every year when the air begins to warm, it just so happens that i find myself falling in love with another summertime drink, which almost always contains a good chunk of citrus fruit, usually meaning a lime. as fate would have it, i have indeed found this years midsummer crush, only just finally coming together within the last few weeks limes and all. this one is super simple, a little sweet, and as always ice cold for those hot summer days.

camden has been wanting us to do one hike in particular all summer so it was no surprise to me when he last week started “casually” mentioning the dog lake hike as a must do asap. both days he wanted to go were iffy as far as rain but last tuesday gave in i did as the three of us trekked up the mountain for a six mile round trip hike (p.s. anything over two miles seems like an extremely long hike in my opinion). because of all the rain we had just had for the few days prior and the current overcast sky, it actually got cold as we climbed in elevation and i needed a jacket for the very first time this summer. it took us all about two hours to get to the top and i was once again shocked and in awe of how much beauty surrounds us right outside our door and how lucky i am to live so close to so much comeliness and peace. on the way back down it started to get dark and rainy and we had to pull out our flashlights to see the trail in front of us. however, instead of turning sour about the whole thing, we made it into a little adventure and arrived safe and happy down the mountain a few hours later. i’m grateful for camden dragging me on this hike with him … sometimes i forget how nice it is to get away, put all our silly cares behind us, and have a mini family adventure. 

when kacie, a dear reader, asked me if there was anything i could do to share little lila may’s story, a sweet baby girl battling childhood cancer, i knew i had to do something to help. i tend to usually shy away from asking others to give what they can but i think in lila may’s case i can and will make an exception. below is a little note from kacie.

lila may is a little girl in our little town. she turned three this week. we have run into lila and her mom, heidi, several times at the grocery store and parks, and naturally, she and gigi, my daughter, have a lot in common. they have mostly talked about pink shoes, shared treats, gone down slides together, and smiled shyly at one another. for the past year lila has been fighting a type of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma. lila has undergone several rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, surgery to remove tumors, a stem-cell transplant, and immunotherapy. i first learned about lila’s illness last winter when i came across a flyer encouraging people to come and take photos with santa, the proceeds of which would benefit lila and her family’s mounting medical costs. when i read her story, i just cried. it felt so close to home.

if you have a moment, please visit their site, lila may’s army, where you can donate money (as little as $3), and lila’s facebook page where you can leave a message and support and join in with others from our community, and all over the world who are keeping lila in their thoughts. you can email her family at lilamaysarmy(at)yahoo(dot)com with questions or words of support. her family is planning a virtual 5k fun run to help raise money to pay for lila’s medical expenses. you can read all about it here! lila is an incredibly sweet little lady, from a wonderful family. thank you for taking a minute to read about her.

last night we had a date night out to a good ol’ fashioned baseball game. we actually had gone on one of our very first dates there, seems like fifty years ago now, and hadn’t been back, just the two of us, since. plus i’ve been craving a really good hotdog for weeks now and can always count on the ball park’s all-star dog stands for just that … i’m pleased to announce … the craving is solved. we also had the biggest ice-cream cones on record to date, which we of course couldn’t finish, and to top things off, our team brought home the win. one of my favorite dates this year for sure!