#10 on the Summer List 2011 (and a revisit to #1)

A campfire at Mom and Dad's house was also on my summer list. Since Dukens and Angela (Ysmaille's brother and his wife) were here we thought it was the perfect time. In lieu of the traditional campfire ring we use the chimney stove. (I know it has a name, but I'm not quite sure what it is.)

Angela roasts her marshmallows to perfection.

Me and my man.

Love these two. Once again IMPOSSIBLE to get them to look at the camera.

Brothers: Dukens and Ysmaille

#9 on the Summer List

Here's the thing. Sun is not my friend. I spend most of the summer walking around with SPF 50 on. So an EVENING on the pool was perfect. It is still hot and humid, but I don't have to lather myself in sunscreen.

Our beautiful daughter, Amirah

It is IMPOSSIBLE to these two girls to look at the camera simaltaneously.

See what I mean? IMPOSSIBLE.

After an evening in the pool we had an impromptu feast of hotdogs, chips, cookies. You know the really healthy summery fare.

Gotta love those sippy cups.

------ Not Sure What to Call This Post ------

Just some random things I want to say.

1. I love, love, love the sound of Amirah's screams when she is upstairs with her daddy. I reread that line and thought I should clarify. They are SCREAMS of COMPLETE JOY. She absolutely delights in the attention he gives her. I am so thankful for their special relationship.

2. I am having so much fun this summer that I didn't think I'd ever want to go back to school. I was nervous. Was teaching the wrong choice for me? Then I went into my classroom today and felt the excitement begin to build. I'm not ready yet. But I will be. I feel so blessed to have a job I love!

3. I love the NATE BERKUS show. Have you seen it? He used to be a regular on Oprah, and now has his own show. It's just an informative show with fashion advice, home decorating ideas, ways to save money, etc. Plus, he's such a cutie.

4. Ethel Strite's cooking class rocks! Last week we had meatball subs-- the best I've ever had. I made the recipe this week and I'm thinking about making them again next week. Secret ingredient? Chili sauce. Does anyone know if I can find it without high fructose corn syrup?

5. Since I'm on the topic of cooking... I bought flour and chocolate chips to make cookies today. When I got home I realized that I didn't have any butter. I looked online to see what I could substitute. One website said I could substitute 2/3 cup of oil for 1 cup of butter. I did it and my cookies were better than usual!

#8 on Summer List 2011

On my Summer List 2011 was a hike at Caledonia. My sister-in-law, Angela, is here for almost two weeks and I wanted to take her to Caledonia anyway, so I thought we might as well throw a hike in there somewhere :)

It was actually really funny because we packed a whole afternoon of festivities in about two hours. We had meat to grill and figured it would take at least an hour to get the charcoal hot and the meat cooked. Luckily for us, the grill we picked had just been deserted and it was perfectly hot and ready to go. We grilled, ate pasta salad, some watermelon, and lemon bars. It took 30 minutes and then we were off. No time to waste!

After dinner it was time to move on to the stream. Amirah loved playing in the water!
Next it was playground time. Amirah went down the big slide with her Aunt Angela.

Finally it was time to cross off another activity from my list. My friend, Jen, gave us this carrier months ago, but we've never had a chance to use it, so I was so excited to give it a try. Amirah really liked it. We were off on our fourth and final adventure...

Here we are hiking. As you can tell by our foot gear it wasn't a particularly strenuous hike, but a hike nonetheless.

Another activity off my list. I'm getting close to the 1/2 way mark. This summer has been so much fun so far. I can't wait to see what the next four weeks hold!

Don't you love this picture? After our big hike we needed a little relaxation!

#7 on Summer List 2011

I started the "Couch Potato to 5K" program in November. At that point I could barely run one minute. I know it sounds dramatic, but it's true. When I made it to three minutes I was estatic! I can now run a mile. I decided to sign up the Waynesboro "Firecracker 5K" to be held on July 4th. I came in at #457, which I know sounds laughable, but I am so proud of myself for completing the race. I walked about 1/2 of it and jogged the other 1/2.

My friend, Sabrina, and I before the race
Everyone getting ready for the race...

Unfortunately my photographer didn't take any pictures of me actually running, but here is my victory stance after we got home that morning!

#5 and #6 on Summer List 2011

Sidewalk chalk. Love the idea of decorating the sidewalk with doodles and scribbles. Amirah, however, just wants to eat it. We crossed it off our summer list, but it wasn't all that I imagined it to be. Oh well, there's always Summer 2012.

Don't you just love it? So pretty.

My little cutie pie.

She is clearly concentrating on something other than her drawing.

ALSO ON OUR SUMMER LIST WAS ICE CREAM AT THE MEADOWS. IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN THERE YET, DO IT. IT IS SO YUMMY! IN TRUE MELANIE FASHION I USED A BUY ONE SMALL CONE, GET ONE FREE COUPON.

I know what you are thinking. Who lets their child out of the house with hair looking like this. It started out much better that morning (see sidewalk chalk pictures that were taken earlier that day). Anyway, Amirah enjoyed the ice cream and that's the whole point anyway.

Isn't this the cutest? I love her little scrunched up nose. These two are in love !

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR SUMMER LIST.

Ysmaille and I do not have a perfect relationship. We would never claim that. But every once in a while I just feel so loved by him that I want to tell the world. Last night I went out with some ladies to Ruby Tuesday's. I laughed harder than I had in a while and my soul felt so filled as I drove home. Ysmaille was watching a movie on the couch when I walked in and immediately I smelled something good. Seconds later I realized that he had cleaned the kitchen floor (the smell of the Swiffer cleaning liquid is amazing), put all of Amirah's toys away, cleaned off the counter, etc. The house looked better than it had in days and I fell in love with him a little more.

This morning Miss Amirah woke up at 6:20! Just as I was dragging myself out of bed Ysmaille comes bounding up the stairs to tell me that he will get up with her and I can sleep in. Seriously? It was just too much. I laid in bed lazily for almost two hours. It was glorious!

When he told me he was going to play soccer today how could I protest? Did he have ulterior motives? Who cares! I felt so loved by his thoughtfulness. He could have told me he was driving to Saskatchewan and I would have been okay with it.