Sum…Sum…Summertime Giveaway :-)
Published June 24, 2010Hi all!
Let’s have ourselves an ol’-fashioned, watermelon seed-spittin’, swinging from a tire swing down at the swimming hole party.
Time for a cool summer giveaway.
Simply leave a comment today and you’ll be in the pool (pun intended) for the drawing for this basket-in-a-box summer giveaway. It includes:
*A copy of a fantabulous summer beach read, The Mailbox by Marybeth Whalen. (Click here to read about it)
*A cute, summery, flip-flop kitchen towel
*Some Jelly Belly tropical jelly beans
*A watermelon sticky note pad with matching pen
*A box of TAZO tea for brewing some of the season’s famous beverage
* A Colonial at Home jar candle in Sea Glass (just smells like the fresh air at the beach!)
*And a box of Fralingers salt water taffy, “with sea air and sunshine sealed in every box!”
Okay gals…..here is the dealio. I am needed greatly the next few days by both my family and my ministry, so y’all will have to party without me. I’ll be back on Tuesday to announce the winner. In the mean time, here’s what I want you to do:
Leave a comment here on your favorite summertime memory.
Then, hop on often between now and Monday at midnight Pacific time. Check out the other comments. See if anyone else’s comment makes you think of another memory or provokes another comment from you. Each time you comment, your name will be entered into the drawing. No limit. (But don’t go getting too crazy and leaving like 100 or anything!)
Have a fun party!
I’ll be splitting my time these next few days between cheering for our boys at the ball fields in two different towns, and at some nearby coffee shoppes (with my laptop in tow) as I prepare my talks for our Proverbs 31 She Speaks Conference next month.
But before I exit, let me leave one of my favorite summertime memories. Going swimming at the Portland Country Club pool as a 10-year-old, buying a mounds bar at the gift shop, slathering my legs with Coppertone cocoa butter (I still love ANYTHING that smells or tastes like coconut) and then after a few hours, heading into the clubhouse to have a sandwich with my dad after he was done playing 18 holes.
Your turn….what memories of summer do you have? You could win big!
Summertime Blessings,
107 Responses to Sum…Sum…Summertime Giveaway :-)
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My Family
One of my favorite summer memory as a kid was climbing trees with my friends in our front yard and sitting up high in the tree for hours watching the traffic and people go by.
Going to VBS at my cousin’s house. Our Church didn’t have it, so she invited us to her house to go to her Church… it was a couple hours away so we got to spend the whole week. It was kind of a real “vacation.” I went every summer from the time I was 3 until I was 15, and I credit that and her will a large portion of my spiritual growth:)
One of my favorite summer time memories is going to church camp. We stayed in the girl’s dorm with no ac (most girls wouldn’t dream of that today). We always had fans going and loved hanging out at the pool which was feed water from a spring. As hot as it was outside (each July), the water was ice cold.
Each evening, it seem to cool off and we had church under the outdoor tabernacle. I can still see the soft glim of lights coming from the tabernace and the sound of voices singing praises. It was an awesome time!
Wow, those gals have awesome summer memories, for me it was wading in the ocean…”don’t go out too far” from my mother who didn’t swim, and trying to find the elusive sand dollar shell for my Grandmother who said she would pay us a $1 for each one we found.
As an adult I told my young sons the same thing, little did I know we were at a beach that has a sand dollar haven just off shore…My little son at that time was six (now 30) said “Don’t worry mommy, you don’t have to pay me for mine”..he had collected 100!!
One of my favorite memories was pool parties with friends when I was in middle school and early high school. I remember that my dad even made a basket shape out of a watermelon to fill fruit with that we could all enjoy. Or opportunities to relax with a good book and no homework!
i loved our summertime vacations as a kid to the beach – i love sitting under an umbrella and reading or just closing my eyes and listening to the waves…
My favorite was playing softball. I did that from age 8 to 18. By the time we were 18, we were an awesome team. Now we’re all 55 and can’t stand the heat!!
Oh, I just thought of another one. Lying on the ground on one of my grandma’s homemade quilts with my cousins waiting for homemade ice cream from the old-time cranked freezer.
