I love fall as much as the next person and I’ve done my fair share of complaining about this horrible heat all summer long, but when we had that short cold snap last week, I went through a sort of depression. I’m not ready for summer to be over. 

This has been one of the most amazing summers for our family as we fulfilled a silly, but long running goal – a pool in our yard. This is something I only dreamed about having as a little girl (and as an adult). I spent my summers hanging out in the horse trough with my little sister. Yes, *that* was our pool, and, sad to say, we were THRILLED about it. 

We are very blessed now to live out in the country with our kiddos, but that means no community pools nearby. A trip to a public swimming pool is at least 30 minutes (one way) and usually involves forgetting something important (like a swimsuit or snacks). Needless to say, we didn’t go swimming very often, but I felt like the kids were really missing out on summer life. Plus, we’re in TEXAS…it’s hot!!!

So after much hemming and hawing, we finally bit the bullet and I’m SO glad we did. I’m very proud of our (maybe a little redneck) above ground pool, but gosh, those have come a LONG way. Doesn’t hurt that my hubby is quite handy and built an amazing deck around it, complete with an awesome outdoor cabana bathroom/shower. We spent more time outside this summer than I probably have in my entire life. 

But it’s soon going to be too cold to swim and I’m a little pouty about it. I’m going to miss those adorable “Coppertone” baby tan lines. I’m going to miss wrapping them up in towels warmed in the sunshine. I’m going to miss the sounds of splashes and giggles and “Mom….look what I can do! Mom…did you see it? Mom???!!!” I’m going to miss the smell of chlorine and sunscreen on their little heads at night. I’m going to miss those deep summer sleeps they get from pure joy and exhaustion–oh, I’m *really* going to miss that.

So, I may not be quite as excited as I used to be about Starbucks bringing out their pumpkin spice lattes and holiday cups, but I’ll get there. Eventually. As soon as my tan fades…