Things That Make Me Smile

Summer is finally here. The weather went from 60 degrees one day to 92 the next. Yay for hot weather.  Hot weather makes me smile.  

The kids have been playing outside and I have been enjoying time on my patio, surrounded by flowers, reading a good book.  

The kids run back and forth from me to the playset to the bushes back to me.  They show me each little rock and stick they find and ask me a zillion questions.  I read a sentence or two and they are back again.  Sometimes they find something picture-worthy and I jump up to grab my camera.  Two butterflies landing on Ben's thumb make me smile.  So does his joy.

I found a recipe for little s'more mini cupcakes online and OH.  MAH.  GAWD.  They are good.  No bonfire required.  And the kids LOVE them.  They were smiling from ear to ear. 

On Saturday my mom and I went to see the much hyped Wicked together.  With the weather being so warm and lovely we were able to sit outside of the restaurant and enjoy our meal.  The waitress asked us if we were going to see Wicked and then mentioned that they have a Wicked themed martini that smokes and bubbles like a cauldron.  It was so cool looking and was absolutely delicious.  As was our meal.  Smiles all around.

After our dinner we strolled on over to the theater and took our seats.  It was a great show.  Very funny.   The set and costumes were amazing.  We had a wonderful time.  More smiles.

Sunday was our church picnic. The kids look forward to it all year round.  Mass was outside and we finally got to meet our new priest.  Father Matthew is only 30 years old. Younger than me.  I can't believe I'm old enough for the leader of our church to be younger than me.  Egad.  Still, his sermon was wonderful and he has much enthusiasm and a great sense of humor.  We enjoyed meeting him and talking with him. After waiting patiently as we talked with Father Matthew the kids were finally released and went wild playing all the games and picking out yummy desserts from the bake sale.  I don't think they ever stopped smiling.

We went directly from the church picnic to our annual family reunion held at a beautiful park.  The kids played and ate and played and ate some more while we chatted with family and basked in the sun.  It was a wonderful day.  I wasn't the only one smiling.

When we got home from the family reunion I grabbed Molly and we went out for a run.  It was a difficult run with so much food in my belly but we managed.  Finally home, I weeded my gardens and noticed some beautiful flowers finally beginning to bloom in the warm weather.

The new rose bushes I planted are full of buds.  One beautiful yellow rose just began to open.

The hibiscus tree on my back patio has the most gorgeous blooms.

And one of my favorite flowers was blooming as well.  My lovely, round, purple firecrackers.

Soon my whole garden will be full of flowers. The reds and yellows and pinks and purples will be on full display (click here for previous year's display).  I can't wait.  Makes me smile just thinking about it.

In less than a week my best friend and her family are coming to stay with us for four days.  I know having 7 kids and 4 adults under one roof will probably be madness but I can't wait.  I've only seen her twice since she moved to Oklahoma 4 years ago and we are overdue for a visit.  We'll get to watch the ridiculous Bachlorette together on Monday night (instead of having to text each other during the show) and on Tuesday we are going to see NKOTB, Boys II Men, and 98 degrees in concert.  It is high school all over again, man!  I feel slightly badly for our husbands but I still can't wipe the smile off my face when I think about it.

It seems we have much to smile about around here.  How about you?