beach just knowing that I won't be so pale white after just an hour or so. The problem this year is I have no backyard landscaping and it is not so much fun thinking about laying out in dirt... Ugh. At least in our previous houses we had grass. I would have a pool set up for Andrew and I'd have my lounge chair next to the pool. If I would get hot I would ask Andrew to splash me (which he more than willingly does), or if that didn't help, I would have him scoot over so I could get in and drench myself before laying on my lounge chair again. The problem is, it is too hot for that in the later months. No mater how many times I get into the water and lay back out, it is still unbearably hot. At that point I accept that I am as tan as I will be on my own doing for the summer.

Clothing

This is similar to the swim suit topic above. I enjoy breaking out the tank tops and flip flops in the summer. However, I no longer wear shorts, but instead I sport capris or bermuda shorts for the most part. Capris don't keep me as cool as shorts, but I feel more comfortable wearing them. Getting older is a bummer when you have weird veins and lines, indents, cellulite, etc. But going back to the tanning category, as my co-worker Katie said, "tanned fat is sexier than non-tanned fat." Words to live by! Clothing is not so much fun any longer, but the flip flops are GREAT (even if they are worsening my bunions).

Working Out

This is in the summer category for me as it usually isn't until summer that I begin to do it! However, this is the year I plan on changing that. As soon as the swim suits and flip flops hit the stores, I hit the play button on my work-out DVDs or hop on the elliptical machine. This is how I muster up some courage to wear shorts the few times I do in the summer. I figure if I continue this working out concept throughout the year, how much better off will my cellulite legs be next summer? Especially if I tan AND work out!

Nights

This is a favorite for me for the summer. This is the only time I enjoy being outside as it is not too cold for me. I will willingly attend Jeremy's softball games in the summer. I would rather sit on a warm bleacher, sweating a little, than to be huddled in a heavy jacket with my feet being cold, and me physically shivering. I also enjoy having a BBQ at night and just sitting out on a patio or in a park hanging out and eating (as long as there are no mosquitoes). Good times!

Traffic

There is less traffic in the summer on my way to work. It must be because of the teacher and students being off. I LOVE it! I don't have to sit in bumper to bumper traffic as it is now, but it is noticeably less dense which increases my chance of getting through the stop lights on the first green light and it's easier to merge onto the freeway, etc.

How about you? Did this make you think of anything about summer you really enjoy that isn't on my list? Do you share any of the same nostalgia for summer?