HELLO, HEY, HOWDY!!! Well, it’s been almost two weeks, but I’m so glad to be back!!! Ooooh, how I’ve missed you, friends!!! We have A LOT to catch up on!! First, though, I thought it would be fitting to share some Family Photos from my time off, which turned out to be the BEST vacation ever!

Do you recognize the title of this post? Go ahead, take a moment to hum the tune to yourself. Well?? You’re humming the song right now, aren’t you?? It’s everyone’s favorite ’80s girl group The Go-Go’s with “Vacation,” their boppy, toe-tapping hit that gave voice to our deep yearnings to just take a break and get away from all the everyday stress. It’s a song that described my own vacation quite perfectly. I may not have left the city limits, but I had the most wonderful, relaxing staycation; as you all know, I’m a huge fan of staying close to home!

Anyway, here are some snapshots of how those lazy, hazy days of summer unfolded for me…

First up? Umm, you can probably guess how I spent my first day off! Yes, the day’s agenda included shopping, lunch out and watching a Bob Dylan documentary!!

How was your Fourth of July?? Ours was VERY hot, which we promptly realized after I coined a new word. I give you the “hotfie” — that photo you take after a walk in the heat when you’re practically sweating!! Trademark forthcoming…

Haha, apparently some things never change, even when you’re NOT working! I must get my bagel fix, even on vacation!! Yes, I’m obsessed, I know!! It’s probably only a matter of time now before I write an entire blog post all about my love of those delicious bagels…

Of course, we played lots of rousing games of Yahtzee! Truth be told, I was doing really well and my scores were high…and then this week, I’ve fallen into a slump and my mom has been winning almost every single game!! Is there any justice in the cutthroat world of Yahtzee, I ask you??

At the end of last week, we took a nice walk around the local park and soaked up lots of Vitamin D. I love summer in the Midwest so much!! Actually, we desperately needed some sunshine after being cooped up at the DMV for two days!!! Yes, there’s a huge story there, so watch for it on the blog tomorrow!!

I was also a bit of a rebel!! Instead of working while I was at the library, what did I do?? Read old issues of Glamour!!! Hello, early ’90s…I can count this as research, right??

By the end of my vacation, I had settled into a nice routine. A nice, LAZY routine, indeed! I felt all chill just like sweet Whitney when she snoozes for hours on my mom’s bed, not a care in the world. It felt nice to rest and relax and, honestly, I can’t believe we’re up to the middle of July already!! Why is the summer always half over just when you start getting into the groove of things?

Yes, that is a question for the ages! Let me know if you have the answer! And let me know how YOUR summer is going? Are you slowing down or speeding up with activity? What fun things have you done so far? Any exciting vacations? xoxo

Breaking news: We had quite a busy day on Monday! Well, more like a busy afternoon since I technically didn’t get up until 10:45…ooops! In my defense, though, I’ve slept much, much later — just ask my mom! Anyway, I recently suggested that we take our first official summer walk because, ummm, I don’t get out much in the cold winter months and I’ve become paler than a vampire; seriously, if I looked in the mirror, I don’t think I’d even have a reflection! So anyway, take that summer walk we did. And, wow, did it prove to be just the thing we needed too. I’m starting to think the warm sun is a giant ball of pure magic!

I couldn’t resist snapping this photo of my mom right after we started our trek. She’s one of those people who likes to walk ahead and lead the pack. I think it comes from all her years as a teacher spent corralling hoards of unruly students on field trips. This photo is her classic pose. When she saw me taking her photo, she said, “What are you doing?” as if she not photogenic — is she humble or what?

We’ve walked the above path a lot, but for some reason on Monday, I was struck by how much it reminds me of life. Life can feel like one giant winding path sometimes and it can start to feel like we’re just walking on it forever, but there really is beauty all around it, you know?

We were going to just walk up to the gas station to get a soda pop, but as we were walking on a merry way, we realized that it was almost noon. Why not stop for a nice lunch, we thought? We have the greatest restaurant right by our house — it’s a tavern/sports bar, and they have the largest order of fries I’ve ever seen! SO YUGE! My mom and I split an order and we still had some leftover. That’s saying A LOT considering I could eat all the fries in sight if I really wanted to…with extra ranch for dipping, of course!

Seriously, though, it was so nice to just sit outside, eat lunch and shoot the breeze with my mom — and feel the summer breeze! I’m usually not one for eating al fresco because of a very, very unfortunate incident on our Arizona vacation involving me, the desert sun and one too many garlic potatoes. But in the Midwest, the conditions just seem to be right! Whew!

We came home, played a game of Yahtzee and then…that’s when I noticed it! My arm. A growing patch of RED. Ahh, I knew exactly what was brewing under my pasty-pale skin. A sunburn! I knew I should have invested in a sunhat this year!!

Oh, well, at least there was some good news that came with said sunburn — I’ve never drank so much water in my entire life! I didn’t suffer from dehydration, that’s for sure, which, if you know my history, can happen at the drop of a hat! But it was all aces, so crisis averted!!

And, finally, we’re nothing if not creatures of habit: We realized that we went out for lunch at this exact same restaurant almost exactly one year ago. Right before we bought my new shower chair! So, yeah for random anniversaries, right?!?!?

What have you been doing to welcome the summer and its glorious weather, friends?? Been eating outside? Going for a summer walk at dusk? I’d love to hear all about it!!! xoxo