This shot is from our wonderful  2008 Yellowstone vacation with the kids. So, this featured download is a tribute to summer…

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Our trip to Yellowstone was a fantastic experience for the kids – and it was my first trip to the park as well. This shot doesn’t show the geysers for which the park is best known – but for me, that’s not important. It’s a little slice of summer.

Do you remember how much you loved summer when you were a kid? My childhood was all about playing in the fields behind our home in northern Idaho – and later, in the creek behind our house in Ohio. In Idaho, my friend and I would climb under the barbed wire fence (ouch) and catch frogs in the pasture, or ride our bikes to the lake and watch the turtles. In Ohio, I climbed trees, caught crawdads, and built dams in the creek… and when I was older, I went hiking or canoeing as often as I could. For me, summer is all about the great outdoors.

We try to pass on our love of nature to our children – we take the kids canoeing every summer, and fishing too. They spend hours catching crawdads and minnows and playing in the river near our home every summer. Having kids makes it easy to keep in touch with your inner child, too.  Have you caught a crawdad with your bare hands recently? Built a big fort out of sticks and brush? Saved a butterfly from a spider’s web? Built a canal out of stones along the river’s edge? I did all those things last summer – with my children.

I have to say – this was a fun post to write! :) What do you remember from your childhood summers? I’d love to hear it!

Summer is good for the soul. Enjoy it while it lasts!