Favorite Summer Memory

OK, gals, now that summer is nearing it's end...I thought is would fun to hold another raffle for a fun free gift from me!!!!

All you have to do to enter is to post here on one of your favorite summer memories...it can be from 30 years ago, or just last week. Include pictures if you have any!!!!

Looking forward to hearing some great stories!! (I'll share mine later)

Please enter by Oct 1st,a nd I will put names in a hat and draw a winner.

Good luck!!!

I think my favorite summer memories has to be our family campout. We all take a week and camp together. This summer there were a total of 22 of us. The oldest being my hubby 63 and the youngest being our little Sarah at 2. We do water sports tubing, water skiing, and knee boarding. Campfires with everyone around talking fun times growing up. I am blessed to have a very close set of sibblings to want to spend a week of their summer with us all together. Thank you for listening.

my favorite summer memory,
my husband and I had jsut gotten together,his youngest boy was 8 and mine was 9 theyhad taken off on there bikes and a storm had blown in..we knew they were down to the park and the river there gets a lkittle wild and we were worried so we went down there to get them,,,,,well after they were sent home, we were walking around and the rain and wind got worse,,but being fresh in love,,(lol) we didnt notice, we just stood in the rain like love struck younsters, oblivious to the storm, and shared a few kisses , ect, ect,
Well 22 years later I am sure THAT would never happen again, lol but to me it was and is a great memory,,,,,and i will leave the ect, ect,, a secret,,,,,

Oh my favorite summer memory is snip hunting lol... My father and mother had split up and at the time there was 5 of us well we had never ever heard of snip's and my dad started off telling us this tail about these snips being the kids that we where we all went in the house and got our pillow case's and a off we went to the woods just down the way a little bit two brother and two sisters all carry ing our snip bags lol...down on our knees tapping the ground say over and over again snip snip ship here snip snip snip lol all 5 of us while all this was going on my dad and a neighbor friend kid really at the time sneaking up on us lol I'm not quite sure what they did but all of a sudden we all jumped up and started running in all different directions my brothers weew running and not looking where they where going when a cloth's line came up out of now when and my brother hit it just about chest high well can you guess where he landed lol. right on his butt lol. me and my two sister ran in the house and hid under the bed for about 20 minutes lol took my dad that long to get us to come out ... I was scared let me tell you but today all I can remember is how much fun we had that night snip hunting lol. oh and we didn't get any of them at all.... sherrie

I am LOVING these!!!!!

I have several that are my favorite memories, but since they all occured on the same day, I would think that collectively they will count as 1 memory.

The summer I was 7 I still lived full time with my Nana and Daddy Sturl. My mom and daddy had just married and they lived in their own place not far from my grandmother's. For some reason the whole family was together that day. It was really hot for Oregon, so hot that you could hear the electric lines overhead do that buzzing noise that they only do when it is so hot. My Uncle Moon who drove big semi trucks had come and brought Aunt Belle, his wife and my Grandma's baby sister, in his big truck and parked it out front next to the road. The sidewalk that ran from the porch steps to the gate was so hot that when I dropped a drop of water on it it sort of of seamed and then disappeared. I got to walk down the 1/4 of a block to Keller's Grocery Store and get a six pack of Nehi sodas to make floats out of . This was a special treat for me, as I was never allowed out of the yard unaccompanied so I felt especially grown up. Then Nana asked me to go harvest some leaf lettuce from the garden...ALONE...I carefully picked the ones that had the nice blush to them. Then I got to take them in and make the salad for dinner all by myself. I had never had such an honor bestowed on me of that magnitude before and I was sure that I was soon going to be cooking dinner for everyone! Oh I was thrilled. Then Uncle Moon whispered to me to go out and wait for him by the gate. I did and not a sound did I make doing it! He then snuck us out the gate by taking out a little oil can he had in his pocket (before WD 40 was around)and oiled the hinge on the gate so it was silent. And we went to
his truck and he hoisted me up in the cab and it was a thousand feet off the ground!! It was so high I was looking over the tops of the neighbor's fences and Mrs. Andrew was taking down her laundry off her line and hurrying to do it! I was mesmerized! Then he gave me rope to pull, and I pulled it and the horn blew so loud that Mrs. Andrews dropped her laundry basket and my mama came running out of the house yelling something not very nice to Uncle Moon. Then Aunt Belle came running out and shook her finger at Uncle Moon, and my grandpa lifted me down from the cab of the truck and said we should go inside now. So, we did and they were still yelling things like are you out of your mind? she is just a tiny little girl! If the truck stopped too fast she'd be killed! That had been my mom, and I couldn't understand the difference between Uncle Moon in his huge truck stopping fast and my hitting the windshield and the fact that when Mama drove I got to stand up in the front seat and she always stopped too fast and I ALWAYS hit the windshield! So, I supposed it had to do with something about the glass being bigger or harder or something in the truck.
Just as we got on the sidewalk it started to sprinkle. The first of the rain just vanished on the cement, and then the air was so full of a different smell...the smell of fresh rain on the dirt of the earth. There is no smell like it in the whole world. Acrid a bit at first, almost makes your nose itch, then smooths out quickly and you are back to no nose itch, just a feeling of wanting to run in the drops and wash the dust of heat and summer off of yourself. I was never allowed to be out in the rain. I was told I would catch pneumonia and die, so I always took shelter, but this time I dared the odds and stayed on the sidewalk for a minute. The adults were discussing Uncle Moon's poor judgement when it came to little children and my Nana was showing Aunt Belle her latest crop of daisies.
We went inside and the women made ice cream floats in the fancy Jewel Tea Man glasses with the frosted flowers around the rim and topped with a gold band. There were eight of them and Nana had really long spoons for the floats. Mine was very good and I got to sit on the porch steps and drink/eat it. The condensation ran down the glass and I could draw things into it and then watch how it now formed a puddle on the cement where just a few minutes before it had disappeared on the hot cement that now must have cooled off a lot. I got to stay out on the porch watching bugs and lights in the windows on the houses all around turn on and the porch lights started coming on signalling that the people were home, awake and you could go visit. But, I knew I had better stay put and I did until there was no more light and the mosquitos came out. Then I had to go in and go to bed in my white cotton seer sucker baby doll pajamas with the red bows on the neck and leg openings.
That was 56 years ago. I don't think I have had such a memorable or more fun summer day in my whole life than that one. It was full of everything that was summer for me. And still is...minus the semi truck!
joy

