Sun-night Fun-night

One of my favorite parts of summer is that every night feels like a weekend night.  In the winter the sun is down before dinner and everything, including mother nature, feels like it's screaming, "Go to bed!"

But not summer.  Summer keeps the lights on until 9 o'clock so we can play outside to our heart's content.  And even for those who have jobs to shower and dress for, it just feels easier to rise when you're greeted by a giant ray of sunshine.  Of course, I say this as a wife of a husband who rises literally hours before I do out of his own free will.  He and I do not have the same internal clock.

Sunday night was one of those perfect nights.  Clear skies.  No wind.  And just the right amount of humidity to keep it warm enough after the sun sets to still be comfortable in light clothing.

Sunday nights are usually a bit frantic.  And, if I'm being a honest, a tad bit depressing too.  It means it's the end of daddy being home with us all day every day.  It means five longs days ahead of me of cleaning, laundering, meal planning, errand-running, and...what am I forgetting?  Oh yeah, being a mom.  Not that being a mom is depressing, but it gets pretty lonely when I'm doing it by myself all day.

We threw out the same old, same old routine on Sunday and christened the new fire pit we got Brian for Father's Day.  It felt so rebellious and spontaneous to be sitting out there, cocktail in one hand, s'more in the other, without a care in the world while the rest of the neighborhood seemed to be getting ready for the work week.

There may have been some good-spirited fighting over this fire.  Brian and I each thinking we knew the best way to light it, the best place for the next log.  We kept arguing over who had to hold the baby so that other could "play" with the fire.  What is it about a fire that makes you want to keep poking and prodding at it?

And then there was the aluminum lining.  The fire pit came with an aluminum insert that, in theory, could be placed inside the fire bowl and used as a beverage cooler for a party.  It was cheap and not practical.  But it turned out to be useful anyway.

First it was a hat.

Then an awesome hiding spot.

Then it was a shield from fire-breathing dragons.

Then it was the fastest sled on the block after a massive snow storm.

And finally, it was your run-of-the-mill UFO.

But really it was just the best regular Sunday night in a long, long time.