I love summer

Days like today are my idea of perfect - 82 degrees (low humidity) and sunny with a beautiful blue sky and not a cloud in sight. The air conditioner is turned off and the windows are open.

Malayna and I walked to the park today. It's one of my favorite things to do on a day like this. We walk the trail and talk about the birds and the trees and the sunshine making shadows on the ground. We see geese and ducks on the lake and then Malayna plays at the playground - her favorite parts being the swings and the sandbox. Sometimes we see friends from the neighborhood, but mostly it's time for just the two of us to be together.

I feel recharged after being outside, especially when I've been surrounded by trees and grass and green open space. I love the smell of the woods and hearing nothing but birds singing and crickets chirping. (Okay, I don't want the crickets to come anywhere near me, but I do like to HEAR them.)

The only problem with days like today is that I don't want to be inside! Which means I don't get any work done in my studio. I justify that by telling myself that there will be plenty of cold, yucky days ahead to spend inside. But how many more days of playing in the park do I have left? At what age do kids not want to go to the playground? One day I'll walk through the park by myself {maybe while Malayna's at school} and remember these gorgeous, sunny days of the two of us together. I'll think of Malayna's pudgy little feet in the sand and the sound of her laugh as she tells me to push her higher on the swing. I'll remember the summer when she could walk up the steps to the slide by herself, or when she discovered she could swing on her belly (all by herself) on the big kid swings.

Until then, I'll just enjoy days like this.

{The photos of Malayna were taken at our favorite park by Kristen Kalp of Essential Imagery. She was awesome to work with and captured such great shots. If you're local, she'll even come to your location!}