During Summer, Dreams Do Come True! . . . Sometimes.

Summertime! It's the stuff dreams are made of! Coincidentally, it's also the stuff nightmares are made of as well.

For example:

DREAMS:

Not dealing with this guy in the morning? Heaven! The luxury of not having to get up super early in order to scrape the car off, especially in the mornings I was running late, was something I missed about summertime big time during the winter. Plus, you don't have to freeze your bum off while you wait for your car to finally heat up.

NIGHTMARES:

Summertime with a car that doesn't have a working air conditioning. All I can say is thank goodness for 4x40 (all four windows rolled down going 40mph). And for a Father-in-law that is a mechanic and will hopefully be able to fix that soon. Until then, the windows will be rolled up and down as I vary between "It's stuffy and hot in here!" and "The wind is getting my hair all in my face!"

Summertime is the time people look forward to plan trips, play outdoors, finally relax, and just enjoy the sunshine. And every year, we convince ourselves that this summer we are going to have the time of our lives without a care in the world, expecting everything to go off without a hitch. Maybe I'm the only one, but I don't think this has ever happened for me. It seems like every year my summer plans have to meet up with the fact that this is still the real world and things don't always go according to plan.

For the Fourth of July we thought it would be fun to go with a couple of friends in our ward to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho, so we could go inner-tubing down the river and soak in the hot springs. Super awesome road trip we had planned? Meet having to pay for car repairs, miscalculating our budget, and realizing we could no longer afford to go.

My plan for wearing shorts, enjoying myself outside, and getting super cute tan legs? Meet marriage-weight-gain causing my shorts to no longer fit comfortably, feeling too lazy to go outside because it's hot, and consequently, still very white legs. Except for the weird part of my foot between my pant line and where my flats begin that has tanned. Yeah, a bit odd looking.

It hasn't been all bad. We might not have been able to go on that 4th of July road trip, but we still got to go to a parade, spend time with family, go swimming in my cute new swimsuit, enjoy some grilled food, and watch fireworks with friends.

And even though those trip plans didn't work out, we still were able to go on a fun camp out to Goblin Valley with those friends. There weren't even mosquitoes there, which was a huge plus! :)

I might not fit in all of my old pants anymore, but it gave me an excuse to buy some new running shoes & convince my husband to start running with me. Definitely a new motivation to get back in shape! Which I needed. And even though I may not have cute tan legs, I at least have a funny pants & flats tan line :)

We've grilled, gone on fun dates, and have had a lot of time to relax and read for fun instead of for homework, watch movies, and create new plans! And summer still isn't over yet!

So even if there are a few nightmares this summer like a car's AC not working (if you are also going through this, I feel for you) and fun trips falling through, summer is still a time of dreaming and living those dreams and relaxing and laughing and just enjoying life in general.

So long live your summer dreams! I hope all of your summers are going just as well as ours - if not better!