oh, what a summer.

i picked out some of these colorful little moments from a month (months?) that have brought us some interesting times over here. our hundred year old house is, well, let’s just say that several of the major components of the house decided to ‘expire’ this summer. all at once it seemed (as it always seems…). it’s been overwhelming to say the least, but after a while it kind of reached the point of hilarity. yes, i’d like to close this summer house chapter please…

we’ve welcomed lots of new babies, with more to come. particularly special are my new twin nieces who i can’t wait to see…

i bought myself farmer’s market flowers, we swam in the pool on the hottest day, i wake up early every morning with the boy and get out the cars and ramp…

e puts on long sleeves, checks the weather and sighs about another hot day. ‘when’s winter?’ she asks ‘when’s fall’ (that’s my girl). we eat sandwiches for supper and sleep with the fans on.

our little orchard is loving the heat though. plums and grapes turn from green to purple. apples stay too long on the tree, and rhubarb so big it droops…

feels like the heaviest part ~ enjoy the last weeks…

so far…

 

so far summer…

it is right at this point (having had both kids home full time for two months already, i just realized) that i find myself wishing a bit for september. i love being able to be outside, but summer feels completely nutty, like i’ve lost all control of schedules and time for work and just keeping up with basic things. one of these years i’ll learn to give into it. okay, i still have a month left…maybe even this year.

we’ve put our toes in the sand a few times, had lots of rainy day afternoons, and L has learned plenty of new words (‘bug’ and ‘candy’ among his new favorites)

everyday i feel really lucky that my kids like each other.

we are off for a bit of a family adventure ~ happy mid summer to you…

five good…

{i find myself under some stress, so it’s time for a five good things list to even it all out a bit…}

1. we took a trip to visit my family and took in my nephew’s funny words and all the moments of pouring rain, and so many good desserts. celebrated a birthday and father’s day and enjoyed the best thrifting around (i don’t know what it is, i always leave that place with the best finds)

2. visited the camp where t and i used to work, and i like that it doesn’t feel like too much has changed. it smells the same. i remember how we all lived in a big bubble for the summer, and how amazing that would feel now, for a few weeks. oh yeah, we were married here too!

3. came home to a garden that shot up and peonies that waited for us to get here for all their crazy pink glory

4. found the perfect patio lights (i hope)

5. get to spend the week with everyone home. i wonder if it will be nice enough for a beach day…

yurt building / dandelion picking

…a little ways out of town today, two of our friends (and many of their friends) helped to build a yurt. this is going to be their canadian prairie home, just on the edge of the farm yard where they keep their animals and garden. the whole thing went up in less than a day, and the inside, even empty, felt pretty magical. i’m jealous of their bravery.

i was on dandelion-picking supervision duty for the morning, even L is very much into the ‘dand-o’s’

west…

…our dear friends are newly settled in BC, and a visit was in order. it was a week of airplane rides, delicious food, kid chatter, mixed up slumber party sleeping arrangements, the oh-so greeness, the moments of showing our true saskatchewan selves (all those trees going straight up on that mountain give me vertigo, i told them…), the adventure, the stones and sand in our pockets, shared stories and midnight dutch blitz, and goodness i don’t think our girl said two words to us for four whole days. we were all a little entranced, and we left full.

one of those trips that i’m not even sure i have words for, thanks friends…

 

 

…a porch full of little plants, bubbles inside and out, these two always holding hands, and finally putting away our winter clothes. the sun gets up earlier than us (but not by much), new dolls get made more slowly now that there is competition from the yard, and we get ready this morning for a visiting trip, west on a first-time airplane for little L. see you soon!

from the living room…

 

this week in our living room (where everyone goes, if we’re not in the kitchen, because the light it so great and you can sit on the sun like a cat) there were jumping contests and lots of youtube monkey videos watched. there was a picnic today (e planned this, made and posted a menu, then scooped out equal amounts of tapioca pudding for her and her brother) and lots of messes made. there was a family dance party and a little boy who can successfully drag a chair where he wants and climb up on it.

wishing you the happiest day…

vacation = a place that is not too far by car, where food is provided, and we don’t all have to sleep in the same room. thank you parents of mine…

happy places = hours spent in thrift stores this week, the mattress left in the dining room that the kids are using as a trampoline, and the porch on warm enough days…

can’t stop thinking about = learning how to run, and what’s under all this snow…

inspired by = stacks of wool sweaters, the latest exhibit at the mendel, walking by the river, colorful shoes…

hope your monday was lovely**

five good…

february has been so very lovely::

1. we piled up some snow in the back yard for a little sliding hill. everyone’s pants got soaked and we krazee karpeted over and over. warm winter days are the best – even if there is still an incredible amount of snow here…

2. i baked. there are two things that let me know whether things are going well or not…one is if i’m baking, the other is if i’m sending mail. mail was sent too – but the bread, buns, granola, zucchini-banana cookies, and brioche pretzels (these were nothing like any brioche i’ve had – wow, that’s starting to sound super snooty – mine was thick and gummy, but there were chocolate chips in them pretzels, and wouldn’t you know? i’ve almost eaten them all myself…), well, it’s all a good sign.

3. i feel like we’ve got our kid’s sleep schedule mildly under control (again, one of those things you don’t talk about for fear of jinxing it) – i’m sure this will all change, but glory glory hallelujah, how nice it is to have our evenings to ourselves, to sleep a full night once in a while, and gasp, read for a while before i go to sleep (this has been unheard of in the last 5 years, as there was almost always a little someone already snuggled into our bed and turning on a light seemed out of the question). i almost don’t know what to do with myself…almost.

4. valentine’s day. e claims this as her favorite holiday (but then she told me it was because of the treats they get at school, so….). we don’t do anything particularly valentinesy, but i may or may not have invented a valentine’s fairy who left some goodies outside e’s room last night. yeah right, great idea, let’s make up more stories about people who come drop off goodies at night and take all the credit from old mom!

5. february break ~ i’d given this next week off no thought until today. last year at this time we were enjoying a cabin on the prairies with our dear friends – and this year i’d love for us to take even a mini family trip. i’m entirely loving this time the four of us get to spend together…

happy weekend to you!

week…

this week was:

funny little handwritten notes from e, checking out the window for returning birds, bread making, fabric added to the stash, new teeth (really bad nights) and a little boy who is, despite this, getting much better at sleeping (really great nights), dolls made, a soccer game watched from the stands instead of the field, hair into fancy braids – everyday.

have a most wonderful weekend~