League of Extraordinary Bloggers - Summer Vacation!!!

Ahhh summer break. That's right, summer vacation. Two words that sum up so much awesome! Schools closing, pools opening, beaches, BBQ's, water guns, playing outside, hot days, warm nights, friends, games, and of course carefree fun.

 PRESS PLAY!

For most, summer break is a childhood exclusive idea. Summer breaks typically become a thing of the past once most finish up school and join the work force. Well for us in the education field that is not the case. I have had a summer break always! I love being off in the summer. It gives me the opportunity to feel like a kid again. Having no real responsibilities to worry about is not a feeling adults experience too often. Being off all summer gives me the chance to feel the way I did when I was a kid in the summer. I figured a cool way to complete this league assignment would be a walk down the memory lane of the summers of my childhood....hope you like old photos =)

I'll start with Atlanta. I moved there when I was 3 and that's where my earliest memories start. Atlanta was a time in my life of He-Man, Thundercats, Super Powers Super Heroes, and all sorts of other outside fun. As a kid I was pretty outdoorsy and would catch all sorts of wildlife. Atlanta sure was a fun time!

When I was about 3 my family moved to Atlanta, GA. This photo was taken not long after the move. I love the 80s outfits my brother and I are sporting. I'm the one in the sweet white Adidas shirt! Side note, I really wish my mom kept that E.T. lamp. Loved that thing.

Here's another great summer photo from Atlanta. I'm on the bike with the training wheels. That's my brother in the pink helmet(expect to see him in lots of the photos. Being only a year and a half apart, we were pretty much inseparable as kids.)

I love this photo. To me it screams 80s! That yellowish tint, the overalls, my mom's 80s hair.Classic. I'm sporting my "used car salesmen smile" as my mom lovingly described it =)

Hittin the beach. I'm on the right. I believe we were on summer vacation in Florida when this was taken.

The condo's swimming pool was pretty awesome...even had a diving board!

Atlanta Braves fans! That's Dale Murphy in the photo. Ironically he followed my family when we moved to Philly in '87 and played with the Phillies. Love the old school McD's boxes in the right photo!

Another photo w that great yellowish color. I'm on the left.

 Just hangin....

July 4th a looooong time ago. My brother was probably zoning out watching "Jaws"...

So that's all I have for Atlanta summers. Those photos really don't do justice to all the fun I had down there!

In 1987 my family moved back to Philadelphia. We'd stay in Philly until 1994. I categorize this time in my life as my comic book/card collecting, sports playing, super hero addicted phase (most of this and what I mentioned in Atlanta continued even until now)

This shot sort of sums up alot of what I did in the summer as a city kid. We played stick ball, rode bikes, and did all sorts of other things in the school yard across the street from my house. I'm still wearing my T-Ball uniform in this one.

So my big brother's b day is in the beginning of July. He'd always have outside parties involving pools. Looks like he scored a pretty awesome Masters of the Universe toy in this shot. And yes, I'm in the red speedo, lol!

Even in Philly, my mom got us a season pass at a swim club. Here I am with a giant inflatable alligator my uncle bought for us. That thing was awesome!

Summertime and baseball! Need I say more?

City park this time. Notice the change to a Phillies shirt. It would remain so indefinitely =)

Phillies Phever! 1993, the year they made it to the World Series.

One of the hottest days of the summer of '93 happened to be my brother's bday party. I suppose it wouldn't be a summer post without a water park!

So like I said, my family would live in Philly from 1987-1994. We moved to Jacksonville, FL in June of '94. I would characterize this time in my life as my Star Wars and action figure phase. I'd watched Star Wars way back when I lived Atlanta but was too young to get it. I thought the characters were cool but didn't get the story. Well that all changed in Florida. I spent my time collecting Star Wars toys, playing the old Tie Fighter and N64, and hunting for critters. Florida really was a fun 3 years.

Being city kids, my brother and I knew how to play! It wasn't long before our block was the hub of all sorts of sports and outside play. Parents would literally drop their kids off to play on our block. My mom once told me a friend of theirs who lived up the street told her how nostalgic he'd feel driving by us playing. Said it reminded him of growing up in New York. By the way I'm the one in the grey, full stride!

Summer and friends. Can't beat it!

So anyway my family moved back to Philly in 1997 and has been here ever since.

 I got my first car when I was 17 and I guess that's about when things changed. I didn't realize it at the time of course, but that's when those childhood days sort of faded and grown up life started sneaking up....and yes, I had a 1990 electric blue Chevy Camaro with T-tops for my first car. IT.WAS.AWESOME. But that's a whole different story with loads of other great memories. Old "Big Blue" as my friends came to call it......

Now as an adult I spend my summers collecting toys, going to shows, watching old movies, and reminiscing often! My brother and I have been going to breakfast together each Saturday for close to 10 years now. It's our way of making sure we still hangout and catchup even with all of our adult "stuff" to deal with. We always end up reminiscing about the past, talking sports, old movies, comics...you name it.

 Anyway I guess you could say I got around as a kid. Summertime for me is when I feel most nostalgic. The other day when I walked out my front door ready to head out for the day, I found myself thinking back to the summers of my youth. It was only 7:30 but the sun was already bright in the sky. The temperature already climbing. I could feel the humidity. I could have closed my eyes and imagined my brother and I stepping out our front door, leaving our family stationed in the kitchen, ready to have the kind of summer day that only exists now in my memory.

So anyway that's it for me. I've got to get off this computer and squeeze every bit of summer fun I can out this 31st summer break!

Be sure to check out these others Summer Vacations around the League!

Summer Fishing

Pop Rewind

For all the rest hit up Cool and Collected

"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days, before you left them...."