Boy of summer...

Summer is my absolute FAVORITE time of the year! And as a family, we try and take advantage of the good weather as much as we possibly can... which means, I try and keep us outside as much as we can, even when we are hanging around home.

I was making dinner the other night when I passed by our backyard screen door (which for those of you who know us and have been to our house, know that the screen part is permanently broken, now by choice, due in part, by a very large yellow lab, who continuously runs right through it, every chance he can get... Jeff has fixed it FOUR times, and it still happens, so this summer, I decided to just "go with the flow" and leave it... which means Ben and the dog can come in and go out as they please now. Hey, don't judge. It's all about simplicity here at the Harper pad and I am learning to not sweat the small stuff)...

ALAS, I digress...

I was passing by our ghetto screen door, when I looked out and saw this.

inquisitive.
barefeet.
skinny little chicken legs.
shirtless white body.
dirty swim trunks.
and, that BIG floppy hat.

Grabbed my camera and lifted back our flapping in the breeze screen door, and snapped a couple of shots.

THIS is JUST how I have seen my sweet Ben this summer... adventurous, running like crazy, digging in the dirt, playing with worms, picking up sticks, swinging on the swings, free, floppy hat, BOY!

If you have known Ben, you know that he has always been the cautious type... skeptical to try something new, to jump in. He has tended to be the stand back and observe type of kid... But, lately, I think something primitive inside of him has clicked. Maybe, it has been our long summer days of playing outside or maybe he is just growing up, but he seems to be into EVERYTHING and holds little abandon! SO fun to watch and cheer him on as he jumps from one thing to another! We love it!

Anyway, God knows what he was has in his hands in this picture (probably another bug), but I just thought these two shots encapsulates my boy this summer.