My summer-time memories are flooded with wonderful times upnorth in Wild Rose, WI. Along with my family of 5 we had grandma and my aunt, uncle and 3 cousins. We were scrunched in a 2 bedroom place, but LOVED LOVED LOVED it!
Our motto was “the more the merrier!” Swimming, ice cream cones, late night laughter and campfires were among our favorite past times.
Camping with my grandparents!
My favorite summertime memory was the time I spent with my Aunt in Springfield, Oregon. Loved our nature walks. I’ll never forget the time we picked wild blackberries and then made jelly.
Sitting in the backyard at my grandparents on their glider swing eating watermelon that had been chilled in an ice cooler. OH…and of course the spitting contest!!
One summer when I was an early teen our church had a firework stand (before it was popular to do that as a fund raiser). It was so fun working together, shooting fireworks when it got dark and taking turns camping in the rv at the stand. With our part of the money we took a just for fun trip to Six Flags over Texas. That trip has some great memories too.
One of my favorite memories was getting a new pair of mocassins for my birthday in July. That happened each summer when we went to Osage Beach, MO. I preferred white with multi-colored beads in those days. ; )
I smile as I remember swimming, riding my bike, picking mushrooms and blackberries and visiting family when I was younger. Summer is my favorite time of year. And I loved being outside when I was younger!! And loved my mom’s sun sweet tea!!
Growing up on a farm has my memory flooded with memories but two stand out regarding my great-grandpa. In the evenings, after the fields were done and the gardens tended to, my dad and uncle would drive up the driveway with a truckload full of corn for us ‘younguns’ to shuck. We’d moan and groan but always had fun listenening to stories. But, it never failed, after we were all done, my great-grandpa would pull out a huge, red, juicy watermelon from the back of his truck and oh the memories of watermelon in the summertime in the shade. And about once a week, after all of ‘younguns’ had helped tend to the gardens, he would let us pile in the back of the truck and we would head to the little store about 3 miles down the road for a pepsi and candy bar. We thought we were the luckiest kids in the world and you know what, we were!!! My great-grandpa is singing his praises in Heaven now and I have the joy of passing these treasurable memories on to my sweet children.
I have great memories of summer. Lots above have reminded me of all the fun we had. Seeing more corn than I will probably ever see again at the Green Giant plant and coming home with a pickup full of corn to shuck and prepare for winter. Or when we went fishing with my grandpa and had the fish biting and reeling them in faster than my dad and grandpa could bait them. Only years later did I find out it was a friends fishing pond where they raised fish. Great times.
One of my favorite summertime memories is from our church camp. The camp was on an island in northern MN. I remember the first time I went and the peace I felt and the closeness of God’s presence. Even though I had grown up in the church, it was the first time I could really “feel” him.
One of my favorite memories is driving to my cousins house and going swimming in their inground pool! They even had a slide which was so much fun. I remember calling my cousins on REALLY hot days, acting “nonchalant” saying, “what are you doing today? Oh me…nothing…want to go swimming in your pool?” We would have so much fun having our “pool parties.”
Going to the lake…still one of my favorite summer things to do. Going next week and I can’t wait!!!
what a fabulous summertime giveaway….i remember catching fireflies in a jar every night in my backyard…
My family’s summer vacation trip together was to a local amusement park every summer. I went on my first roller coaster when I was four at that park. Lots of fun!
Hanging out at the pool all day playing pool games with my neighborhood friends.
I loved going to summer camp–it was such fun, and I always came home so on fire for the Lord!
The summer our oldest turned 16 years old, we went to the Florida Keys and our two girls got to swim with the dolphins. The enjoyment that they had was such a thrill for my husband and me.
1987- the summer after we got married. With friends next door and my husband’s daughter and her boyfriend, we spent a lot of evenings outside on the deck – which is a miracle for Western Washington weather – talking and having fun. I don’t think we turned the TV on once during that summer.
some of my favorite childhood memories are staying outside ALL day skipping rope, riding bikes and throwing a blanket on the ground and spending hours with a box of crayons and a good coloring book! Then when it got dark all of us neighborhood kids would play flashlight tag! It was sooo sweet!
