Avoiding the heat

Dominique already took a bite from this 4 legged wonder grown in the garden.  We are still enjoying garden produce and so thankful for that little plot of land and it saving us on groceries, trips to Regina and for tasting so much better than what they want me to pay for in the store.  We've also been able to share some with neighbors, but we haven't had tons of excess since we planted a ton and ton of variety in just little rows.  Another advantage to not having too much of anything at anytime is that there seems to be always something ready.  At first it was beans and radishes, now we are getting zuchini and cucumbers, lettuce still and tomatoes.

I'm nearly done a project I've been working on forever, but the heat is so intense today and I'm thinking I already got too much of it, so instead of finishing up the last 30 min. to an hour of work I have to do, I'm hiding out in the basement and trying to catch up on posting.  The library has been having some fantastic programs and we haven't even been able to get to everything, but here we were at stargazing night.  There was a presentation and then we went out to look at the stars and planets with fancy telescopes and even a set of binoculaurs.  Here Emora is "pinching" the moon.  I saw the rings on Saturn and the kids all saw the moon and stars, the big dipper, the North star, some double stars, a cloud like cluster of stars and different colored stars...  I loved it when Emora figured out what to look for and was obsessed going from instrument to instrument letting strangers lift her up so she could take a look.

Another theme to our summer has been tent/fort building.  It seems like every few days the kids find new materials to create utter mayhem in that they then want to sleep in.  This time they each had a "tent" in Dominique's room.

This last couple of weeks have been really fun as people in the Fort with kids have started to post their plans and invite others to join in.  We got to go to the pool and playground in Indian head with our cousin Arwen.  There was a spray park, but we didn't go to that part.

And the other day, we play mini golf, then went to the beach and got to go on a boat and tubing!  Ivan also got to drive the boat.  So thankful for friends and excursions like these!

In between all that, I've been trying to get my project done.  I'll post on it soon (when it's finished) and on the other projects I've undertaken this summer-- why because I'm a bit crazy that way, that's why ;)

miscellaneous highlights

A garden supper!  Everything in this meal was pulled from our garden apart from the shrimp and butter.  We had purple potatoes with green onion, salad and veggies including:  radish, lettuce, carrots, kohl rabi, parsley, cucumber, snowpeas, swiss chard, green peas, zuchini.  And I didn't even put everything in! Our tomatoes are taking a long time to get ready, but we have lots of yellow and green beans and a couple of stalks of brocoli.  We are hoping to get okra again before frost comes.

We made flat Stanleys and sent them off to a  couple of towns- one that I lived in for a year as a small child.  They will travel towns and come back to us.  They are writing in journals about the travels and we take the flat Stanley's that arrive around our town too.

We've been going to the library on our bikes.  Last year I was all sad because I thought we wouldn't be able to bike this year.  Emora had outgrown the seat I had for her on my bike and I knew she wouldn't be able to keep up on the little bike with training wheels.  Did she ever surprise me!  In a couple of days, she learned to bike withought the training wheels and learned to handle a much bigger bike and she can keep up just fine!  We went by Brian's job site where they are building the house in the background.  It's 2 min. from our house.

I love these purple/blue potatoes and am glad that mom and dad shared them with us last year and that I through some in our garden on a whim.  I am still learning how to harvest them.  They turned an even darker blue as leaftovers!  So fun to be eating my favorite color!

The kids helped me clean the bank one night when Brian had to go into the city and guess what's next to the bank?  Oh yeah, the most awesome ice cream place.  I hate to get it so often, because really it's an expensive way to enjoy a cone, but so fun too.  They serve food and coffee too, so we may have to try out the other items on the menu some day.  But we all know what the draw is for them!  I saw an adult walk out with licorish flavor the other day.  I love mint chip, but often get chocolate crazy something or coffee chocolate something, but I may have to treat my inner child and get licorish before the summer is out ;)

Guess who!

I'm so thankful for these people/creatures.

date night!

My BFF posted that she and her hubby committed to have twice monthly dates.  We have not had many dates in our marriage, but it sounded like a good idea to me.  The kids are still a bit too young to be alone, but the price of a sitter is worth having a bit of time together- unaccompanied!  We went for supper- which we won't be able to do often, but there is a new place in town we've wanted to go to and it's much cheaper to go with 2 instead of 5!  and we had free babysitting that night since a teen we know owed us.

After our dinner we went for a walk by the lake and caught the sun setting.  We should bring the kids sometime before summer is out to see this.  It was so gorgeous!

I love the water- it's like pressing reset on the computer for me.  I will get so riled up and then get in water and I'm so refreshed and at peace again.  The other day the kids begged to go to the beach.  It was blazzing hot (OK, not Texas hot- but plenty hot for here- about 35 C or in the 90sF).  Ivan used to hate beach days, but yeah kayak- he now likes to go if we bring it.  It wasn't so hard for me to load by myself- if the kids can help unload all the other stuff!


AND I got to swim a bit and kayak a bit by myself which was so nice.  The kids don't fight much at the lake and we can all get refocused on what's important.

I mean who can fight or argue when you are looking at this?

Beach day!

Ivan is so much happier when I take the kayak to the lake.  He does not enjoy swimming near as much as the girls and I do.

I remember learning how to do cartwheels.  I'm not sure I can anymore though!  It's fun watching Dominique get a thrill learning how.