my favorite summer ....was when my grand daughter was born. It was a beautiful night in August. I was waiting at home for the phone to ring for hours. I wanted to be there, I dozed off and saw a beautiful baby girl I woke up and called my son at the hospital and told him my dream... he said that is what just happened that minute, she was born....

linda :flower:

Joy, that sounds wonderful!

My favourite summer memory was when I was about 8 years old, My Auntie Liz, Uncle Kevin and their 2 boys Mark and Scott came down from Queensland, Scott was about 5 at the time, he come running in the house up to me and told me how his Mummy had bought me a guinea pig for Christmas! lol turned out to be a gorgeous pair of dolly moccasins :D I loved them better than a guinea pig . Anyhoo, we went camping that summer, the only time I remember camping with my Aunt and Uncle etc. We went to the lake and had fresh caught fish for breakfast if dad had been successful, or sardines on toast if he was unsuccessful! lol lol. My 4 brothers and 2 cousins and I all had a blast and went water skiing ( I loved to ski!) swimming, BBQ, playing with the other campers kids and bushwalking, My Dad had borrowed a gold detector and us kids had fun getting to dig up any treasures he found :) mostly drink can pulls etc lol but oh what a lovely ring my Dad made for me outta that can pull! then the next morning I was given a beautiful can pull necklace from Dad and Uncle Kevin drinking so much the night before haha was the only time my Dad used to drink was when it was camping. The only down side to the trip was the 1" long splinter I got in my bum when I slid down the old wooden see saw...ripped my new shortie playsuit :*( and boy did it hurt my pride bending over Mums knee to get that big ol' splinter out! At night we used to place the end of a stick in the fire til it glowed red and we would swing them around making pretty glow pictures in the dark night and then we would have a feast of burnt marshmallows straight from the stick, then all the boys and I would pile into the tent and sprawl out and sleep til sunrise the next morning then we would all pile out hungry and ready for our day of adventure again!

Amanda

Just had to tell you lady's I love reading about your best summer time.... Sherrie

Well, I have a lot of favourite memories, however, this summer held one special event at our home, which is my favourite memory of this summer. My middle son Dean has been living in Egypt for the past couple of years, and met this wonderful young Ukrainian lady, Katya, while he was living there. Dean came back for the summer, to work here in my husband's business. Katya came for a visit a couple of months after Dean arrived home. It was a really beautiful summer, with many visits with the young couple. One Monday afternoon, a few days before Katya was scheduled to return to the Ukraine, my husband called to let me know that Dean had just told him that he and Katya were going to be married the next day! I think I just about fell over. I had not really seen that one coming. She is a lovely young lady however, so on VERY short notice, I tried my best to make the occasion as memorable as possible. They were married by an old acquaintance of my son, and we held a very small "reception at our house in our gazebo after. It was simple however, and barbecued smokies were the feature on the menu. I called it "The Smokie Wedding". After our special dinner, Dean and Katya cut their wedding cake. It was a simple but beautiful wedding, that I will remember and cherish forever. Dean has since returned to Egypt, and Katya has joined them there. I hope they will have a very long and happy life together, like my husband and myself. We are celebrating our 34th anniversary this month.

