Top Ten Ways To Tell It's Summer

The seasons confuse me.

Winter, spring, autumn, fall, summer.

Isn't there an extra one in there somewhere? If someone says to you "maybe next winter" what does that mean?.....December? January? I give up.

I know it's summertime when I see this.......
What comes to mind when you see this picture? Can you just about smell it? I bet that blindfolded you can identify the sounds of a working BBQ.

We recently had our first barbecue of the season here in Willow Street. It coincided with my first lawn mowing of the year. Two surefire signs that summer is here...... I don't care what the calender says.

As is probably the case with you and yours, the family Barbeque(a.k.a. cookout) is very much a part of my family fabric. Here's a few scenes from the ghost of BBQ past.

1.

These were taken at my 30th birthday party. That's uncle Eddie........ http://toptenshamus.blogspot.com/2008/01/top-ten-celebrity-look-alikes.html

doing the classic cannonball. That's my ass climbing up onto the patio roof to jump into the pool. More than scenes like these, I remember that this party went on into the night. It was the type of party that comes to an end with your closest friends sitting around the backyard talking for a few hours after most of the attendees have gone home.

2.

These pics were from a weekend full of BBQ's at our house in PA.

It was the first summer Kris and I were here and wanted to open up our home to all those close to us. On three separate days during a four day weekend we had the FAM over, then the crew from the OC, and then the student ministry staff from http://www.lcbcchurch.com/ A good time was had by all. Kris maintains that Dana and I had more fun than most.

3.

The photos above were taken throughout a weekend long birthday party for Kris' Dad. http://toptenshamus.blogspot.com/2008/01/top-ten-celebrity-look-alikes.html His family and friends came in from everywhere to spend the weekend with us. The festivities at Willow Valley were bookended with Barbecues at our home. It was my greatest pleasure to watch my wife's months of planning come to fruition for her Dad. She completely poured herself into every little detail, in a show of love and respect for her father.

4.

The first summer Kris and I spent in our first home, I couldn't wait to buy a grill and fire up some dogs and burgers. I was determined to create in my own home, the great summertime atmosphere I had become accustomed to in my parents house for years. So I got everything together I would need for our inaugural BBQ. New gas grill, full tank of propane, all the food and fixins......and lighter fluid.
ER....um.......yeah. I used lighter fluid with a gas grill. I guess in all those years of eating great food in the summer months, I never took notice of how to actually do the cooking. If you look close enough in the pic below, you can see where the intense heat and flames from my combo gas/lighter fluid fueled grill melted the siding in the front of our house.

Kris recently said that in the years ahead she wants our house to be the place Aiden's friends go to hang out. Well, we've got the grill, and perhaps we'll end up with a swimming pool. Either way, we've had a great deal of practice. As long as Aiden can't find the lighter fluid, we should have many more great summer BBQ's.