Our 'Big' Back Yard....

We had the very best night tonight, my sweet family and I!  Both kiddos took naps today (which is rare for the 4.5 year old wonder boy who fell asleep holding the remote control while playing "Madagascar" on the Wii ;), so, at 8:00 when we'd normally start heading in for bed, they were still rarin' to go! ;)  Instead of calling it a night, we played in the back yard with wonderful neighbor friends who were strolling by on a walk, and enjoyed running around, and hitting the baseball in the warm, humid, JUNE air!  Did I mention I love, love, love, love, love this time of year? ;)

I commented as I saw the first star pop out, and wonder boy was oh, so excited!  Normally, he's in bed before it's dark so he doesn't get to see the stars!  So, after popping those silly little white popper things that the kids love so much, and lighting a couple of intense and colorful sparklers in the back yard, we decided to go inside, grab a blanket, spread it out on the hill behind our house, and watch the stars come out!  Daddy found the coolest app. on my phone that maps out the sky as you hold it in different directions and tells you which stars you are looking at...fascinating!  It was so much fun, watching the fireflies glowing in the treeswhile heat lightning was illuminating the sky behind us.  Perfect...(with the small exception of the heavy cloud cover, that allowed us only to see a few stars ;).

I love the night sky, and I love thinking about all of those who've gone before me, and gazed at these same stars.  Amazing.  It's so captivating.  It was so cool to watch the kids chase the fireflies and experience that wave of nostalgia remembering all the summer nights I spent doing the same, exact thing.  What a blessing.  Sometimes, it's the little things...the simple things...the things that no amount of money can by.  A night sky, three of my lovliest loves to share it with.  *Sigh*...it doesn't get much better than this! :)