A Summer In Review
Wow… the end of August is Monday already! Labor Day is a mere 9 days away and the girls start school again just a couple of days later. Where has the Summer gone to?
Well, let’s see… we spent a few mornings at a movie theater watching free movies in air conditioned comfort (great on those days that were over 100F!) and we have spent substantially more time at a few of the local libraries doing crafts, learning about art and building, reading and checking out books to take home. The girls each did the local library system’s Summer Reading program(who gives you a Aquasox tickets and a free book), as well as the one through Barnes & Noble (another free book) and the one through Borders (where you get 1/2 off a book).
We also have spent a bit of time in the yard – picking berries, tearing down the playset, putting in a little kidney-shaped island at the end of the yard, picking berries, pulling weeks, digging up the yard to put in a retaining wall, piccing more berries, begging others to come pick said berries, making jam jam & more jam, and playing in the sprinklers. Oh, and picking more berries. Yeah, really. That many berries. We will be gifting some raspberry bushes and a red currant bush to a friend because we just can’t keep up with the production! Eric is planning to start working on the retaining wall this weekend, so hopefully we can start to re-build the yard soon.
We also spent a week in Missouri at Eric’s Dad’s house – a very relaxing week just hanging out with family. The girls lived in the pool with their cousins and I got to discover a possible addiction to Guitar Hero… good thing I don’t allow video game consoles in the house! (yeah, now Eric fully understands why I don’t allow them in! I’d never get anything done!)
It’s been a pretty good Summer overall. The girls have had a chance to play and just enjoy being kids. There have been scads of Lego creations built, torn apart and refashioned into something new. There has been time spent with friends, and a lot of softball games watched (yep, our church won the tournament – yay!). There has been time spent in God’s word and time spent learning all about the adventures of Baby Mouse and other literary characters. M has begun requesting thicker chapter books (think Anne of Green Gables and A Wrinkle In Time) and A is right on her heels in reading those. The favorite genre of the Summer has been Graphic Novels though – with Nancy Drew being at the top of that list. No, it isn’t the ones I grew up reading, but they are still pretty good. I have been averaging 4 books a week myself… yes, those library cards have been seeing a lot of use. I have re-discovered (again) the joy found in a good book. It’s been really, really nice.
The wacky heat has been a bit irksome, but I did grow up where it usually hits 100F in the first week of June, so I can deal – I just don’t like to. I am seriously missing my rain by this point, but I’m sure that we will get our fair share of it this Winter. Fortunately today seems to be a bit cooler. I am hopeful that Autumn will be mild but a little more moist than we have had. The plants are so thirsty! Some of the leaves are changing from lack of water rahter than cooler temps, and other plants are just dead and brown. We do need some rain, but I know it will come eventually. Don’t worry – I’m not praying for it just yet!
What do the last 12 days of Summer Vacation have in store? Well, Mom & Ryan are arriving tomorrow evening for a visit. They will be taking the girls & I to high tea and for a ferry ride or two, and we get to play tour guide to some of my favorite parts of Washington. We will be heading down to Seattle with a group of friends (16 in all) to see Wicked for my birthday and possibly dinner afterwards, and Grandma wants to take the girls back-to-school shopping… it looks to be an action packed couple of weeks!
Yep, we will be sending Summer off with a bang.
But then, isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?
0 comments
Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment