Thursday, September 15, 2011

....savoring summer- adventure #3 (the finale)....

.....the final outing that concluded our last two weeks of summer was an easy one.....especially if you have children that have a need for speed....




....both of our girls love fast and furious.....

....I see many summers in our future spent on coasters, slides, swings or anything that causes wind in the face and breeze in the hair.....







....and as these babes are getting older, it has been tougher to make time for our big outings.....the three adventures of the summer that we did have required a play date so the Mommas could sit down with calendars to plan....flipping through August to find blank days in a month full of busy.....but I am glad that we make the time......we rearrange the busy, if we have to because I want my children to learn at a young age that friendship takes effort....we need to create the time for the ones that we love, carve moments out of the hustle and bustle.....


....because it's relationships that fuel everything....they sustain us.....they encourage, energize, fulfill us and in some cases; they save us.....my life is so much richer because of my best friends.....


....and because our building is a six story dream of collective homes for so many little people, our girls have been able to experience living with their best friends.....our apartment resides on a low floor in our old prewar and echoey building, so the instant we hear a squeal, yell, giggle, shout, laugh or cry from the lobby; my girls can determine which friend it is within a millisecond......and then they immediately run to the front door, barge it open if I have forgotten to bolt the top lock, so they can hang from the iron staircase to holler at one of their besties.....I love it when that happens and it happens frequently.....

.....they endear and cherish their friendships already.....






.....and Brody is already learning that our neighbors are not only people who share our address, but they are also good friends who have already left their impressions that we'll carry with us as our futures take us in separate directions....


.....so we savored it all a little more slowly as every adventure arrived because as the days passed, summer was coming to her close......

.....this week marked the beginning of open houses for nursery school......and school ups the ante on busy.....

                                .....Elsie was ready to start back with her school friends from last year.....

      ....Callie was just as excited, but wanted to make sure Mommy went with her on the first day.....

.....and although special occasions, like meeting your new teachers for your first nursery school class brings good excuses to celebrate the importance of these events; it also marks the end of careless summers that allow for full afternoons at our charming amusement park just south of our neighborhood.....


     .....Ice cream treat for Callie who is has morphed into a big girl overnight.....our conversations have become some of my favorites lately.....


.....and I am adoring these times with my children who love not only being with their friends, but who also cherish family too.....Callie and I rode this ride together a dozen times this summer and every time she asked if we could hold hands.....it melted my heart every time and I may frame this picture when she is a teenager to remind me that we had days like this.....


....and that we made the most of being carefree and ensured we planned to wipe the schedule clean....




....farewell summer....you are officially gone....

....you were so good to us....

                              .....Callie's sign for thumbs up.....she uses her pointer finger instead of her thumb.....

.....our outings with friends will shortly turn into fall adventures....anticipating the crisp air and colorful days ahead....

.....Sara, thank you for the photography....