One of my favorite summertime memories include going to my Mother’s best friend’s house. My mom had 3 children and her friend had 6 children. The nine of us would play hide and seek in their wooded lot for hours.
Our last neighborhood had a pool and I loved the site of my children riding their bikes, towels wrapped around their necks with the ends flying out as they got faster!
My favorite summertime memories are the ones where we were together as a family. My dad was always working and so when he did take that week off in the summer for us, we squeezed as much time in as we could! Beach trips, boating, camping, it was all precious because we were together!
My favorite memory for summer are ones I am still making…I love having kids home from school and spending a lazy day at the pool…..so relaxing!!
Spending time at our cabin at the lake that my parents owned with my aunt and uncle. 10 cousins in 7 years. We grew up more like brothers and sisters. Great times.
Going to Turner Falls park in Oklahoma with my family and spending the day or camping there.
My favorite thing about summer as a child was spending time at my grandparents farm. As a city girl, it was always fun to be in a completely different place surrounded by people who loved me!
Rebecca Ann
One of my favorite summertime memories is getting up at the crack of dawn, meeting my friends outside while the grass was still wet with dew, playing in the creek or the neighborhood or hanging out at the pool all day. We’d check in at lunch and dinner and play until dark. Those were the days.
Two memories: (1) spending the week at grandma and grandpa’s farm and (2) running around the yard after dark catching as many lightning bugs as possible.
One of my favorites was my first trip to Florida – Panama City Beach. I’m was a homeschooled country kid – so it was a blast!
Going to my Grandmother’s way out in the country and using her outhouse; bathing in a wash tub.
Summertime….sweet Summertime….going to Patrick Co. Va to Springs Of Life Church Camp. Eating those green eggs and Ham for breakfast….and calling out people at your table for having their elbows on the table then they would have to go around the room. Lots of time spent in the Bible learning daily devotions and lots of Fun Activities…flour and water ballon fights…teaming up to see which team could melt a huge block of ice 1st…on an those wonderful wooden skis that held 4 people at a time…yelling left; right;left hoping our team could win. And, the most important memory of all! That’s where I was Saved many years ago at the age of 12.
I didn’t have a very happy childhood, but my most frequent memory is going to a place we called “Duck Pond.” I doubt that was the name of it, but it was in a city park, and ducks lived there that people could toss bread crumbs to. I watched them – my mom was not one to allow me to do the tossing, nor would she “waste” any bread. My mom and step-dad took me there for every summer holiday – Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. We always took a picnic (hot dogs, macaroni salad, and baked beans) that we ate on plastic divided plates out of a metal picnic basket that was painted to look like wicker. They always spent the whole day arguing, much like any other day – but for me it was like heaven to escape to the water’s edge and watch those ducks scramble for breadcrumbs. If there’s a message in my little story – it is to say not to feel sorry for me, but to understand that for some children who live in tough situations, little things mean A LOT! If you know a kid in need, it would not take much of your time or resources to do one little thing and it could change his or her life. Happy summer!
Haying when my Dad was still farming. I was too young to help at the time but loved the smell of fresh cut hay, riding in the wagon, building cabins in the hay loft.
We just finished VBS with our children at church. One memory I have from my childhood is going to VBS each summer. Everyday after we left church we would go over to a friends house and have a picnic lunch. After lunch we would swim all afternoon. We had a blast. My children are now having fun in VBS each summer. As often as we can we go to a friends house have a picnic lunch and play in the pool all afternoon.
Riding bikes with the neighbor boy and going to the crawdad hole to catch crawdads.
Another one of my favorite memories of summer is the camping trips our family has gone on. We’ve experienced everything from bad storms, injuries, sickness but also the fun stuff like canoeing, bike riding, hiking campfires, campfire food and lots of laughter. I wouldn’t trade any of the memories for anything.
I definitely remember vacation bible school, both the times I attended as a child and when I was a teenager and got to teach the little ones. Blessed by such a happy memory.
