A Summery Summary

Around here, summer is short. So we have to make use of every second. Emily has been around for a few summers and by now she realizes that it won't stick around forever. To her, a warm day not spent running through the sprinklers, playing at the park or sneaking off to the wading pool at the Children's Garden is a wasted day. I'm glad I have her to remind me to seize the summer.

Jane doesn't yet realize that the summer's a-wastin' and thus is more cautious.

 

To Emily, the pinnacle of the summer is the 4th of July. A holiday made for setting stuff on fire.

If you listen carefully you can hear Jane crying in the background. She had to be removed from the area after the snappers scared her nearly to death.

As the evening wore on, Jane plucked up her courage and was able, with the aid of her trusty blanket, to approach Emily as she brandished a sparkler.

(Don't worry, mom, I washed the blanket already and it's as good as new). By the time we were on to snakes, Jane realized the fourth of July wasn't so bad.

Both girls enjoyed the city fireworks to excess. It's a lot of excitement for one day, but we still have a whole lot of summer left to enjoy. Plenty of days for Emily to get wet and find bugs and scrape up her knees and ride her trike on the sidewalk. And plenty of days for Jane to enjoy her favorite part of summer:

Even if I had the heart to tell her corn on the cob is a seasonal treat, she wouldn't understand. All she knows is that for now, life is just about as good as it gets.