.....summer's blaze burns fast.....

.....I'm still loving summertime....I start to flutter just a bit when I look at the calendar to see that we are almost into August....it seems as the more fun we have, the busier our days are.....and when days are busy, they go by quickly.....and I'm just not ready for the month of July to pass.....this summer has been euphoric....

.....and with all of the beach, sand and water filled days, there have also been play dates, visits with special friends, and for the last several days; our home has been filled with giggles, laughter and toddler bliss.....

......and with hot summery days, toddler jubilation comes in the form of strawberry ice cream from Brooklyn's best....and our adult form of delight comes with lots of salt.....half frozen, half rocks.....

.....and it's a guarantee for me every time I am with Stefan's Mom and sister.....we laugh.....and we laugh hard......like when not one of the three little girls would wear the pink flowers I bought them so they could enjoy matching NYC accessories.....

.....so the Mommas, Aunts and our dear Mimi wore them and we posed proudly.....

.....and accessories are novelties our girls like....especially ones that they can choose themselves....they tore apart the toddler section of H & M when their Mimi said she would take them out to buy them each a little treat.....

.....even Zander found an umbrella that he was fond of.....

......and Callie looked picture perfect with her new headband on that Mimi bought her.....

.....and when we weren't shopping to escape from extreme heat, we were smack dab in the middle of it....

......and since Callie has walked the Brooklyn Bridge before, she knows it's a place for snapping photos.....so she decided to mimic us and take a few of her own......

......and after crossing the bridge, we explored Brooklyn for a while.....

.....until exploring turned into a game of good old fashioned tag, you're it......

.....followed by a cool and creamy treat.....

.....and even the Texans thought it was too hot to walk back over the bridge to Manhattan.....so we took a water taxi....and it's doing things like riding water taxis that make me love having visitors.....not only do we have the chance to spend quality time with our loved ones from afar, but we are nudged a bit out of normalcy.......because without our family in this past weekend, we would have never hopped on a water taxi on Saturday afternoon.....

.....but we are so glad we did....

.....and between all of the meals, sunblock applications, snacks, diaper changes, stroller parades up and down flights of stairs, tantrums, teething, good sharing and not so good sharing, the whole visit was filled with laughter.....

....excitement and zeal.....

.....and lots of love....

.....so when our family left earlier this week and Daddy headed back to the office, we were left with a quiet, almost silent house....and a thunderstorm.....

......and what are three girls to do in order to lift our sad spirits?......

....indulge in some sweets, of course....

.....and Elsie insisted on wearing a sun hat with her apron before we started to make our oatmeal raisin cookies.......

.....watching these two bake together with their messy mixtures added a whole lot of sunshine to our home....

.....so I guess we needed the sun hat after all....

....and a broom, a mop, several sponges and some soapy water.....

.....two dozen cookies have been eaten just days post baking, so we are feeling much better.....

......we are missing our Mimi, Aunt Linnea, and our two sweet cousins, but know that more family time is just around the corner.....

......and when it's all said and done, it's family that is everything.....

.....we love you guys.....thanks for making the trip to see us.....