My favorite memories are of church camp. Camp was located in the woods, and whenever it rained, it just smelled heavenly. Still to this day, I love the smell of pine trees and rain together. But, camping with my best friend @ church camp, along with all the fun games/songs/crafts, lessons we did, it was just an absolute blast.
My favorite summertime memory was TORNADOS! I know it sounds funny but I grew up in west Texas & summer was Tornados Season. We would all get in the bath tub or we would go to a neighbors basement & sit around & wait for the storm to pass. We would sit around & tell funny stories & My Step Dad would try & scare us! GOOD TIMES! I live in Arizona know & I miss them. It was time where we has no electricity & we were forced to be all together.
My favorite memory of summer was going to the lake and water-skiing. I love to ski and I had so much fun trying to teach my cousins how to ski. We would laugh so hard, it was so much fun.
Another favorite memory of summer was playing outside on those warm summer evenings with the neighborhood kids barefooted catching lightning bugs. Right after dinner we would all go outside and play until it was time for bed.
Riding the wave runner with my kids.
It’s a toss up between going to Nags Head with our children for summer vacations or my own childhood vacations to Myrtle Beach!
These are so fun to read! The thing I loved most about summer as a kid was the ‘carefree-ness’ of it. My greatest “worry” was asking my mom what was for dinner.
Almost every day we went to our local beach called Lake Minear (Chicago area) and spent hours there. My mom would pack a lunch which I hated as a kid–I wanted the junk food stand–but now it’s one of my favorite memories. The smell of Coppertone sun lotion and the feel of sand are still 2 of my favorite things. My sister and I played for hours together there. Then we piled our stuff and us into the station wagon and would wash off the sand at home outside, have a snack, and count the hours until we could catch lightning bugs with the neighbors or play SPUD.
It’s funny how easy it is to forget these fun times when you’re an adult. I think I’ll try to do something fun with my 4 kids today.
Taking vacations as a kid. Sleeping in the back of the station wagon while mom and dad took turns driving. Didn’t really matter where we were going. They were all special. I loved the family vacations. I hope that I’ve pasted that on to my kids. I loved taking them on vacation when they were young as well.
I have wonderful memories of my family vacationing with relatives in the Pocono Mtns. of PA every summer. We would head down to the Lehigh River with all my cousins and jump in! It was always freezing cold (think mountain stream, brr!). There was a water fall for sitting under and we even occasionally took our showers there (soap, shampoo and all). It was great fun and made for special memories.
These are fun to read! I’ve seen a couple of mentions of fireflies (lightning bugs). I love fireflies! I used to love catching them when I was a kid. Unfortunately, the weather where I live now is too cold for them, but my kids were able to be introduced to them just this spring. They were fascinated!
Another summer memory is every summer my WHOLE family [aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents] would head up to the mountains in upstate NY to go to Camp-of-the-Woods! We would have so much fun spending time with each other. My grandparents have been going up to this camp since before they were married! It was always my favorite summer tradition
Eating Zagnuts with my friend at the city pool.
We joined a “country club” (and I use that term very loosely- it really was a glorified pond with a fancy name attached to it) when I was in mid elementary along with about 10 other families from our church. Every afternoon during the week would find all the moms and their kids pond side. And then on Sunday afternoon all the dads and the cute teenage boys that worked all week would join us! Our Sunday evening service didn’t start until 7 so it made it perfect for swimming all afternoon and then still making it to church on time. I remember one year the powers that be tried to change the start of Sun evening service to 6 and there was a major revolt by all the “country club” members b/c it would hinder our Sunday afternoon soirees. I loved those lazy afternoons swimming and diving and playing in the water.
My favorite memory growing up had to be our annual vacation. For one week in July, every year we headed to the Ozarks in MO. Our family as well as more than a doz. others who were close friends of our family dominated that entire resort. We just played all week long. Most of us grew up in a rural town, and we worked hard on the farm. But this week…..we just played and swam and boated. We ate when we wanted, stayed up late and talked, we shopped, we rode wave runners, and just got to do all sorts of stuff that we never got to do for a whole year. But most of all, it was the closeness of our group for that week. Lasting friendships. Great memories.
