Happy Campers

Camping. I like it. These little ones, though, they love it, and seem born to a life in the wilderness.  The dirt, the sunshine, the grub, the sleeping bags, the trees, the critters, the sounds.  It's only natural they love it at this point: they need only show up and have a grand time in great outdoors whilst all the prepping and planning duties rest on the shoulders of the grow ups.  Nevertheless, we bid a happy adieu to summertime with a quick family camp out in Swan Valley.

Tin foil dinners, check.

Tent, check.

S'mores, check.

Big stick, check.

Dirty little boys, check.

Midnight visit from a moose, check.

Happiness, check.

the garden grows some more

our very own strawberries. those that survived the local bird population, anyway.

raspberries

Kerplink! Kerplank! Kerplunk! Just like little Sal and her blueberries, the shiny red raspberries went into my bucket. And then they were rinsed, and then frozen on a cookie sheet in a single layer and then placed in a freezer bag to store in the freezer for treats later in the year. Some, though, I ate.  And others are going into this cake, which I am making for the second time in one week because it was that good.

Yum. Raspberries. But I want to say it like Carol Channing in Thoroughly Modern Millie: "RrrrrAZberries!"

the garden grows

the first ripe tomato from my garden. hooray! 

splash

splashing, laughing and two rounds of yee-hawing on the carousel at Porter Park

clearly, Nanuk is thrilled with his pony

newly shorn

and one person in this house is not happy about it and might have cried just a little bit and felt a little bit queasy watching it happen and might feel a pang of heartache every time she looks at his nearly hairless (albeit nicely shaped) noggin. those darned clippers in Mr. J's hands erased some of the little and cute from my boy. But I was outnumbered and that boy seems to like his fuzzy head. and the resulting attention from friends and neighbors.

now when he is naughty, he looks the part.

I like hats

and right now, I'm wishing for this one, and I don't even care which color!

week's menu

club sandwiches on homemade bread
tin foil dinners
fish tacos & guacamole--lots of guacamole*
pasta mama w/fresh green beans
teriyaki chicken & veggies
dessert: grilled plums w/ice cream

and yes, my little ones eat all of it. happy to be snacking on fresh cherries, melon & grapes, also from our weekly basket.

* ripe avocados, fresh lime juice, salt and pepper,  chopped cilantro. diced tomatoes optional. done. chunky, not smooth. I intended to snap a pic to share, but we ate it all.

hello, summer

it's your official first day, though you've just arrived you seem halfway gone. we welcome you with tin foil dinners and s'mores and bid you stay for awhile. pretty please. I promise homemade ice cream, sprinklers, sparklers and more to honor your presence and entice you to linger.

inspiration

I'm feeling a little inspired by this and think a version might need to reside on my back patio...

Hello, June

June, like september, always feels like a changing of the guards in some way. It's a happy month, I think. Last week marked a closing chapter in Mr J.'s life. His last last day of school of sorts. Bittersweet, but mostly sweet with profusions of gratitude for changing this student's life or helping that student realize passing grades for the first time. Parents cried. Students cried. Mr. J did not cry. He packed up his books, and more books, and more books, and waved goodbye, ready to move on to bigger adventures. One chapter completed all on his own, no handouts. Another chapter begun, all on his own, no handouts. He'll do well there, too. And so, June begins anew.

I love June: school is officially done,  days are warmer (supposedly...oh how I wish they were hot!) but the nights are mild. Strawberries are in season. I'm fairly certain I can put away my sweaters. In June we cook outdoors most of the time. We ready ourselves for a trip in July. Father's Day is near, which I like so much more than Mother's Day, flip flops are standard, my prairie fire crabapple tree is blossoming, and the actual first day of summer greets us this month. I think we shall celebrate.

saltwater

I wore saltwater sandals every summer when I was a little girl. my nieces wear them now, and I'm sort of wanting a pair for my grown-up self. proximity of actual saltwater irrelevant.

sunshine, where are you?

My beloved autumn had scarcely begun when mother nature threw an icy curveball my way: snow. rain. snow. We are all bundled up in fleece, all too soon, and I'm reminiscing the end of our summer. Here's hoping autumn will muscle through the cold spell and ease back into crisp and mild.

The past few months have been filled with excitement for our Piglet. most notably: swim lessons in August.

Excited, but with trepidation. The first day had him making a bee-line straight for the water slide, (making it halfway up the ladder before a teacher rescued him) and struggling with instructions to "sit on the second step." The second day had him clinging a bit nervously to his teacher, but cooperating. Mostly. The last day found him happy as could be to participate in the splash games and testing. The littlest one in his class. At the end, the teachers led the little ones to the diving board and "helped" them jump. When they were finally permitted to go down the slide, he sat at the top saying "wait a minute guys!" until his teacher promised him 2 suckers. Wheeeee!

How does your garden grow, part III

cherry tomatoes, pear tomatoes, fresh basil from my little garden. with a sprinkling of coarse salt. a few of summer's most perfect flavors.

carrot lovers

July 4th perfection

blissful weather. delightful friends. friendly neighbors. happy parade. amazing picnic. cheerful kiddos. red white and blue.

how does your garden grow part II

The little seeds sprouted and grew and have thus far survived the dramatic mood swings of springtime in this neck of the woods. With the exception of one tomato plant that was carried off in a wind storm. Seems everything else is doing fine; peppers, sugar snap peas, carrots, basil.  I've even sampled some early strawberries. Tasty indeed. Aren't they pretty?

risky business

Let's just say that my current swim-wear just isn't gonna cut it this summer. I mean, I had a baby 8 weeks ago and, well, some things just may never be the same again. I've shed many tears. But a mommy's gotta do what a mommy's gotta do: [deep breath] buyanewbathingsuit.  Whew. I said it out loud.  Some options:

I've never tried a shade or modbe or down east suit before. Kinda need something that will keep everything in place while enjoying the sunshine with a toddler and a baby. Very risky business. Have I reached a point in my life where I actually  need to consider l.l. bean?

how does your garden grow, part I

We've started our little garden indoors, and things are sprouting up quickly. Each morning Piglet takes a peek and exclaims: "Oh look! They growed! They growed!"

We tried last year, but a series of snowstorms in april, may and june (curses!) foiled our plans. Things are looking better this year for our corn, peas, carrots, herbs. Tomatoes and pumpkins will soon join our little tribe of sprouting veggies. Studying, composting, and crossing. Our fingers, that is, for a summer full of shelling peas and shucking corn on the back porch. And eating. Lots and lots of eating.

family photos

During a family trip to Bear Lake in August, B's talented sister snapped some impromptu photos for us. We were kicking around in the dust (Bear Lake isn't exactly lush and green), I was wearing cut-offs and  barely thought to smear on some lip gloss, B hadn't shaved in a few days, M's hair wasn't combed and he was decidedly wiggly to say the least. And frankly I'm just not photogenic. Still, I guess that's the beauty of these photos, which capture reality: we are a scruffy, au natural, blue-jeans and flip-flops sort of a family. Since these are the most recent family photos we have, we'll be coming to a Christmas card near you. Color? Black and White? Faded? Who can choose? We really need to do something about a more recent family photo.  

Well, blogger is having some issues uploading the photos. Could only get this one to go...so I'll add the others later.