i saw a summer manifesto over on another blog earlier this week, and i loved the idea so much that i decided to make our own. even though i’m already whining about the humidity, there is just something so special and perfect about summer in the midwest, especially after a long, cold winter. this is the first summer in a long time where we’ve felt settled and know that we’ll be staying in the same place for awhile and can actually enjoy ourselves. this summer, we’re turning off the oven, heading outside, and grilling everything we possibly can. we’re eating outside on our new patio picnic table, and having drinks and catching up on reading in our backyard adirondack chairs. we’re taking a couple of camping trips, hopefully exploring parts of nebraska and iowa that we haven’t seen much of yet. we’re playing on a sand volleyball team with some of my coworkers and their partners, something we’ve always wanted to do. and we’re spending time working in our garden, growing and eating as much of our own food as possible, and laying plans for how to make it bigger + better in years to come. cheers to summer! 

[image via death to the stock photo]