The Last of It and a Redneck Swimming Pool
I haven't finished my list of things to do in June. It is August!! That is not promising! :) The kids go back to school in just over two weeks. There is just not enough summer! We postponed a "camping" trip (I say "camping", but I really mean going to a cabin at a lake, and by cabin I mean house) because we literally couldn't fit it in. We planned on boating and teaching the kids to water ski. We moved the date to January, so I don't think we'll be doing much in the way of skiing, but enjoying the time spent there together, I know we will!
Tim and the boys went to Leadership camp at the end of July, and while the plan was that they would all three go together with Tim's brother and our nephews, due to baseball tournament schedules, Jakob went the first week and the rest of them went the second week. I don't have pictures from Jakob's camp, but I did manage to snap a few from the second week. I wish I would've taken a picture of Tim and Todd and the three boys together, but I wasn't thinking. I could write for paragraphs about the beauty of this camp! What a blessing it is to our boys!
We wrapped up baseball with an all-star game that Joshua was selected to play in. They played nine innings rather than their typical six, so it was LONG, but fun to watch! It was a feather in his cap after a second place finish in the league tournament. It was a good team. I'd really like to do an entire post on baseball season so that I can include everyone--coming I'm sure--in the next 6 weeks or so!!
With just enough time to take a breath, we took a little break from running, and just before we could exhale, football started. We took advantage of the little break to send Jakob out to "Cowboy" Grandma and Grandpa's farm to help with the hay harvest. He must have been helpful, because they kept him a couple of days longer than planned. He enjoyed his time there, especially the part that included driving the Jeep to haul the bails in and eating fair food. He drove tractor too, but didn't enjoy that quite as much...I think because it was hard and he didn't want to mess up.
Joshua and Jonathan went to "hottub" Grandma and Grandpa's house for a couple of days to help mow and clean (and swim and eat!). Mathilda traded places with Jakob and is spending the week on the farm until we head out for a long weekend. It's been hard to not be able to spend an extended period of time out there this summer. It's just a reminder that we are again switching gears and learning how to manage a busier schedule. I know it's not going to get any slower, so we're just trying to embrace the moment!
We took some time to play when we went shoe hunting--still haven't found the shoe that wasn't lost, but at least we have the one that was lost. *SIGH*
We took advantage of a whole day with nothing going on to fill it up! We loaded everyone up, borrowed a trailer from some good friends and drove 100 miles to load up some barn wood to make a big farm table.
(YAY!!! dreaming of this for years now!) I'm hopeful to have a beautiful reclaimed table sitting in my dining room by Christmas. Sooner would be even better. For now, there is a big pile of wood gracing our front lawn, waiting to be sorted and stored in the barn.
We picked the last of the corn and everyone pitched in to get it all taken care of. Whoever says that gardening isn't a full time job is a liar, or a much better gardener than I!
I'm happy to offer these little experiences to our kids...they're usually eager to help!
Millie just sat and watched, silently smiling. I wonder what she knew that we didn't?
I do enjoy it, but in the thick of the work it takes, I often wonder if the farmer's market would be just as effective, and allow me more time to just be. I'm sure I'll forget by the time next spring comes around and I'll be totally excited to plant another big garden. (And I'm positive we'll enjoy all of the produce through the winter!)
We also took the opportunity to celebrate with Joshua on the feast day of St. John Vianney. I have a friend who celebrates her children's baptismal dates, and I love that idea, but I haven't done well fitting it it, so we thought we would celebrate their saint's feast days after they've been confirmed.
During all of the comings and goings during our week off, we also did a lot of harvesting of the garden, which meant space in our freezer was starting to get pretty tight. We took our old freezer that died while we were in Colorado out of the house finally to make room for a more efficient, newer one. Our intention of course was to load it up and take it to the appliance recycle place immediately, but time is all relative, right? Immediately translated into four days later. Our yard looked pretty sweet with the lid-less freezer and the pile of barn wood to embelish it!
I did finally take the kids to the pool, and oh, it felt so good! I think that when the temperatures reach the 100's for weeks that a pool should be right out our back door, but then again, I'm much to scared to do that, so we'll just enjoy the public pool when we can. The next day, they felt the need to swim again, but I couldn't get them to the pool in town, so they improvised. OH MY...I'm sure we provide lots of interesting dinner conversations for all who drive by our house!
I'm not ready for summer to wind down. I am craving routine though. Our plan for the next two weeks of vacation? Be...and when we can't, just go with the flow!
Tim and the boys went to Leadership camp at the end of July, and while the plan was that they would all three go together with Tim's brother and our nephews, due to baseball tournament schedules, Jakob went the first week and the rest of them went the second week. I don't have pictures from Jakob's camp, but I did manage to snap a few from the second week. I wish I would've taken a picture of Tim and Todd and the three boys together, but I wasn't thinking. I could write for paragraphs about the beauty of this camp! What a blessing it is to our boys!
 |
| Joshua, Fr. C, and cousins. |
With just enough time to take a breath, we took a little break from running, and just before we could exhale, football started. We took advantage of the little break to send Jakob out to "Cowboy" Grandma and Grandpa's farm to help with the hay harvest. He must have been helpful, because they kept him a couple of days longer than planned. He enjoyed his time there, especially the part that included driving the Jeep to haul the bails in and eating fair food. He drove tractor too, but didn't enjoy that quite as much...I think because it was hard and he didn't want to mess up.
Joshua and Jonathan went to "hottub" Grandma and Grandpa's house for a couple of days to help mow and clean (and swim and eat!). Mathilda traded places with Jakob and is spending the week on the farm until we head out for a long weekend. It's been hard to not be able to spend an extended period of time out there this summer. It's just a reminder that we are again switching gears and learning how to manage a busier schedule. I know it's not going to get any slower, so we're just trying to embrace the moment!
 |
| This table was made from the plans that we'll be using! |
I'm happy to offer these little experiences to our kids...they're usually eager to help!
Millie just sat and watched, silently smiling. I wonder what she knew that we didn't?
During all of the comings and goings during our week off, we also did a lot of harvesting of the garden, which meant space in our freezer was starting to get pretty tight. We took our old freezer that died while we were in Colorado out of the house finally to make room for a more efficient, newer one. Our intention of course was to load it up and take it to the appliance recycle place immediately, but time is all relative, right? Immediately translated into four days later. Our yard looked pretty sweet with the lid-less freezer and the pile of barn wood to embelish it!
I did finally take the kids to the pool, and oh, it felt so good! I think that when the temperatures reach the 100's for weeks that a pool should be right out our back door, but then again, I'm much to scared to do that, so we'll just enjoy the public pool when we can. The next day, they felt the need to swim again, but I couldn't get them to the pool in town, so they improvised. OH MY...I'm sure we provide lots of interesting dinner conversations for all who drive by our house!
They added soap, so it transformed into a redneck spa! :)
I'm not ready for summer to wind down. I am craving routine though. Our plan for the next two weeks of vacation? Be...and when we can't, just go with the flow!
