Cardboard

Boxes.

Spiders love them.

I do not.

Nor do I love spiders.

I am tired of unpacking.

I can find any excuse not to open a box.

But...I want it done.  Paradox.  Parabox?

Amidst the cardboard and chaos at the end of the day, when my family gathers around the table, it is all worthwhile.

Plus last night it finally cooled down to 70 degrees.

Cool enough to gather around the fire pit...finally!

We love to sit watching the flames dance in the evening.

It offers something for everyone.

The boys tackled starting the fire.

Then the little girls showed up  wondering how long until the roasting could begin.

I found my favorite chair and watched as the flames slowly grew and lapped at the moist wood patiently.

Kade settled into a chair and whittled a few marshmallow sticks.

Jaxon tried out his new fireside seat and observed with curiosity.

He was merely three months old the last time he joined us at the campfire.

Finally it was time to start roasting the clouds of sweetness.

Jason settled on my lap (good intuition on who spoils best:), and I stuck a marshmallow on our stick and tried to toast it.  I got it too close to the fire, so that speeded up the process.

Jaxon watched me carefully as I took two graham crackers and squeezed the marshmallow off the stick.  I presented his treat to him.  He didn't hesitate to nibble on the marshmallow oozing from the crackers.

As he discovered the wonderful world of smores, the girls returned.

Kaiya may have been a bit tentative about smores last year~prefering the chocolate, but she is a pro now!

The sticky sweetness was good to the last bite!

Then the teenagers gathered around the fire for their gooey goodies before disappearing into the dark to play hide and seek with their trustworthy flashlights.

Cozy fireside memories quickly displace the card"bored".