Of Cherries and Hikes

I love June.
The smell of honeysuckle.
The promise of a summer stretching endlessly.
Eating outdoors.
So much to look forward to: the beach, summer trips, berry picking, no school.

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We had a super-day last Friday. The weather was beautiful. The big kids were off from school and I took a half day off from work.

We started out with an early morning hike at a near-by park. The hike was awesome - we saw and smelled lots of honeysuckle, we discovered some neat ruins of a building near the trail (that we've missed on all the previous hikes), the kids got to run ahead and explore (spiderwebs, fish in the stream, holes in the ground, flowers next to the path, old uprooted trees). I really need to do this more often - nothing is as calming and relaxing as a walk in a forest (a solitary walk in a forest is great, too, but not always possible).

While I worked, kids were occupied with chores, reading, and practicing their instruments. After lunch, we headed to a local orchard and picked cherries. They were crazy expensive, but the experience was fun. Kids got a kick out of a ride in an open-sided wagon. The trees were just the right size for easy picking. Plus, we got to pass by peach and nectarine trees - with fruit ripening on the branches (fun to compare these to our baby orchard at home).

We then visited the farm animals - I thought the kids had outgrown the goats and the ducks, but no, they had a blast. We also dropped by my parents and visited with them for a bit (kids got fed and we shared cherries and a sunflower from the orchard).

The kids packed the pool bag before we left that afternoon (the joys of having big kids - they can do all this useful stuff!), so we were all ready to head to the pool. We picked up the youngest from daycare and then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at the pool eating cherries, hanging out at the tennis court, and going into the water for short periods of time. The water was cold - forcing myself to jump in was not a pleasant experience! Once you are in, its fine and C (she is 4) and I had a blast! She is so eager to swim and completely unafraid.

My husband joined us with some take-out sushi and tennis rackets. The kids had a couple of melt-downs, but that not surprising after such a busy day. I am really terrible at tennis (actually, I am really terrible at sports in general) but playing with kids is fun and they don't mind my lack of skills.

What are your favorite things about early summer?