The treats of Summer......

Quick! Think of some treats that say "Summer" to you.

I'll bet Smore's and Ice Cream were in your top five.

They are definitely in mine along with watermelon, strawberries and jello!

We had a BBQ at our house this weekend to which none of our older kids wanted to invite their friends because (sigh) "That's weird!"

Can you believe that?

I mean, who wouldn't want to come over and spend the afternoon with us?

We are fun parents, darn it!

Aren't we?

Wait, when did we become un-fun?

I must have totally forgotten that I had teenagers when I excitedly came into the house after grocery shopping on Thursday and announced (with a little too much exuberance) that we were going to host a BBQ at our house on Saturday and they should invite all of their new friends.

Zach just looked at me like I was crazy.

"My friends all drive cars, mom. Why would they want to come eat hamburgers here when they can drive somewhere fun to get a hamburger?"

Yeouch.

Interupting Zach's monologue about why he should have his driver's license and a car by now,

I turned to Madison, who I was sure would jump right on the BBQ bandwagon with me.

She's a fun girl and she likes to entertain.

She just rolled her eyes.

"I'm not going to ask my friends who I just met to come over, mom. "

OK, I can see her point.

But I've got W A T E R M E L O N!!

Who can turn down fresh ripe watermelon??

Hmmmm....maybe Michael, my sweet, sweet "middle" child who usually has my back and supports my hair-brained ideas....or at least fakes it really well, maybe he would understand my brillant attempt at getting to know my kids friends.

Unfortunately, Zachary beat me to him.

I was still unpacking chips and hamburger buns when Michael walked in the door.

Leaning back on the bar stool in our kitchen, Zach said, "Hey Michael, did you hear what mom wants to do?"

As if delivering a punch line, Zach said, "She wants to have all our friends over for a BBQ on Saturday!"

Zach chuckled at the obvious hilarity of my idea and I waited to hear from Michael.

He shook his head, "It's not gonna work mom."

Michael's words were the final nail in the coffin of my "Get to know you BBQ."

And so, we had our own lonely little BBQ on the back deck.

We milled around the kitchen all day and snacked on fresh cut pineapple, watermelon and chips and dip. The boys came home from playing basketball long enough to scarf down a hamburger or two with us.

I even made strawberry lemonade!

Yup. I went all out people.

We broke out the Smore's a few hours later and the BBQ was complete!

I will never figure out teenagers!

I thought my BBQ was a great idea and such a wonderful way for David and I to get to know the kids that my kids will most likely spend time with over the next few years.

I had "pie in the sky" (mmmmm...pie!) dreams of my backyard full of laughing kids all having a great time. The sandy beach voice of Jack Johnson playing in the background while my husband manned the grill and I kept the fresh cut fruit bowls filled.

Are you there with me? Doesn't that sound fun?!!

Man, I gotta make some friends, huh?!!

In my effort to fill up my life with new people (RIGHT NOW, already!!), I guess I jumped the gun a little and totally overestimated my coolness!

I think it could still work though.

I'll try it again once my kids make more solid friendships and feel more comfortable asking them over for an afternoon BBQ.... and maybe by then, I'll have my own friends to ask over too!

The Smore's sure were yummy though!

Those kids don't know what they missed!

Now on to one of Summer's other great treats!

Ice Cream!!

One person who I can always count on to bring her friends over is Bren!

Good ole Bren and her buddy Miss K enjoy ice cream and popcycles regularly at our house.

I don't need to do much to be cool in their eyes.

As long as I let them prance around the house in unique clothing conglomerations and "oooh and ahhh" over how princess-y they look, I'm golden!

And Ice Cream helps too, of course!

At times like these when I realize that the older three (quite normally) don't necessarily want me to be directly involved in every single facet of their lives, I'm soooooooooooo glad we have little Bren.

I'm just not ready to close the "hands on" doors yet.

I figure I've got about 8 more years of being "Cool enough for her friends" in Bren's eyes and you better believe I'm hanging on tightly to each one of those years!

Zach was kidding around with her last month and told her how lucky she was to be so much younger than he and Michael and Madison were.

He told her that she was going to be spoiled when they were all grown up and out of the house.

She wanted to know what "spoiled" meant.

Zach told her that spoiled meant that she could have anything she wanted.

Weeks later she and I were driving in town and she asked,

"Mom, can you spoil me now?"

I laughed over that for miles!