Wednesday Hodgepodge...summertime

It's time for Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce, who blogs at From This Side of The Pond.  Each week she'll pose some questions for us to answer. What a great way to journal life.

1. Summer officially begins this week (in the northern hemisphere)...what was your favorite thing to do in the summer when you were a kid? We spent a lot of time riding bikes outside and playing by the river. We played games until dark with the neighbor kids. It was fun times. What do you like most about summer now? Enjoying my flowers and our yard, going on hikes or walks...trying to stay cool. 

2.  Something you'll celebrate this summer? Our grandsons 7th birthday and my MIL's 80th birthday. These will be fun times, however, my grandsons birthday may be celebrated when I'm away on a girls weekend. I already had it planned and it was the only weekend they could do his party. That's okay, there will be many more!

3. Summer tastes like? fresh fruit, s'mores, and BBQ.  

Smells like? Fresh cut grass and the smell after it rains on a warm day. 

Sounds like? Kids playing outside (laughter and screaming), birds happily chirping, frogs croaking. 

4. June 18th is National Splurge Day...what's the last thing you splurged on?Hmm...to splurge means to spend money freely or extravagantly...when I think of this, I think of something that I might not buy, even if it's not expensive, although it can mean that. I did splurge when I was on vacation and buy a few shirts and a bottle of wine from my aunts tasting room. We splurged (though we budgeted for it) on our new car two years ago. I feel like I splurge when I purchase certain supplements or my favorite Arbonne products.  What might you splurge on today? Well, I'm staying home today, so unless I buy something online, I probably won't splurge unless I find something sweet to eat, or maybe I'll splurge on my time, and work on my puzzle for awhile. 

I did splurge on ice cream while visiting my family. Only once though. 

5. Share a favorite summer quote, saying, song lyric, or meme. 

"Summer means happy times and good sunshine" ~Brian Wilson

"Now let the sun shine bright on my happy summer home" ~Jerry Paul Keller

I loved this meme I saw last week. I think it fits me. 

I'm sure there are many songs about summer that I love. Yesterday, I took the grandkids to a local park with waterfront beach and playground. We had ice cream and they listened to one of their favorite songs by the Fun Squad called Fun in the Sun. Pepper kept saying on the playground "Fun in the sun, We're gonna have some fun, fun in the sun, we're gonna have some fun." 

We're gonna have fun, fun, fun
In the sun, sun, sun
We're gonna live it up and celebrate
It's summertime
Say goodbye to school
It's our time to rule
Yeah, taste sweet freedom, 'cause it's summertime

It's our last day of class
Got my water park pass
Homework's a memory
Let's get ourselves planing
'Cause this summer anthem is gonna make history

So throw your shades on and cool
Beat that summer heat in the pool
Grab a chair and snowcone for fuel
We're gonna have some fun

We're gonna have fun, fun, fun
In the sun, sun, sun
We're gonna live it up and celebrate
It's summertime
Say goodbye to school
It's our time to rule
Yeah, taste sweet freedom, 'cause it's summertime

County fair in July
See those fireworks fly
Color, let's fill the sky
Epic rollercoaster riding can be so exciting
With family by your side

So grab that blue and pink cotton candy
Play it on the beach field to sandy
Barbecues at granma and granpy
We're gonna have some fun

We're gonna have fun, fun, fun
In the sun, sun, sun
We're gonna live it up and celebrate
It's summertime
Say goodbye to school
It's our time to rule
Yeah, taste sweet freedom, 'cause it's summertime

I wish it could be summer forever
I wish we could always keep this warm weather
I wish we all could hang out together
I wish we could stay up and sleep in whenever
No matter what we wish for, remember
The summer only lasts from June 'til September
So make this time count, make memories together
And come join The Fun Squad and never grow, never
Never grow, never

Invite all your friends over (over)
Guard your fort like a soldier (solder)
Oh no! Watch out and take cover
'Cause here comes the water

So grab your team and get splashing
So blast that radio and start dancing
Stay up late, make smores and go camping
We're gonna have some fun

Fun in the sun
We're gonna have some fun
Fun in the sun
We're gonna have some fun
Fun in the sun
We're gonna have some fun
Fun in the sun
We're gonna have some fun

We're gonna have fun, fun, fun
In the sun, sun, sun
We're gonna live it up and celebrate
It's summertime
Say goodbye to school
It's our time to rule
Yeah, taste sweet freedom, 'cause it's summertime

Fun, fun, fun
In the sun, sun, sun
We're gonna live it up and celebrate
It's summertime
Say goodbye to school
It's our time to rule
Yeah, taste sweet freedom, 'cause it's summertime

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I had a great visit with family last week. It's always good to be home. The week was mostly spent relaxing, reading, working a puzzle with one of my aunts, playing games and taking walks. The weather was decent, thankfully not muggy, but one day it rained the whole day. I also went through a bunch of old photos my aunt had and took a bunch of "pictures" of the pictures. So fun going down memory lane. 

We played Yahtzee, Rumikub, Play Nine, and 5,000 Rummy. 

I never tire of walking around the island. I was a bit bummed that I didn't see any cardinals...I heard them, but they eluded me again! I laughed because a friend who lives in Tennessee and knows I love them, sent me two videos and I was so jealous because they would have made perfect photos. 

I read this book while there. A mystery that takes place on the lake Erie Coastline. It was fun being near the places they referenced in the book.

One of the photos I found of my grandma and grandpa. How cool is this!

Yesterday the grandkids and I took advantage of our nice weather and went to a nearby waterfront park area to play. They have some food trucks so we got ice cream, played on the playground and went down by the water. A fun summer day! 

I got home Monday evening, yesterday I was with the grandkids all day, so today is my day to play catch up, and since it's raining off and on, I won't feel guilty about not getting outside. On to the to do list. See you next week. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin