sleepin' out in the back yard

i woke up around 5:00 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. such a bummer. but watching the dawn ease through the window reminded me of summer sleep-outs in the back yard with my brothers and sisters. we would roll out this big old piece of a curtain for a tarp, flop our four-inch foam pads down on top then wiggle into sleeping bags. we'd watch the stars, tell funny stories, provoke... then attack one another, run out of energy then finally fall asleep in the cool night.

in the morning the sun would get us around 7:30, coaxing us up and inside. as a teenager i'd try to fight the sun, covering my head with the sleeping bag, trying to ignore the temperature growing increasingly hot. sleep is so precious. i still feel that way. in fact i'm going to go take a nap now to make up for my lost sleep. but i digress... summer sleep-outs in the back yard are the best. i'm planning to sneak one in before school starts (which starts August 20th, ridiculous, i know).

i really love my mom.

down in the mid-west

Ash and i recently took a trip to dairy country (a.k.a. Wisconsin) to visit my dear sister and brother-in-law in thier new abode. it was a nice, relaxing trip with expansive views, scenic drives, good food, fun times, and fire flies - i love fire flies. we also experienced a couple mid-western storms, which were awesome and unlike any i've ever seen before. enormous looming dark clouds above with a bright light on the horizon and then... boom! a dense, fine rain that covers everything. so cool.

oh, and we also watched American Gladiators, which i hadn't seen for years. it was good to get back into the Gladiator circuit. 'Gladiators ready...'