The guys and I spent the first part of the summer in my home town of Springville, CA. It’s a speck of town in the southern sierras with a population of barely over 1,000 folks — and I do mean folks. What fun to go back to the place and see it through the eyes of Aidan and Liam. Who knew that the highlight would driving a patio boat on a puddle of a reservoir called Lake Success. When you are three and six, these things are huge.

My favorite was getting to show them the big trees. Most people think you have to go to a national park in California to see Giant Sequoias, but lucky for us there is an amazing grove or two right up the road from when I grew up. We went to the Trail of 100 Giants, with its paved trail and bathrooms, was a perfect afternoon for the little ones. There’s really nothing like these trees and I won’t pretend that I am not homesick for them now.

Also, after a year in the grey of Seattle, it was nice to have a week of heat and sun. There was the pool everyday, going to the park in the morning before it go too hot, and lots of ice cream. Basically — summer.