Hot Summer Days

We've made it to August! Blue skies, hot days and a house buzzing with noise and action all the time.


 We've been making some great memories. And I've really had only one mental breakdown, which is a significant improvement from previous summers. :) 
However, I know that it's the middle of summer because whenever I lay my head down on a soft surface for even a moment during the day, I almost immediately start to drift off to sleep.

My days are full full FULL!

I do wake up early to read, pray, write, think and exercise. These early hours have been my most treasured moments this summer. There is peace in my heart when the day begins,  and sacrificing a bit a sleep for this actually gives me more energy and is the necessary fuel I need to love and serve my family.
If you walked into my home during the summer, you'd find it a "hub" of activity and people.

Levi and James would almost certainly be on top of each other, struggling over a ball.
Caleb would be in the corner, happily listening to his music, singing and preforming the hand motions for anyone who is willing to listen.
Evie has had several girlfriends from school over. They hang around the house together all day and she is as happy as can be.

We usually have a stray child wandering around somewhere, like the neighbor boy from down the street.
I've given up on having an organized and clean house during the day. Between the snow cone maker and dusty shoes, my floors are evidence of the days events.

One of the things that keeps this area interesting and busy this time of year is an arts camp that sets up down the street from our house. Camp Willowbrook sets up tents by the river each summer and offers all sorts of artistic outlets and opportunities for kids. Evie has gone to this camp here and there over the years. But this year, Caleb proudly proclaimed that he wanted to go, by himself, no siblings. Evie begged him to let her go with him, but he flat our said no to her, which is not normal for sweet Caleb.
I told Evie that Caleb deserved to have this experience alone since she has gotten to do it many times. So I signed him up for a half day session, and he and I walked there together one morning in July. He was just as happy as could be. When I dropped him off at his designated tent, he waved me on.
 I lingered.
I hesitated.
 I spied on him as he sat right down to a boy he didn't know and began chatting.
 As I walked home, I realized that this is the first time I dropped Caleb off at an activity that his brothers didn't do with him.
I already saw him waving me on as I turn and leave him in his dorm room. 😥

Spying on Caleb before I left him at camp; he's already making small talk

When I picked him up at noon, he was radiant.
He was confident, happy and in his element.
His face was painted, and on his head was a little crown he construct with ribbon and branches.  He showed me his pottery he learned how to make on the wheel.
People waved good bye to him, shouted his name enthusiastically from across the camp.

One day and it seemed he already established a name for himself. 

He insisted on going again the following week, and this time he asked to go a full day. I told him it would be long; he'd have to eat lunch there and he might get tired.
Still, he insisted he wanted to do a full day of art camp.

Again, he was just as happy when I picked him up at 3:00. He told me it was a "perfect day", and when I asked him if he made friends, he said everyone was his friend.
"Mom," he said, " I realized that the way you get people to be your friend is just to be nice to everybody."
Five years old and he is wiser than most adults. 

This is just the beginning of my little people asserting themselves and advocating for what they want to do and establishing who they are.
So far, they have done everything together. But I'm now seeing their little personalities really shining through.

And they all want me to share their interests with them which is the challenging part; it is the reason I probably fall asleep the minute my head hits a soft landing.
 Levi wants me to pitch baseballs to him in the street;
James wants me to build train tracks around his room;
Caleb wants me to watch his shows;
and Evie just wants me, as usual, to be her gal pal.

So what do I do pulled in so many directions? 
I do small moments within each day, with each child...and I take them peach picking. 

"Oh Mom, why are you forcing us to pick your fruit under the hot sun?"

I don't know what it is with wanting my children to harvest fruit,  but I seek it out and hand each of them worn brown boxes under the hot sun. I think it's the surroundings, the peaceful atmosphere, the trees, the miraculous fruit that is sprouting from the branches.... I'm amazed by it, and I want my kids to appreciate it too and not fail to recognize the miracle of it.

We marvel at the fruit together, deciding which ones look the sweetest and dreaming about what we could do with the fruit and who we could give it to.

Beauties

We always end up picking way more fruit than we ever need and spending way too much money at the farm.
This year I made a delicious peach pie.
I have to say, it was worth the money we spent picking.


I try to get the kids out of the house everyday. Whether its going to the fountains,

 or the swimming pool


 or walking in the woods,

I allow them to spend as long as they want at whatever they are doing. One day we spent two hours in the woods while they played with sticks and chased squirrels.

Sitting on a bench while my children find magic in sticks....

I try to let their lives take their own speed.
When I walked with Caleb to camp those days, I left a lot earlier than I needed too because Caleb enjoys the journey of it all.
He stops and comments on the plum tree.
 He picks up the fallen apples on the ground and tried to determine if they are ready or not to eat.
He observes a slug crossing the sidewalk.
 He pokes at a caterpillar and makes a bouquet of Queen Annes Lace.

James finds the perfect flower for me

 I want him to do this, and I want to learn from him, to enjoy each step of the day and each moment of summer.
We are going to spend a lot of August traveling, which I'm looking forward to.

