$0.25, fresh lemonade!

At Summer's end there was one big item from our list left undone, still being repeatedly mentioned...

a lemonade stand!  And, oh, am I so very very glad we decided to undertake this endeavor.  

We had put it on the calendar weeks before, only to have the day turn out grey and rainy.  We had mentioned that we should do it on such and such a weekend, only to find ourselves at the woods or the beach.  Thus on our very last perfectly hot and sunny weekend of summer, while Lila was taking a marathon nap, we established our first lemonade stand!  

Living on an Army post has its ups and down.  Opportunities like this are one of the huge perks.  There's a good bit of foot traffic, the speed limit is slow for those who are driving by, and there are about 15 houses that face into the little park area where we set up shop.

I'm not sure I could imagine anything that more epitomizes childhood than a lemonade stand, set up at the corner of a park, in an amazingly friendly community, on a hot Summer day.  I'm so glad this Maria girl of mine suggested it for our summer list and insisted that we follow through.

She made fresh lemonade with Dada while the rest of us napped.  She made an even bigger pitcher of pink lemonade (that underwent 3 refills) because we love all things pink these days. ;)  

It made my Mommy heart proud to see this girl in action - politely informing customers of her price, handling the pouring on her own, remembering to say 'thanks for stopping by.'  She had her own specific ideas for her sign, how things should be set up... the whole process.  She's growing up this girl is - spreading her wings, becoming more confident, more independent.  I stand in awe of the whole 'growing up' process.  It sounds cheesy, but I feel like it's such an honor to watch this little flower of mine unfold her petals... and it's only just beginning!

I was a bit concerned about the turn out on a Friday afternoon of a 4 day weekend... so I made sure to inform our buddies of our endeavors.  Of course, they were our very first customers, having watched from their windows as we set up!  They lingered around for more and more refills (making our stand look super busy and popular).  I know she loved serving them the most.  

Happy Summer's end to you!