Let Summer Begin

Today is the last day of school for this guy. Now he can put away his mean teacher face!

Which means we're thinking about a little bit of this.

And more time tending these.

And perhaps a nap or two.

I'm ready for summer. How about you?

A Picture of Summer

Second Saturday with good friends, frozen yogurt, Speed Racer on the wall outside while waiting for the Whispering Chingaderos to play. It is going to be a good summer.

90mm | ISO 3200 | f/2.8 | 1/40ss

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This photo follows none of the rules I teach. My shutter speed is too slow for the lens I was using. My ISO is as high as  you can go. And as you can see I framed it all center. Sometimes it just works regardless of what the rules say. The noise reduction in Lightroom 3 is amazing! The entire photo was processed in Lightroom without a touch of photoshop.

24 Images Of Summer

June. Summer.

Does it make you think of your childhood too? There are so many photos I wish I had of things I remember so well. Fun times with my sister. Outings. And, of course, just the everyday. Those little moments that in a time of film and developing, no one thought to capture.

1. Canoeing in the ditch with my sister and our dog Winston.
2. Jumping off the high dive at the big pool.
3. Swimming at my grandma and grandpa's house in the pool with the HUGE drop off.
4. Swimming at my cousin's house and discovering my uncle was just as bald as my dad!
5. My grandmother quilting outside, especially crawling under the frame to pull the needle through.
6. My red, white, and blue swimsuit with the little white ruffle.
7. Eating watermelon on the picnic table.
8. Building forts in the backyard.
9. Pulling carrots out of the ground.
10. Watching fireworks in our front yard.
11. Drinking strawberry Nehi. (I'd love a photo of the bottle)
12. Driving with my mom from the grocery store, eating a peppermint patty before we got home, so no one else would know.
13. The library where I read the most books in the summer reading program, even though the librarian didn't believe me.
14. Strawberry milkshakes with my dad.
15. Doing the polar bear swim at summer camp.
16. The green swimsuit I bought with my own money in 7th grade.
17. The homemade slip and slide in our backyard.
18. Homemade popsicles.
19. Real sparklers.
20. Eating pomegranates from the tree in the backyard.
21. Waiting for the ice cream man at Rosie's house.
22. Piling into my dad's old truck to watch a drive in movie, with the green blanket and Tupperware container of popcorn.
23. The pink beach cover up my mom made me using a towel.
24. The view out of my bedroom window at dusk on a summer night.

There are no pictures. Just the images in my head to remind me. 

They inspire me to capture the important moments for Ian. The little things that when he is older he might just remember as the big things. Those little things that make us smile when we retell the stories.

What's on your list of fond summer memories? What are the things you wish you had a photo of?