LAKESIDE LAVENDER FESTIVAL, 2010.

This was my first year of being able to actually attend the Lavender Festival out at Lakeside Lavender. Last year I was graciously allowed access to the fields to photograph them, but had to miss out on all the festivities. However, attending the annual lavender cutting event will now be mandatory! The only thing more magnificent than standing amidst the purple masses of heaven is taking a small bunches of heaven home! I cut SO MUCH lavender and had bunches drying all around the house for months! I had such grand plans for all my dried bunches too. A wreath! Let me just sum up this very sad story by saying . . . there are things I can do well. AND there are things I am MORE than willing to admit I do HORRIBLY! Making a gorgeous lavender wreath with lavender I painstakingly cut myself -- one of those horrible things. I will admit my wreath-making adventure was a giant FLOP but hey, we can't all be good at everything! I'll be back out at the lavender farm again next year, taking pictures of that glorious purple wonderfulness. And I'll be buying a pre-made wreath!

PARMA MOTOR-VU.

Since I am on this wild tribute to summer, this post is oh-so-appropriate! One of my top ten favorite summer activities is going to the DRIVE-IN MOVIES! Most of you who know me well know that I'm not a huge movie-goer. I just don't have the PATIENCE to sit still for an entire movie! Theaters are absolute torture! So . . . an outdoor theater is a perfect fit for me! I can fidget, I can wiggle, I can walk to the concession stand sixteen times and, if I get desperate, I can always crawl back into my truck and CLEAN something! I will add that although I LOVE the drive-in, they really do have to be playing a movie I REALLY want to see. Otherwise, well, I just won't be there! Fortunately this summer there was ONE moving playing that I HAD to see. Even more fortunate, my pals Tanner and Trooper were able to join me on THE most perfect warm summer night!

TANNER AND TROOPER

TROOPER WAS QUITE A SOUCE OF ENTERTAINMENT FOR ME!

WE FIDGETED TOGETHER -- AND QUITE POSSIBLY THREW POPCORN AT EACH OTHER WHEN HIS MOM WASN'T LOOKING! :O)

THIS WAS TROOPER'S FIRST DRIVE-IN MOVIE. HE WAS QUITE IMPRESSED THAT THE TRUCK IN THE ROW IN FRONT OF US . . .

HAD A GUN IN THE GUN RACK!

OBVIOUSLY IT WAS THE FIRST TIME HE HAD SEEN SOMEONE BRING A GUN TO THE MOVIES TOO!

THE FIRST MOVIE WAS SHREK THE 23RD.

I PERSONALLY LOVED THE RETRO INTERMISSION ADS!

AND THEN THE REASON I WAS WILLING TO SUBJECT MYSELF TO THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE BUSINESS OF SITTING STILL . . . THE KARATE KID! GROWING UP I WAS ABSOLUTELY IN L.O.V.E WITH THE ORIGINAL KARATE KID (OR WAS I IN LOVE WITH RALPH MACCHIO) SO I ABSOLUTELY HAD TO SEE THE REMAKE!

AH, SUMMER NIGHTS, MAYBE YOU ARE THE REASON FOR MY EXISTENCE!

CHERRY PICKIN'.

I absolutely ADORE summer! I thrive on the long hours of daylight, the hot, hot days and the deliciously warm nights. Summer is when I feel the happiest, the most energetic, the most ALIVE! The sights, the smells, the activities -- I absolutely eat up every second of S.U.M.M.E.R!!! And the CHERRY harvest, ah, it is the epitome of all that is wonderful about my favorite season! Warm, ripe, juicy, beautiful red cherries! As much as I love eating delicious local cherries, I had never been to PICK cherries! Uncle Jim and Aunt Dee heard of my plans for an orchard adventure and offered to join me! We had such a fun evening together! After sliding into the orchard JUST before they closed (and picking what had to be a record number of cherries in 20 minutes), we ate dinner and took a delightful, leisurely drive back home. We took the back road from Emmett and my aunt and uncle gave me agricultural lessons as we drove through the rural farmland! I eagerly absorbed every ounce of their wisdom about the land and the crops coming from it. I can't wait for another farmland tour with them. What a wonderful summer adventure!

I HAVE TO ADMIT THIS WAS A VERY DIFFICULT ADVENTURE! I FELT LIKE A BLUR!

DO I TAKE PICTURES, PICK CHERRIES OR . . .

EAT CHERRIES STRAIGHT FROM THE TREE?!

FORTUNATELY UNCLE J. AND AUNT DEE WHERE THERE PICKING RELENTLESSLY SO THAT I COULD RUN AROUND DOING A BIT OF ALL THREE!

WE PICKED AN UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNT OF CHERRIES -- AND THEY SENT THEM ALL HOME WITH ME! I PROMPTLY TOOK THEM TO CASCADE AND SHARE, SHARE, SHARED WITH THE REST OF THE FAMILY! OH BUT THEY WERE SO, SO, SO DELICIOUS! I CAN STILL TASTE THOSE WARM CHERRIES, STRAIGHT FROM THE TREE! DEAR SUMMER, YOU ARE THE REASON FOR MY EXISTENCE!