Americans Love Lists

Since Americans love lists, I thought it would be fun to make a list of the things I remember about summer as I was growing up. It would be too long to list everything, so I'll just go with the things I remember most vividly. These are in no particular order. 

Bike rides
Swimming at the pool and buying a Big Hunk afterward
Running through the sprinklers
Ice cream trucks (with the rocket shaped red, white, and blue treats)
The July 24th Parade
The carnival
The rodeo
Eating popsicles outside
Running barefoot
Cotton candy
Big Wheels
Jumping rope
Handstand competitions in the shade
Plucking fresh fruit off the tree and eating it without washing it
Sleeping in
Bathing at night and the water would turn an ugly gray from all the dirt
Wearing braids and pony tails in my hair
Trying to make raisins out of grapes
Lilac bushes
Mowing the grass
Playing at the park and at the school playground
Eating watermelon
Sudden rain storms and the July/August "monsoon" season
Snow on the top of Mount Timpanogos until July
Wearing a swimsuit like it was an actual piece of clothing
Thongs (aka flip flops these days)
Sleeping outside in the back yard under the stars or in the big tent
Picking the garden clean with Grandpa
Mom and Grandma bottling fruits and veggies and jams
Grandma's hair being done by Mom while I played under the kitchen table
Playing with friends and cousins
Family reunions and family parties
A new dress for Church
Scraped knees, elbows, chins, and stubbed toes
Mosquitoes, mosquitoes, mosquitoes
Chirping crickets
Singing birds (that always drove me crazy, especially early morning)
Sleeping without any covers in one of Dad's old t-shirts
Staying up late to watch movies
Mom's yummy breakfasts every morning
Saturday breakfast runs to McDonald's (remember their cheese danishes?!)
Fireworks - LOTS of fireworks
And sparklers by the dozens
Plastic pools in the yard
Dirt and mud, mud and dirt
Drinking ditch water (too lazy to go home ...)
Cartwheels down hills
Races on bikes or foot down the hill in front of the house
The scary shed where I feared I'd get trapped
Homemade ice cream
Sunburns and good ol' Aloe Vera to cool them down
Sugar-coated, dirty faces
Eating tomatoes straight out of the garden
Buttery corn on the cob
Hiding under Grandpa's plum trees and arbor
Dandelions and blowing them everywhere
Sleepovers (which I usually ended up coming home from ...)
Drinking soda pop
ROAD TRIPS!!! 
Bright Ideas summer school (not for the dumb kids)
Ant hills and beetle bugs
Swinging as high as possible
Monkey bars and slides
Tire swings attached to tree houses
Walking to and from Church
Leaving the back door open so a breeze came through the screen
The Mexicans that showed up at our house with Dad
Sitting on the front porch steps
Playing school
Going to the fairgrounds
Joining 4-H (that one year)
Selling lemonade and Kool-Aid (but drinking most of it)
Playing in Shauna's family camper
Jumping on trampolines
The incredibly moist heat at Dad's dry cleaning shop
Sweating and not caring
Sneaking up to watch The Johnny Carson Show with Dad
Band-aids and stitches

What sticks out the most is how completely happy I was to spend time with Mom, Dad, my siblings, cousins, grandparents, and friends. It seems like everything we did was lots of fun, filled with the best people, and never lasted long enough. And now that I'm an adult and work most of the summer, it seems like those "good times" don't quite last as long. It would be fun to savor those moments again each summer. But I have to admit it's also fun to see similar memories being made with my nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews. 

It's amazing the things you see through the eyes of a child ....