Kicking Off Summer

So I'll bet you guys are pretty excited...summer's here, right?  Or, at least, very close, right?

I finished school last Thursday, and let me tell ya, folks...it's nice to wake up and have the option of my day going like this:

Wake up
Free time
Breakfast
Free time
Lunch
Free time
Supper
Free time
Bedtime

Am I right?  :)

So yes, summer is dawning.  And with it comes...

Taken by me.  :)

Pretty summer sunsets!  We've been having quite a few of them around here and I've tried to capture as many as I can.

                                                                                 Source: reasonstolovebeingalive.tumblr.com via Joy on Pinterest

Writing!  I have more time and recently more inspiration for writing.  I'm really having fun with the first and second parts of Upside Down ~ Helen's Story.  :)

Also taken by me.  :)

Hot days.  :(  We've had some really hot ones here and there.  You know those times when it's so hot it makes you drowsy and just completely zaps your energy?  Yep, that kind.  :)

Via Google...isn't it pretty, though?

Road trips!  We're traveling a little farther south tomorrow for a visit over Memorial Day weekend with our friends who were in China getting their daughter, Shiloh when we were getting Luke, Mr. Chuck and Ms. Kim and their daughters Dakota (7) and Shiloh (4).  It's a pretty long trip...but I'm packing up the iPad for playing games, the computer for watching movies, the book I'm reading right now (Waiting for her Isaac by Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Castleberry; I just finished a biography on Lottie Moon by Janet and Geoff Benge), and a bunch of CDs to keep us busy.  :)

And you know what else comes with road trips?

The vehicle you're riding in, right?

And do you know what that is for us?

It is......

Our new (to us, anyway) truck!

Daddy's been wanting a truck for a long time...I think he's made a hobby out of surfing Autotrader.  :)  But, now there's no need to do any surfing for a while!

That's a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado Z-71.  It's a six-seater and it has a six-disc CD player.  Yes, I find both of those traits very cool.  :)  We took off the camper it originally had on the back and then had it outfitted with chrome handles and those little bar thingies on the back.  :)  We're trying to decide what to name it, as all of our cars have names.  Our little black Mazda is called Black Beauty...we're thinking of calling this one either the Black Knight, the Ninja/Black Ninja, or the Avenger (oh, yes).  I'm thinking either the Black Knight or the Avenger...I'm just sayin', it would be really cool to have a truck named that!  :)

Oh, and we've also done some summer shopping.  Actually, a lot of summer shopping.  :)  I ended up with several new pairs of shorts for the summer, a skirt, about five new shirts, and a swimsuit.

Anyway, what are you guys doing to kick off the summer?