Summer always sneaks up on me. This year especially because the weather has been so cool and nice and then BAM, feels like an oven and everything is brown again.  Yep, sure enough the calendar says June. How did this happen?

This time, I am going to sit down with my planner and pencil in summery things because before I know it, summer will be over and the kids will be reminding us that we didn’t do much in the way of fun. The other day I saw some bloggers talking about summer and their summers differed so much that I thought I’d ask the question:

What does summer mean to you?

In my head, this is what it means to me:

• Several trips to the beach
• Evening BBQs with fresh seafood, steak and lots of watermelon!
• Summery drinks (Pimm’s Cup, Arnold Palmers, Mint Juleps)
• After dinner runs to the ice cream shop
• Lots and lots of reading
• Summer movie blockbusters on the big screen
• Sitting outside in the shade just to take in the view
• Shortish road trips to undiscovered beach towns
• Eating a tuna salad sandwich while watching the waves roll in
• The smell of sunscreen mixed with an ocean breeze
• The Otter Pup, happy for all the extra sunny spots to check out
• Visiting air-conditioned museums when it’s blazing hot outside
• Concerts at the park

Summer, in general, means a more carefree attitude. It should with school being out and all but since I work for a year-round university, we don’t have much of a break so I have to try harder to get those “feels” in there.

When I picked up my daughter from her last day of school yesterday, she literally did a dance down the sidewalk and I SO remember how the last day of school felt. Such promise of things to come. This year, I plan to make more of the above happen.

Now it’s your turn. What does summer mean to you? What are your must-have summer foods or drinks and tell me what you love to do during these hot summer months.