July in Katieland.

Mike took this photograph in Martha's Vineyard on our way back from playing mini golf. It was a wonderful excursion, that included a hole-in-one for Lea and Mike!

Now that I am married, and not the single gal of yester year, it'd be wrong to say that July is Kate's Way all the time, but lucky for me, Mike and I share a love for July and it's one of our favorite months. July is whatever we want it to be.

It's a time when my favorite beverages taste a little better. It contrasts the school year when time gets eaten up and I have a tendency to run myself ragged. While I find myself drinking water out of neccesity, in July, a cool beverage fills in the open space of a day with ease.

It's a time, when the grill runs nearly every night and the sun sets late enough so even if we've worked hard during the day, the night still holds promise and possibility.

This July has included our friend Pete's annual 4th of July party (a family reunion-friends style), a trip with Lea and Neil to Martha's Vineyard, a major house remodel, cookouts with our dear friends Rach and Dave and the Dickvale crowd, and we still have two more weeks to soak up the magic of July. This will no doubt include, a visit from our friend Kelli who flies in from Minneapolis tomorrow and our annual pilgrimage to Ossippee Valley for the Blue Grass Festival.

July is a time when we regain our footing and get to make claims on our time. Decisions are made as we begin the day based on what a we want. The line between want and need blurs in July and things are pleasantly tranquil. It's our time to recharge and we emerge as reborn people.