I LOVE SUMMER . . . please don't end . . .

I'm not gonna lie.  I love summer.  And that's why I haven't been filling this space with any writing lately.  I think I'm trying to savor the very last bit of summer and wring out as much of each day as I can before the early morning school rush begins,  the afternoon pick ups and late evening homework grind starts its terrible cycle.  That dreaded cycle that keeps us running nonstop through the days.  I love the longer days, the slower pace of summer.  I love not having to be somewhere every weekend and I love not feeling guilty if I want to sneak some time to read a book.While the younger boys have gotten into full football mode and sweat it out in pre-season practices, we have two short weeks before the school grind begins. I want to make the most of it!I also tend to do projects during the summer.  I'm not sure why that is, but somehow I always think I will have time I don't during the rest of the year.  While my boys were gone doing some service work for our church I unloaded our pantry and painted it.  It looks so good and refreshed I decided to paint the bathroom off of the kitchen.  I would NEVER have tackled those projects during the school year.  I also did something I have talked and talked about doing.  When my mother was alive she was "famous" for what she called her Dixie Relish.  That relish may be one reason The Husband asked for my hand.  He loves the stuff.  My mom had planned to come up and teach me how to make it as it was getting difficult for her to do.  Unfortunately, we never had the opportunity.  So, in her honor I decided to try to tackle her recipe on my own.  I had the best time following her recipe, chopping and chopping, experimenting, filling jars, sealing jars, and I'm sure that while she was looking down trying to tell me all the things I was doing wrong . . . she was also smiling!  It has been flying off the shelf and I'll soon have to make another batch!  We added a new puppy to our pet round up  making us a three dog family.  For Father's Day, we gave The Husband this surprise pup.  While Eli is the sweetest dog we have ever had, and incredibly clumsy and funny, I had forgotten how much time a new puppy takes.  It's been the perfect time time to take evening walks with the pups without being rushed.We have had a bit of a revolving door with boys in and out, coming and going, and with a looser routine I love knowing I've got some looser routine I love knowing I've got some fellas sleeping or running around the home.  It gets a bit comical, though, at bedtime when we have to go over who is where and double check that we have all accounted for and whereabouts confirmed.  I'm sure some of you can relate. . . .With the spontaneous change of plans and the awful heat we've had, one thing that I am not doing regularly is cooking.  That may have been obvious here by the lack of any food and recipe shares.  The other night the First Son came home with a friend, and everyone was home for dinner.  It was great to be able to cook for a bigger crowd again!  I even tried a new recipe for Cauliflower Rice.  I'll be sharing that one soon.  In the future I am going to have to learn how to cook for and enjoy cooking for just two of us.  I can already see how that will be a huge adjustment!As I was writing this post the Third Son made me aware that he couldn't find the new pup, Eli.  So I stopped typing to help look.  A little background on Eli.  While he might be soft, cuddly and extremely sweet,  he is also really, really fast.  And he's a runner.  If he sneaks out he is GONE causing us to race several houses away to retrieve him.  Back to looking for Eli.  We couldn't find him in the house, making a small panic arise in my throat.  He wasn't in the fenced in portion of the yard.  Not good.  So the Third Son and I began scouring the neighborhood.  The Husband came home to help.  For the next 2 hours we drove around calling Eli's name, walked around, asked anyone we saw, and posted on the neighborhood email.  Finally, not knowing what else to do I headed back home when the Third Son called me telling me he had found Eli.  Hearing a noise, the Third Son looked under his brother's bed and found Eli munching on Cheez Its.  Lordy.  Don't ask me why there are Cheez Its in the house, much less in the Second Son's room and under the bed.  So. . . . lesson learned from today?  Don't have Cheez Its in the house.After finding that darn dog, I was so relieved and crazed I had to get in a good workout.  Feeling much better now.Now, since we are still trying to soak up the last bit of summer mode here, I'm off to watch a movie with the son home and the dogs.   Enough of my rambling . . .If you are headed to school tomorrow or soon, go get some rest!  If you are trying to soak of the last of the summertime . . .Enjoy Your Day!   Are you ready for summer to end?  Do you get ready for the routine to begin?  Ready for school?  Fall?  Football?