summer anyway.

so, if you're in portland,

or know anyone who is,

you might have heard some complaining going on

 about the lack of summer here so far.

the rumor is that after july 4th,

it's sunny, hot and does NOT rain.

it's our break.

our reward for behaving so well (ahem. not really.) during the rainy, cloudy parts. 

but it's not happening.

apparently, the heat that the rest of you are experiencing

is preventing our little pacific northwest storm systems from going anywhere.

well. that's how i understand it anyway.

but whatever.

portlanders focus a ton of energy on the weather.

so, instead, we just went to the pool.

with our cousins.

who are here from atlanta!!

(above are the oldest and youngest.)

***

we have them here for another week.

and i'm thankful for the time to bond.

one of the harder parts of living so far from family is 

that i don't get to connect as much as i'd like

with my nieces and nephews.

so having my sister and family here means a lot.

and getting to keep her kids so that she and her hubs can get away for a few nights 

isn't just an opportunity for them,

 but also for me to know her children in a more personal way.

***

i think my almost 6 year old nephew is in big boy heaven.

and my three year old niece is loving abigail's attention.

these two slid down the slide about 1,742 times.

their uncle caught them over and over and over....

 a few needed a nap at the pool. probably the adults would have joined in if we could. ;)

 ahhhhh. summer.

looks enough like it to me!

(wouldn't a family portrait session at the pool be fun??)