And this is where I come to the startling, but not suprising, realization that Daniel and I do not breed vegetarians...

Hey Daddy, that burger looks really good...

Hand it over...

Deeee-licious!
(I learned that word from my Ce-Ce! Aren't you proud?!)

Daniel grilled hamburgers and hot dogs out on the back patio last night. It was excessively windy, which makes everything more fun as far as the kids are concerned. They whoop and holler with the gusts, dancing around the backyard without a care in the world.

I felt like a model stuck inside a wind tunnel

Eliza loves it too. Though, we all agreed that last night the wind was rather aggressive.

It is so wonderful to have a patio and backyard to enjoy these warm summer nights with. Daniel bought me a fire pit, but only because I practically begged him. He now sees the wisdom in such a frivolous purchase. We love it. Love it, love it.

Tonight, as I made dinner, I watched through my kitchen window as four young boys played a pick up game of baseball in the backyard. They used a bright orange plastic bat which hurdled the ball a whopping eight feet even with the mightiest of thwacks.
I saw two blonde haired girls, definitely sisters, practically beat each other senseless over who held the leash for the dog. They were screaming, and pulling hair, hitting, and yelling. Until they saw the rest of us. Their captive audience. They hurried on down the sidewalk, but I could still hear them screaming at each other. I might have laughed. It was quite ridiculous.

All of these things, in the last two nights... the barbecue, my children dancing and running through the backyard, the boys playing baseball, and the siblings fighting.... all of this combined made me feel as though there are some things still right in the world.

The simplicity of summer nights spent in backyards.

Now, if we could just make some friends to share it all with...