The water is a bit green, but we've seen it a lot worse.  I was just thinking it would be thick and slimy, but it wasn't so bad and the kids like how warm it is.

Dominique and Ivan can manage the kayak pretty well.  I make them stay near the swim area and away from the swimmers.

Miss Sassy wanted to do it BY HERSELF too, so I thought I'd let her and stay close.  I quickly discovered that she can go pretty fast in that thing and me not as fast, then she got scared when a boat made waves, but she managed OK and wanted to go out again BY HERSELF!

Such a turkey.  I'm noticing what a different life she gets from Ivan.  I'm still figuring out- can Ivan be left alone at the house?  How much independence do I let him have?  If I let him do .... then the girls will give me a fight to do it to (they don't give two bits about the argument that he is older).  Meanwhile- I let Emora go biking down the street or walking a block if the kids are with her and looking out for her.

So many factors make up who we are, but I am seeing how birth order really does play a lot into it.

August is zoming bye!

I was having such a delightful summer and still am, but it dawned on me that we are on the tail end of it.  We are loving having some home time, but that also means some kids squabbling with each other time and some- OK, I'm ready for them to go away to school time.  But not quite yet.  I am still liking the sleeping in, the playing games, watching movies, taking in library programs. 

The kids and I have been going to a Flat Stanley library program once a week and a world series organized by Amber.  She's been having people from different countries do a bit of a presentation and story in their language.  It's been so much fun and I had no idea we had so many different people in our town!  This week we learned about the Philippines- over 7000 islands and hundreds of languages!  We have 3 Philipino families in town (didn't know that) and they are all from a different island and can not understand each other's native language!  AND the languages have a huge Spanish influence and Chinese also- so while it sounded like Chinese (literally- I could pick out some Spanish words and my Spanish is EXTREMELY limited).  It was so cool. 

Tonight we heard a presentation on stars and planets.  I got to see Saturn with it's rings and the kids all saw the moon amplified, we saw different colored stars and double stars...  The kids favorite part was seeing the planet that was the inspiration for the death Star in Star Wars.  My favorite part was when Emora finally saw the moon through one of the microscopes and then spent 20 min. going to each microscope to see it again and was having other adults lift her up.  She was totally hooked!

We are enjoying our veggies from the garden, the grand skies, swim days (this day we went to Indian Head- about 30 min away- to their outdoor pool with cousins and friends).  It was a super nice drive and we got to see the valley we live in from another view point.

Hope you are enjoying the rest of summer.  I am feeling a little prepared- I've found all but one item on the school supply lists and found my big crest of energy to go through the kid's clothes and pull out bigger ones for them.  We are so thankful that we have yet to have to buy the kids much clothes.  Ivan still had some from American cousins and sometimes my neighbor gets clothes from her family for kids and we just pass it all around to the right sized kid.  She gets our boy clothes after Ivan grows out of them and she sends me girl clothes.  It's great!

New park games

One of our parks got some new equipment, so we had to go try it out.  I'm really thankful that there are lots of parks around here.  I forget to go to different ones and find that when I do, it's so refreshing to see somewhere we don't always go to.  The girls liked the spinning chair.

And they added a frisbee gold course too.

We went on some little trail through the park that I'd never taken before.  I was enjoying the way the sunlight was dancing through the leaves.

Dominique still had a coupon from soccer for a treat at DQ, so we had to take advantage of that.  They plan those coupons right  because Emora and I couldn't just sit there watching Dominique eat!  So we had to get deserts too.  This was actually one night that I regretted having them eat all there supper.  Both girls got full after eating half their Sundays and even I couldn't finish them all!  I guess next time I'll have to tell them not to eat so much supper so we can finish our ice creams????

oh well, even if she didn't eat it all, what she had she clearly enjoyed!

no more Baggett training wheels

I know I've said it before, but it's weird how when Emora moves out of a "baby stage" we have all graduated as a family.  I don't have to keep any more baby books, once she has moved past them.  I was able to give away the booster for the dining room, the crib is long gone, we will soon be out of a baby seat (if she can just put on some weight!!)  Well, we have graduated through another ritual of childhood- training wheels!  She is so proud of herself- can you tell?  I took the girls to DQ one night when the boys were gone and on the way back, Emora's wheel got flipped upside down, so I let her ride home with just one training wheel, then took both off and by the next day she had gotten the hang of it!

Plus, we went to the city and I took them swimming. Emora, who still wore arm floats has now got all sorts of courage after her first swim lessons this year in the lake.  She was pushing off of me and kicking to the wall, practicing her floats, putting her head under water and becoming my next little fish!  So I may be ditching the (brand new) arm floats I just got too!  It's kind of freeing, but a bit sad too as we move through these stages and realize that we will never see these days again.

But it's mostly freeing.

Because there are exciting times ahead.

And while I don't want to push her ahead of her own comfort level, it's fun realizing that she may really be ready for that first sleepover, she'll soon be reading on her own, they are maturing and growing up and learning to be better at talking through things and not just crying...

All part of growing up.

I'm thankful we still have some of summer left to enjoy and enjoying it I really am, but I'm also reminding myself to gear up... the transition back into school routine is not always easy- especially for some- those tears may come back, the battles will rise up again- but hopefully we are learning and growing together and can face them better this year.

Ivan wanted to show off while Emora learned because that's what brother's do sometimes.

So I got his pic too all the while celebrating our little adventurer tackling the world.