I have a special memory from the summer of 2004. It was july and we were going to celebrate my oldest daughters 9'th birthday. I always invited my family and friends to my kids parties, it was more of a family event than a party for the kids friends and such. That yr, not very many people were able to come, so it was a smaller party. My dad, (the man who raised me) did his best to come to parties and was there like we expected. He was so thoughtful and i remember him emailing to ask what my daughter liked and wanted to do his best to get her something she would love. HE came early and we hung out. While we were getting ready and began to cook burgers i realized we needed some cheese from the store. I was about to leave and run to the store and decided to ask my dad if he wanted to ride with me, he said "I sure hoped you would ask me to go" We had a nice conversation and i remembered while in line to check out how different something felt, almost like it was a final moment for us, a goodbye. I pushed that thought from my head cause i knew my dad would never leave me. We got home and enjoyed the rest of the evening, i even video taped some of it, mostly it was my dad on video. I had never done that before. The party and the day turned out well! I so enjoyed my dads visit that yr............Sadly......2 weeks later my dad was killed in a car wreck...right down the road from his home. Oddly enough, right in a spot where he had told my aunt the week prior he had dreamed about. He had dreamed of the location and saw an angel there in his dream.
I miss my dad more than i could ever explain and never thought i would live through that. HE is still part of me and i still cry but i cherish the memories of that last visit we had. One of my most precious memories!

Awww, that is very sad Sarah - and what a special memory that is, thank you for sharing it with us

My favourite summer memory would be my 3 week honeymoon five years ago, when we travelled around the South Island of New Zealand (we live in the North Island) and we had such a fantastic holiday. We had saved up for a long time and we splashed out and stayed at really nice hotels and did lots of sight seeing and shopping and had so much fun. The weather was fantastic the whole time too (and usually it is quite a bit colder in the South Island). It was so nice to visit cities and see the beautiful scenery together for the first time (if you've seen the movie "lord of the rings" you might remember the beautiful scenery). We loved our time down there so much that we would love to do it again one day and it will be great fun with two little children to share it with Here is a photo of a gorgeous lake we drove past, we just had to stop and take a photo...

Sarah, that is a lovely memory and picture. My husband and I have lots of pictures of our honeymoon
and most of the pictures are of each other in front of Pacific Northwest lakes with fog rising up.
You will definitely enjoy those pictures in the future...Tom and I still do, and we were married 44 years ago
on Sept. 13th.
joy

Thanks Joy I have enjoyed reading everyone's posts and yours was great too, all the sights and smells, great memories!! And congratulations on you and your hubby's 44 years together!!

I think the best summer memory was when we took our young sons to Walt Disney World in Florida which was about 25 years ago. We drove from Texas to Florida and stopped and saw some sights along the way and on the way back, too. My favorite was The Epcot Center and the parade they had at night. Awesome! I have always wanted to go back but never have...maybe one day.

I come from a huge family. I am one of 9 kids. My parents were blessed with grandkids and great-grandkids. My memory is a family cookout. We had it at the first of the summer. My Dad would play horseshoes with anyone willing. We laughed at how my sister looked like Fred Flintstones, up on her toes! My Mom, well, she was the glue that held the family together. She loved having a yardful of family. Everyone would eat too much. Laugh too much. Tell tales and steal anyone's apple fritters that didn't guard them well enough! Since that one special cookout, I lost my Dad to cancer, my 5year old neice in a car accident, my aunt Katherine to cancer, Angie,a longtime family friend to cancer, and my Mother, I think to a broken heart, no matter what the Doctors thought. If I close my eyes and am very still, I can smell hot dogs and burgers, apple fritters and chips. I can hear children laughing, and my Mom saying, " Linda, ain't you gonna eat more than that?" and, of course, I did.
Thanks for listening to my memory and sharing yours.
Linda

Linda, thanks for sharing such a beautiful and well told memory.
I am so glad you still have that "happy place" to go to when you need
to feel loved and happy. I am so glad you have that to hold onto.
peace
joy

Joy, Thanks for your comments. It is my happy place. Where I can see smiles on the faces of the ones I love. And I do hold it closer to me every day. Linda

I have to say it was one of the very last camping trips with my Dad before he passed away. We always went camping at Lake Sonoma in California and all the camping sites you had to boat into, well we got there the day before my Dad and his buddies, when they got to the camp site we were on our way back from a morning fishing, we were sitting in our boat about 10-15 feet from shore waiting for them to get their boat unpacked and I just dropped my line over the edge of the boat not thinking anything about it as we were so close to the shore and there had been so much activity there. Well low and behold I felt a tug and tugged back in response, the fish took off and I had a pretty good fight to get the fish back to the boat and out of the water. It was a large mouth bass that I swear weighed better than 5 pounds, my husband swears it was no more than 4 pounds, LOL. Needless to say my legs were jelly when I managed to get it into the boat (without the help of my husband). I started yelling for my Dad and the video camera, he got to the shoreline and couldn't figure the darn camera out, UGHHHH!!! He did manage to get 2 frames of me and the fish, we still have that video tape to this day and keep saying we are going to take it in and get prints made off of it. I think the many camping trips with my Dad those last few years are some of the best memories I have of him.