The First of July ...

July. Really? It does seem a little hard to believe!

Our June proved full, and eventful, and satisfying... in a summer kind of way.

Nice weather. Day trips to the city. Yard projects. Playing in the yard.

In June we

wrapped up soccer

hung a bird feeder

caught lightening bugs

and roasted marshmallows

all joined the summer reading program at the library in an effort to way to remain literary during school holidays

had visitors!

{We loved the short weekend visit from the Canadian Grands and a long weekend visit with our Besties from Boston -the irony was not lost on us that we took our friends from 'Bean Town" to Chicago's famous 'bean' in Millennium Park.}

June also was

time with cousins

a shower for another cousin soon arriving

and camps

{Nature Quest for MGJ, "Bug Out" for EHJ and VBS for all three}

I was chatting with some teachers today. They said that July 4th is the beginning of the end. After the holiday the remaining parts of summer sail by. June is done. Only a wisp of summer left. While I understand and appreciate their perspective, with all due respect I would counter that we have quite a bit of summer left. For the Johnson's it will involve a long weekend jaunt to Michigan, a visit from a favorite Canadian auntie, and a trip later in the month to The Land of the Maple Leaf. (We'll be boarding a plane and using our passports ... after six months of car-only trips! We can hardly wait!!)

Happy July! Hope you're enjoying your summer so far!