Just wait for it-- traditions in the sunflower patch

I thought I had missed them. It was the beginning of August and our oldest was out of town when I realized it was sunflower season again! For the past 8 years, we've gone over to our local sunflower patch and snapped photos. Every year, it's been around the last week of July to first week in August and then the sunflowers wilt quickly and are gone in a snap.

So this year, when I realized it was that time again, I panicked. Luke was out of the country and there was no way to get the photos---the traditional sunflower patch photos that I love so very much, with all of my boys. I was flat-out bummed. Put a call into my sis, since she drives by them everyday and asked if they were already gone. She hadn't even noticed them. Oh man!! Missed our strawberry picking this summer, and blueberries too. I got over it. Missed a few things this summer, but did some other fun things and I was quite content. But missing the sunflowers? BUH-mer.

But wait for it. . .!  I got a text from our former next door neighbor who also drives by the sunflower patch everyday that said. . .Saw some pretty sunflowers today. . .with a big smiley face, since she knows how much I love our traditions! Follow that with a phone call from my Biff who said the same thing! The sunflowers arrived late this year---maybe due to the unusually cooler beginning to our summer?

We were back in business!!! So, we put that on our weekend agenda, got a few "Ugh" comments (just to keep it real), and I mighta pulled the "Of all the things I do for you guys, can't ya just do this?" comment out of the bag. But once we were off, and once we arrived, the boys remembered how much they always enjoy taking the photos because of the great big wide open space they have to run and play and be boys!

And just to tell you something I'm sure you are very well aware of. . .the days can be long, but the years are short! Time can go by in the blink of an eye! Just look at the very first sunflower pics of each boy and the current day ones too!

Luke at 10 months

Luke at almost 9 years old

 Charlie around 4 months

 Charlie at 6 years old

 Miles at 10 months 

Miles at nearly 4 years old

 Way at 10 days old

 Waybe at 2 years old

And while this one is flat out blurry due to an inadvertently switched button, it captures my boys together and I love them--blurry and all!

Happy Friday to you! 

Soak up some sun and time with your people this weekend! Enjoy them!