Good Things // June

June has arrived and we have once again found ourselves living in a slower paced world where to-do lists involve things like go to the library and make iced coffee instead of grading papers, attending meetings, and answering countless emails.  I always grow a little anxious when May turns to June, wondering how our transition to a new routine will go, yet always welcome the unstructured days better than I think I will.  Yesterday, the kids napped at the same time for almost three hours.  I ran around the house like a mad woman at first, emptying the dishwasher, folding the laundry, and getting dinner ready, just waiting for them to wake up.  Soon, I found myself pacing around the house, sneaking in and out of Mila's room, watching her sleep and secretly hoping she would wake up.  I finally got smart and poured a big glass of iced tea, pushed my sleeves up over my shoulders, and started a new book on the deck, relishing that rare time to just slow down and enjoy some time to myself.  Soon enough, a bed-headed little boy joined me outside and my me-time turned to conversations of X-Men origin stories and legos.  Mila woke up and we took our snacks to the playground, eating grapes under shade trees and making trains down the curly slide.  Someday, there will be more than enough time for new books in the summertime.  So I pace, I will them to wake up from naps, and I make them giggle on the curly slide, knowing these are the days I'll remember as some of the best.       

Celebrating a good start to our summer with lots of pictures that document all the good things.  Good things like strawberry rhubarb pie on a Sunday afternoon, slow mornings starts all piled up in bed, and popsicles in the bathtub, soaking dirty toes and sun-kissed cheeks.  These are the days... 

171.  Puddle Dancing

    

172.  New Sunday dresses

173.  And high-top aqua blue Chucks, because every girl needs a pair...

174.  Our first pool day of the season. 

175.  Sun tea over ice, and sweaty glasses that leave rings of water on the table

176.  Porch hangs with my boy while the baby sleeps

177.  That hour before Beau gets home from work

178.  When he reads her his favorite stories, memorized by heart.

179.  The sunlight that seeps through our windows right before dinnertime

180.  Bubbles on the deck

181.  Blueberry appetizers and inside toys brought outside.

182.  Dinner al fresco

183.  Starting a new book

184.  Her wild ways and dirty face

185.  Iced coffee, all the mornings.

186.  New shrubs and baby grass

187.  Shaving cream paint in the tub and the giggles it creates

188.  An afternoon at the library and a stack of new books to check out

189.  A wedding album out from storage

190.  Post-nap picnics at the park

191.  A big brother's hand and a reassuring smile.

192.  Sun-kissed cheeks and a boy who wears this season well

Happy June, everyone!