The magic of summer

I looked at the calendar today and it hit me. It's August already. How did that happen? Then I realized that summer is almost over. It's kind of sad.

But wait, why am I sad? Summer doesn't hold the same meaning for me now as it did when I was a kid.

Summer used to mean...

Having the freedom to do everything or nothing at all, infinite possibilities. Eating freshly picked strawberries, watermelon or cherries, ice cream running down your chin, running through sprinklers, swimming in the neighborhood pool, fireworks, bbq's. Fishing for minnows and crayfish in the creek in the backyard, playing tennis or baseball, being outside all day. Playing tag, playing man hunt and ghost in the graveyard, catching fireflies, roasting marshmallows around the fire. Playing in the garden, going to the beach, counting stars, picnics, going to the park or playground, setting up lemonade stands, staying up late...

Now it's just another day. Another month. Nothing special. When did I lose that magic of summer? I guess it was when I grew up and had responsibilities.

Boooooooooooooooring.

This coming weekend I'm going to live like I did when I was 10. No responsibilities, no plans, no rules. Just fun in the sun.  :)  I wish that for you too.

Hope you're having a great week!

Puppy paradise

Hi everyone.

It hasn't been a good few weeks in my house. My husband's grandmother passed away recently. She was almost 90 so she had a nice long life. She lived long enough to meet her great grand-children. She died surrounded by her family who loved her. So really, I don't think you could ask for more. After the funeral things went back to normal, or as normal as can be. Work got really busy. I was really looking forward to our vacation this week. Friday before the 4th of July I was at work. I started feeling dizzy and nauseous. After I got home I got sick, to put it nicely, for hours. I just couldn't stop. My face turned purplish red, and was completely swollen. I broke out in spots and my throat closed up. Travis finally said enough was enough and dragged me to the ER. Turns out I either had a severe allergic reaction or food poisoning. I didn't eat anything different that day so I'm not sure what to believe. It's now almost a week later and I'm still not feeling great. Blah. But I'm on vacation so enough of that.

We obviously couldn't do much since I'm still not feeling 100%. We were looking to find a beach where dogs were allowed so Maddy could enjoy our vacation too. I found this great website that has pet friendly travel arrangements. Today we went to a beach called Fishermans Cove Conservation Area Overview in Manasquan New Jersey.

The beach is only an hour away from our house and it was easy to get to. The beach isn't a great people beach but the dogs loooooooooved it. They could run around off the leash and play with other dogs. We never brought Maddy to the beach before so we weren't quite sure how she would react. She LOVED it. We kept her on the leash for about 10 minutes...mainly so I could snap some photos.  :)

Maddy is a people dog so she likes to say hi to everyone. Not everyone wants to say hi to her since she's a pittie. (I know, I know. I should be used to it by now but it still annoys me.) One woman yelled at us because Maddy got sand on her blanket. Um, lady, you're at the beach. A dog beach at that. Get over it!

The beach is free as is the parking but it seems as though the parking fills up quickly so get there early. It is clean and people are friendly (with the exception of blanket lady). If you read the comments on that website, they are all pretty true. The beach is very rocky and it has a lot of shells so it's hard on your feet. My flip flops were not really cutting it but I don't see myself buying water shoes to go to the beach. One woman commented on bringing water to wash off with. I really should have paid more attention to this one. There was no shower/hose to rise off with once you left the beach so we were all sandy...and now my is my car is too. I also couldn't find a bathroom so we drove to another beach down the street which was kind of irritating. If you go, make sure to bring a cooler with some water. Some beaches have refreshment stands. This one didn't  have much around it at all. All in all, it was a great day.

I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area. Maddy completely agrees.

We had one tired pup when we got home!

Have a great night!