When I was a little (a lifetime ago, in elementary school), I used to think that summer lasted for an entire year. There was school which was a year long and then came summer which was the year immediately after. To a 5 yr old, it made total sense and I never questioned that that was how it went. Back in the days, life moved so slow. Summer felt like an eternity.

My fondest childhood memories were mostly experiences that occurred during summertime. Basking in the sun, playing in our neighborhood playground, drying fruits and vegetables with my mom- it was endless magic. I wish I could go back, if only for a day or even a few hours to relive those carefree moments.

Well, summer just arrived and I am so excited! This excitement is more for the kids. I’m looking forward to creating many happy and fun summer memories with them. Our first one came this past weekend. We took the kids to a ‘surprise’ family field trip for Father’s day. There are many daily surprises in my home when the kids behave and they come in many forms- books, candies, clothes, parks and a lot of goodies from The Dollar Tree! I guess one would call this positive reinforcement. I don’t think there has been a day in the life of Zoey and Axel that there wasn’t a surprise waiting for them. I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing!

The kiddos were so excited for the our family trip. It was only when we pulled up to a strawberry farm that they realized our surprise field trip would involve picking strawberries!

It was really hot just like typical summer days. The kids were adorable and we had so much fun seeing the kids picking and eating strawberries.

Axel was a bit grumpy at the beginning but he finally loosened up later.

I guess his thumb tasted better than the strawberries!

Zoey loves her dresses. She wears dresses 99.9% of the time. Even in the middle of winter, she would wear them over her shirts and pants. She is very happy that she can finally wear dresses without another entire layer underneath. She feels the most beautiful in them because every time she wears them, she would look in the mirror, twirl and say “Mommy, I’m beautiful!”

Yes you are, my little love.

Going ham!

Summer in New England is like no other. I can’t wait to bring the kids to many more adventures. We are looking forward to swimming in the lake, building sandcastles at the beach, visiting many more farms, taking the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard, driving to Cape Cod and many more endless surprise family field trips!

What do you like to do during the summertime? Please share!

Have a great day and Happy Summer!