One of my favorite memories is when my sister’s summertime beach vacation plans took a turn for the worst, so instead of cancelling altogether, she took her much younger sister (me). We had loads of fun on the beach! Sweet memory!
Prayers and blessings,
Rebecca
Riding my bike all over the small town. No cell phones. No one worried. Coming home at dark for supper from the garden. Field peas, creamed corn, fried okra, butter beans, and corn bread!
Another summer memory of mine is going to beach every weekend with my family. I grew up on Long Island so there are a lot of beaches. We would pack a picnic lunch and go spend the day swimming, reading, eating and having lots of fun as a family. Now that I am older, and married and living in Virginia I miss this weekend ritual.
Susan, I agree, dinner from the garden is the best!! My fav? BLT’s with corn on the cob. Gotta love the huge garden tomato juice running down your arm!!! Okay, now I’m getting hungry, just another month and the tomatoes and corn will be ready!!!
Family and friends at The Lake of The Ozarks.
One of my favourite summer memories is of when my dad used to take us swimming in the river. It was such an accomplishment when we swam all the way across.
One of my favorite summer memory is when I was a kid and we would go visit my aunt and uncle who lived on a lake. We would go for boat rides, fish, water ski and swim. It was always so much fun on the lake. Plus my aunt was an excellant cook and we would always have special dishes to eat.
Camping with my family in the White Mountains of NH is one of my favorite summer memories.
One of my favorite summer memories is of going to Vacation Bible School. My grandmother was usually the director so I got to go with her to pick up the supplies at the local Christian bookstore. I loved singing “Jesus loves Me” and “He’s got the whole world in His Hands” with the other kids. The smell of crayons and paste can take me back instantly. We always had the final celebration out on the grounds with the food on fence wire strung up between trees.
We always loved going to the drive in to watch movies….my dad would have to park in 3-4 different places to find the best speaker…which was funny in itself because if I remember right they weren’t even stereo speakers! lol
thought of another one….
Homemade Ice cream! (Sniff Sniff)
I loved summer evenings when Dad was home from work. He owned his own business and worked long hours, even working til noon on Saturday. A very special memory is when August rolled around and the blackberries ripened. All day long we would impatiently wait for him to come home. He would make us kids buckets out of Crisco cans (remember when Criso came in a metal can?) and put wire handles on them. As soon as supper was over, off we would go, to the edge of the woods where the blackberry patches abounded. Dad would loop his belt through his bucket handle and pick with both hands but we girls wore simple summer dresses with no belts so we would pick more slowly using just one hand. Sometimes we would upset our buckets when we swatted at those pesky mosquitos. And back at the house Mom would be busy making us blackberry pies which we enjoyed with ice cream on those hot summer evenings. I still have her recipe. And although Dad passed away years ago, the memories are still a treasure. And the lesson I learned from this is that it doesn’t take money and gifts to make kids happy; just time spent with our parents.
Another favorite vivid memory I have is of my first day at church camp. (I spoke of the camp in a previous post) and one of my church friends introduced me to a friend of his that he played baseball with. The boy he introduced me to became one of my good friends and we later became counselors at the camp together, spent the summers up there having a blast. Eleven years after we met became husband and wife.
For years I played soccer and the end of the season tournament was always at the hottest part of the summer. One of the player’s dad was a firefighter. He brought the firetruck and sprayed us all down with the hoses after winning the championship. We all had so much fun and loved it!
Eating Jello Pudding Pops in the hot sun on my grandparents’ deck…
Sitting on the front porch with my dad as the sun went down, watching for the lightening bugs to come out, and then enjoying their glittery show while we visited about anything and everything…
Another fun summer memory is going upstate to our cabin in the Catskill Mountains. There is no TV, no Internet, basically no technology. Just quality time with family friends and lots of fun in the great outdoors!
This summer’s memory will be experienceing my first grandbaby’s arrival! Any day now.
I remember one summer memory at the lake. My brother and I got up early and my mom’s cousin took us fishing, then cooked the catfish for us for breakfast. I never liked fish, but my mouth was watering as that catfish was being fried.
