Pizza, Barbies and Thoughts of Fall...

We had a little spur of the moment pool party today!

Rita, Becky, and Taylor dropped by for a swim, and Lisa paid us a visit too...
Maggie and Molly were also over, so at first I was a little worried about my empty refrigerator!
Of course my dear friend Rita never arrives anywhere empty-handed. She used to live across the street, and even then she always brought something when she popped over. 
After Rita moved to an "adult oriented community", I quickly lost ten pounds.  
{I would have rather kept the weight on and had her stay!!}


Today she treated us to one of her famous pizzas...I quickly grabbed my camera
but someone already snatched the first piece...shameless!

There was very little talking at first.
This group is predominately Italian and Polish so it's "eat first, talk later"! 

Taylor is LawyerBoy's goddaughter, and she's looking forward to being the Flower Girl in his wedding. She's a very stylish four year old {are you looking at this bathing suit?!}, and that smile is known to melt a heart or two... 

We had a little picnic on the porch...

...and spent the rest of the day cooling off!

Taylor brought her regular assortment of "pool dollies", and the big girls were just as entertained by them as Taylor...everyone played nice without any fighting...

It's good to grow up and never lose touch with your inner Barbie. I'm glad everyone was a little childish today. 

Summer, as always, is speeding by. 
I'm no longer buying school supplies, or shopping for school clothes...and I don't  miss that chore. I no longer worry about which teacher my children may get, or whether I was chosen as Room Mother. But even though my children are older, I still live within the rhythm of the seasons. Fall may not mean school supplies anymore, but it does mean tailgating, and new sweaters. It also means I don't have to buy those sweaters while the temperature is still in the eighties.
It's a gift to relax and enjoy the last month of summer. To me, Fall doesn't have to begin with school supply shopping...it can begin when the leaves start to fall and the air feels a little cooler.


I no longer have to rush.

Having an empty nest does have its perks!