 I'm looking forward to being with John, spending some quality, uninterrupted time as a family, visiting family in Seattle and Chicago.
John and I are also getting a significant break from the kids and are going to do some traveling together while we are in Chicago.

 Stay tuned for our upcoming adventures in August!

Summer Breeze makes me feel fine.........

 It was evening, and the mid-July breeze blew ever so slightly from the forest behind us.
John and I sat on our patio table across from our two dear friends.
We were eating amazing steak and drinking red wine.

Our kids played below us in the yard. Their laughs floated upward towards us as they jumped on the trampoline and pushed each other on the swing.
My heart was so content and so happy.

This. is. summer.
                          at its finest, in all its magic, in all its glory. 
Summertime as a child meant being able to go  back outside to play after dinner. It was thrilling.
Actually, it is still thrilling to me.

Summer has been wonderful so far.



Here is a quick snap shot of some perfect summer moments. 

ICE CREAM! Can there be summer without it?!

This summer we've being putting sprinkles at the bottom of the cone so there is less disappointment when we reach the end.  Hmmm... sounds like we could pull some life analogies from this....

Summer Lounging. We finally got some great outdoor furniture this year;
 James has not been shy about making it his own. 

At the end of June, we had cousin week!
 John's brother and family came down from Seattle. The week included a lot of fun outings together such as a hike, led by Gramie, on the 4T trail.

Cousins who hike together, stay together!

We visited  the Oregon Trail museum,

They learned the art of 1800s candle making....

and dressing  fashionably.

We enjoyed a tour of the Pie Factory....

adorned in stylish head wear...

and had pie for lunch!

Not complaining.

A Cousin Sleepover was in order! Cady and Geneva spent the night at our house, all six kids sleeping in the same room.

The night included a movie, 

marshmallow roasting over the charcoal grill,

...and a pancake breakfast buffet in the morning.

Toppings included chocolate chips, granola, blueberries and sprinkles. 

The kids also enjoyed ice cream in Gramie and Grandpa's backyard!

I see a theme developing here....

We took at trip to the Japanese Gardens. 

One of the beautiful places within the garden is a peaceful koi pond. A little bridged pathway leads people over it as they wander, lost in their silent reflections.

However, as I walked over the bridge this afternoon, I noticed that there was quite a commotion ahead. As the crowds parted, I noticed everyone fussing over a boy curled up in a ball on the ground; he seemed to be extremely traumatized.
 A women ran over to me and explained that this boy fell into the koi pond and she pulled him out. The boy was James!
Luckily, the koi pond wasn't deep and James was not injured.  I believe he was embarrassed and overwhelmed. He probably disrupted the perfectly balanced ph environment of the delicate koi fish, but they seemed to be doing ok.
 I picked James up from the commotion and put him on a bench to the side. It was difficult to calm him down; his biggest complaint were his wet, soggy socks.

Once he peeled them off and handed them to me, he was in much better spirits.
We definitely disrupted the serenity of this place, but all in all, I guess it was one for the memory books.

 Berry picking! It wouldn't be summer in Oregon if we didn't spend an afternoon picking (and eating) large amounts of berries (and all getting stomach aches...)

4th of July! Oh my goodness!!!4th of the July was so much fun! 

 We celebrated once again by decorating our bikes for the neighborhood parade.
( Levi decorated the wagon and decided that Dad was going to pull him)

 Sparklers were a hit this year. We had a great fireworks show thanks to some of our friends and neighbors who trekked up to Vancouver to get some fireworks.

 The parade is always exciting for the kids. I think a lot of it has to do with the insane amount of candy that is tossed.

And of course, the neighborhood block party and BBQ is always so much fun.


We took our second annual day trip to Seaside with our community group.
 Blue ice cream seems to be the tradition for James.

I love all these kids and families so much!
I have a vision of doing this same picture when they are all  teenagers.




And then of course there were the simple, free things, like free slurpees at 7 Eleven on 7/11 day!

 Caleb tried to convince me to buy him a popsicle instead, and I told him that was missing the point! 

And free lunches at the park! The boys did a sports camp one week at the park and afterwards we stayed and took advantage of the free lunches, provided by the city.

The chocolate milk is definitely their favorite part.

We partook in water gun fights at the local fountains. Every time I saw Levi and James, their guns seemed to increase in size and power. 

They were not backing down.

One lovely summer evening I packed a picnic dinner and the kids and I enjoyed the Japanese drum show at the park. Caleb was amazed that there is a drum close to the size of himself!

 James just came for the nap and unrestricted access to chips. 

And finally, we always find time to stop and smell the roses (er, Queen Ann's Lace).

I showed the kids how to put them in colored water and turn them different colors. 

Summer is sweet.
And the moments that aren't sweet, I'm trying to appreciate them for what it is, Real Life.

However, I do try to steal and savor the few quiet moments....

And I do mean STEAL.
And I do mean MOMENTs.

Because moments is what they are.

It's not too long after I settle in to my comfy patio chair that someone comes along and requests a train book to be read.

I didn't want that glass of wine and "beach read" anyways...

😉