Things I love about summer...

Here's a list I was thinking about this morning as I watched Bentley play at the dog park:

I love summer because:

- I have all the time in the world to run and workout :)

- I get to sleep late whenever I want to!

- I get to spend time outside. Yesterday I sat on the patio with a good friend for a few hours. It was warm, but we had shade and a good breeze. I even spent an entire day outside last week reading a book! Plus, my tan is looking good :)

- I get to read for fun! I've read a total of 9 books so far this summer and I'm working on my 10th :)

- We have a CSA share and get a box of veggies from a local farmer once a week. I love summer because I eat healthier! My recipe box is full of recipes to accommodate all the veggies we get in the summer. Some of these recipes are so good that I even cook them in the winter with grocery store veggies. Interested in finding farmer's markets and CSA groups in your area? Check out LocalHarvest.com. That's how I found ours!

- We have time to get things done around the house. Husband has spent the last 3 weeks finishing our basement. I'll post pictures when he's all done. It's going to be great! And we even bought a new stove on the 4th. Let the baking begin!

-I get to spend time with my animals. Bentley and I run, walk, or go to the dog park almost every day. Doozer enjoys cuddling with me while I read. And we all enjoy family-bed time in the evening.
- We can go see movies on weekdays! I don't know what the theater situation is by you, but around here our local Kerasotes theaters have been bought out by AMC. Kerasotes used to have a great program called the 5-Buck-Club. You could see movies for $5 any day of the week after they'd been out for a while (2-weeks or so). They also gave military and senior citizen discounts. But when AMC took over, they ruined everything. No discounts for anyone! And they raised the concession prices sky-high! It's insane! After enough people complanied they changed their weekday (Monday-Thursday before 5:00 PM) prices to $5....except on holidays. All other times are $10 a ticket. For those of us that have jobs, that means we're looking at paying $20 for tickets and another $20 for concessions (because who can resist a movie w/o popcorn?) all the time. The only option we'd have for catching a $5 movies is on a holiday, but that doesn't count. But because Husband and I are teachers, we can finally see movies during the week for $5! Long story short, we only really see movies in the summer. Netflix and RedBox are awesome!

- Another thing I love is time for vacations! Money's tight and we don't go too many places. But it's nice taking a weekend away every so often. Plus, this year we went to Disney!

- I see kids playing outside. Our neighborhood has a ton of kids. But from December-March you wouldn't know it. As soon as the temps are warm enough though they all end up outside. It's nice that we live in a safe area that is great for bike-riding, walking, and just being outside as a kid.

- I still get a pay check even though I don't have to go to work! Now don't get me wrong, I practically work 24-hours a day from August-May. I'm constantly planning lessons, grading papers, and thinking about school and my students during the school year. Their success with education is my life! During the summer, I need my break. I still take classes, I've been to one in June and am thinking about another in early August. I'm even taking an hour here-and-there to work on SMART presentations for next year. So, I guess I'm still working....from home....but it's worth it!

There are many other things I love about summer. Those are just a few that I thought of today.

What is your favorite thing about summer?