A funny thing happens in Minnesota when spring gives way to summer: peeps head out into the world and don’t look back. After two and a half years of living here, I’m still amazed whenever that seasonal threshold is crossed. It’s like some magical signal resounds from the deep DNA, yelling, not whispering: “get to the cabin!” One minute the streets and shops are filled with people. The next, the city is empty, and Facebook photos start popping up of kids at the lakes, adults on hikes, and enough BBQ smoke to prompt a few frightened calls about wildfires. After being locked inside a whiteout winter for four months, the reprieve is like the commutation of a prison sentence that can never come too soon.

This was never as clear to us as it was this weekend. All through the winter, our local movie theater sells out tickets to the latest blockbuster that everyone has to see. Which is why I bought tickets to Aladdin early. The kids wanted to see it almost as much as their rents. Then we got to the theater and guess what? It was only half full. For the biggest movie of the weekend.

We had high expectations for Aladdin and were not disappointed. It’s been many a year since I watched the animated movie in its entirety, but the storylines were pretty close. Why mess with a good thing, right? If Disney knows anything, it’s now to make a spectacle movie, and on that note, Aladdin delivered. Plenty of songs, great visuals, and heart. I was especially impressed with the acting, led by Will Smith, who put an urban bent on Genie to ensure he steered clear of Robin Williams’ turn. But the actors that played Aladdin and Jasmine were equally good. Probably the best aspect of the movie was the Bollywood style song and dance show that busted out in several scenes. It was enough to get my eldest son doing his proudest white boy imitation of Dad in the theater aisle. Hashtag SO PROUD.

Outside of that movie making experience, we’ve managed to get out of the house ourselves. Last week I chaperoned one of the kid’s school field trips to the local wildlife park. The workers there were tagging birds that often end up as far south as South America. Then, I did a lot of bike riding. The paths here are ridiculously gorgeous. One moment you’re flying through a path along a string of houses, then the next you’re in a forest with deer to your left and wild turkeys to your right. They all stare at you as you speed past before dismissing you with nary another glance.

This weekend we also shot down to the big lake, five minutes from our house. The beach was full of kids in swimsuits, few of which were brave enough (read: crazy) to actually get in the water. Our eight-month-old puppy had no such qualms. She leaped in to hunt down anything that remotely resembled a stick in the water. It’s amazing how quickly some dogs adapt to the water with full abandon. It had us and a lot of onlookers giddy with delight.

With only a week and a half until school gets out, I’m on schedule to finish the first draft of my next book before the monsters come to roost for summer. First drafts are always about discovery and this one has been especially fun, and, honestly, easy. I keep waiting for the impending wall of doom to collapse on my head, but there’s been so sightings of it yet. Or white walkers for that matter. I suppose my Watch is almost over too. I’m very excited to get this one into the hands of some readers for feedback. Honestly, I think it’s my best yet.

That’s it for the pre-summer update. Time to put some burgers on the grill, beer in the ice chest, and to crack that book I’ve been meaning to read. The pile’s stacked, but so is summer, and I, for one, couldn’t be any more excited.