Sitting on the beach as the sun goes down (provided the mosquitos are not out!). I love sunshine, but I’m not a hot sun lover. So when most everyone leaves the beach I love to sit and listen to the waves. We live in the Midwest, so it’s not often I hear the ocean waves, but waves, none-the-less. When I was a tween or teenager and would go camping with my family, I would sit on the rocks, listen to the waves and write poetry.
I no longer write poetry with my busy family. But I love when the beach clears out and I have a good view of my kids, laughing and enjoying each other, being carefree.
Ah…the warmth in my soul.
My tween writes poetry…I imagine one day soon I’ll sit on the beach and watch her write something beautiful…
Another great summer memory is spending the summer with my grandma (Grams). We would spend the day in the kitchen helping my mom cann things from the garden, reading our favorite books, going to church camp (Grams was the camp nurse), or just anything else we could dream up. Usually when I think of summer, I think of days spent at her house…running around the barn, climbing in the hayloft, or basking in the sun. Ahhhh, the days….
Chasing my son into the waves at the beach. He was only about a year old and could barely walk, but if you held his hand he was fearless and would run right into the waves! His giggling was wonderful to hear.
Family vacations when I was a kid….catching a tarantula in Missouri and spotting bear tracks in Canada while bicycling are just a couple highlights we laughed about during our get together over the weekend!
My birthday is in the summer…so, lots of great party memories. I especially loved the swimming parties. We had a pool in the backyard and spent a lot of hot summer days there!
These are so fun to read. Another one of my summer memories is going to church camp for 2 weeks every summer. It was so much fun, learning about God, playing all the different sports, swimming, and meeting up with friends I only saw once a year.
Oh! I definitely remember homemade ice cream. I used to think it was so amazing to watch my parents make ice cream in the ice cream maker, and that is still the best ice cream I have ever had!
The mention of vacations reminded me of another memory- while we didn’t have a regular vacation spot per se, we were blessed to live near the beach (about 20 minutes away). My grandparents actually lived across the street from the beach and we would go see them at least once a month and spend time at the beach and with them. My grandma used to take me on long walks on the beach, and then we would come back and have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. There was (and still is) something about the beach that made me so hungry! Those memories are priceless to me, especially because my grandmother went to be with Jesus a few months ago.
Vacations every other year to Florida with my family – great memories!
Karen, I sure could use a pick me up and would love to win the giveaway. I have a few special memories of summer as a child. When we still lived in England we would venture to a small island in Scotland called Lismore where very few residents even owned cars. It was a week of utter peace with my parents and cherished in my heart to this day. Another fun memory is when we moved to America when I was 9 and we were in Ohio for a few weeks and I saw fire flies for the very first time as they don’t have them in England and I marveled at their beauty and at the age of 40 still do!
Blessings to you, Caroline
Watching the fireworks over the Arkansas River….with my kids and my mother.
I loved catching fire flies, too!
Going to Florida with my family ever year for my mom’s birthday. My grandparents went with us often. We did this every year until we were upper high school age.
LOVED getting to go to the lake with friends who had boats. We were always really excited to be invited to go play at the lake!
Ah! So many memories. I would get Zagnuts out of the candy machine almost every day at the pool. YUMM-O!
Great memories of riding my bike to my friends grandmas house and having root beer floats.
Camping with my family.
Memories of road trips with the family where we would drive all night eating choc chip cookies to stay awake.
When I was little I looked forward to coming home from playing for lunch and watching Bozo circus on tv.
Another fun memory is riding my bike all over town with my dad! We would ride our bikes for miles and miles! Our rides usually ended at my grandparents house or Friendly’s where we would get some ice cream! Of course we had to eat it before leaving to go home to “destroy the evidence” haha
Another favorite memory of summer that I have are going to my kid’s ball games and cheering them on and then afterward we would go get ice cream and sit outside till the mosquitos chased us in.
Those of you who spoke of lake trips reminded me of visits to Lake Chelan….Lots of good memories swimming there. We’re in the 90′s here this week so lake time sounds sooooo nice about now!