Bidding farewell to summer

Gracie's feet and Preston's feet.
Hers with fading tan lines... His with dirt and grass...
as they should be!

I can't believe that summer is almost over. The crisp, cool mornings and nights and the (finally) moderate days are a welcomed change. The kids love being outside and, since it's not so blazing hot, Gracie can hang out for a long time without overheating.
We spent a couple of hours outside on Monday morning playing and doing chores. Preston wasn't even dressed yet... still in his pajama shirt and no pants! I couldn't help but grab the camera for a little photo shoot.
As I have been reminded by posts of other bloggers, they will not be this age next summer and my memories of the minute specifics will fade as time passes and my mind alters them. So, I need to soak up the little details... their laughter, their sounds, the way their feet look, the way they play - - all of these things will be different next summer because they won't be five and one. Kind of sad... makes me want to freeze time.
So, since I can't literally freeze time, here are my attempts to capture the last few moments of summer and the sparkle it made in my kids' eyes.


Gracie's favorite backyard activity - - scooting over to any shaded area where she can reach into the planter (or wedge herself up the edge of the brick) and then pick up a handful of dirt and sprinkle it across her face. NOT SO FUNNY... this creates panic and mess for Mommy! Clearly this isn't good for her trach (goes without saying), her mouth (she can't swallow the dirt) or her eyes (she can't blink it out). Nevertheless, she LOVES to do this and it makes her laugh. Again... NOT SO FUNNY! She also thoroughly enjoys doing this with bark at the school and park playgrounds... not quite as dangerous... and still NOT SO FUNNY! Her second favorite thing is to play with any trimmings that she's given. Flowers, little twigs with leaves, small branches... You name it, if it's green, she loves it! Oh... and I can't forget how she loves the misters. She can lie under them forever, giggling and voicing over her trach as the gentle mist cools and tickles her skin. She absolutely LOVES that and doesn't care how soaking wet she gets!


Preston loves all parts of being outside. Watering, riding his tricycle, pointing out dog poopies that need picking up (by literally pointing at them and saying "ew"), smelling the flowers, picking the flowers, climbing the things he's not supposed to (this is an exhausting workout for Mommy!), giving flowers to Gracie, bringing any discovery or tool he's used over to her so that she, too, can partake (which melts Mommy's heart and almost makes her forget that he just climbed something he wasn't supposed to!).
He loves to "help" and doesn't really know that he's just a toddler. He thinks he can lift and move things five times his size... and he makes the cutest grunting noises in the attempt to accomplish impossible tasks. (Picture Olympic weightlifter grunts coming from a 16 month old!)
If he were allowed, he would stay outside all day. He is highly allergic to grass, though, and if he doesn't have on shoes, his little feet break out and get raw. Ouchie. Like his sister, he loves the misters and they make him squeal and giggle with delight in the way that only a child can.