some summer highlights

I am feeling a little nostalgia already for summer 2010 and it's only been fall for about 2 days.  Of course, it doesn't help that we have been sweating it out around here this week, with hot and humid days and not much cooler nights.  I feel somewhat responsible for the return of the heat since I did take all the window unit air conditioners out last week in a fit of wild abandon where I was sure the summer was over. 

This summer, we didn't stray too far from home, thanks to our never ending kitchen remodel.  We joked that our "vacation" should be sitting on my son's bed and looking out at our new kitchen roof because that's where our vacation budget went.  But, we did make the most of the time we had.  Let's run the highlights:

one kid turned 13:

Another kid turned 6:

We took some great day trips and we went to all 3 outside movies at our local park.  We have decided that we don't really care which movie we see, as long as it's outside:

We finally got the firepit I've always wanted.  Of course, because we live "in town" we aren't technically allowed to have any kind of open burning.  Also, we only have what I lovingly call a "postage stamp" for a backyard, so there's no chance of adding a landscape feature type firepit.  Instead, I picked up this lovely tabletop grill at Target, on clearance for $4

And, it worked great.  We had an awesome night of roasting marshmallows and making smores.  3 of my family members actually used nestle crunch for their smores, which I think is sacrilege but if they can live with themselves, I guess it's fine.