Mom, can I go out and play? Pleeease?

That's what I wanted to shout as I headed out of my office door early this afternoon. My office is a windowless cubicle, so once I'm inside, I don't know what the weather's like until whenever I go home. My office neighbor poked her head in and said, "Get outside! It's the only nice day before several days of rain!" So, instead of my original plan for the afternoon (wallpapering), I'm going to sit on my deck and read a book in the sunshine. I'm learning that when it's not raining in West Virginia, take advantage of it.

Speaking of West Virginia weather, it's been unusually cool this summer. Not that I'm complaining, because there's also been very little humidity. (Well, except for June 7th when I ran my half-marathon-- that'll be a whole separate entry.) Last night I went to a barbecue with friends and was actually a little COLD when the sun went down. We roasted marshmallows and watched the kids chase fireflies. (They named the fireflies all as they caught them and brought them over to show us. "Mom, this one's named Trudy! This one's named Kung Fu Panda! This one's named Rainbow!" By the way: very definite differences in name choices depending on the gender of the firefly catcher.) I could have sworn it was late April, but nope, it was July 1st.

I hope it doesn't rain on the 4th. How can I have a picnic and watch fireworks if it's raining?

Okay, I did my writing. I'm going outside to play! I'll be back home at dinner time, I promise!