My Favorite Reasons to Love Summer

The unofficial kickoff to summer has arrived, and I couldn't be more excited! There is so much to love about summer in the south, and International Business Times has given us the perfect quotes on just how it makes me feel.

Some of these are from books, some are from songs, some are from years past, but they all convey that special excitement of possibilities when the weather turns warm, and school is out, and the days are long. Barbecues, festivals, berry picking, I love it all! I Some of my favorites are below, but be sure to check out the whole list from ibt.com.Have a delightful and fun next couple of months, y'all!

• Kellie Elmore -  'Some of the best memories are made in flip-flops'
• F. Scott Fitzgerald from 'The Great Gatsby' - 'And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer'
• Sam Keen - 'Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability'
• Kenny Chesney - 'It's a smile, it's a kiss, it's a sip of wine ... it's summertime!'
• Nora Ephron - 'Summer bachelors, like summer breezes, are never as cool as they pretend to be'
• Henry James - 'Summer afternoon -- summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language'
• Unknown - 'Summer: Hair gets lighter. Skin gets darker. Water gets warmer. Drinks get colder. Music gets louder. Nights get longer. Life gets better'
• William Shakespeare -  'Summer's lease hath all too short a date'
• k.d. Lange - 'Sweet, sweet burn of sun and summer wind, and you my friend, my new fun thing, my summer fling'