See the Need

I mowed the lawn today. This is usually Cooper's job, but between all the hours he's been working at Chick-fil-a and the crazy rainstorms we've been getting, he hadn't been able to get to it for a while. It took me five hours to do the whole thing, and that's after Cooper had put in about 30 minutes mowing before work.

Our lawn is not flat. The main part of the lawn has some gentle sloping. We also have a significant swale in the back. All of it had to be mowed today. This meant sometimes while mowing uphill, the lawnmower was higher than my head. It was hard physical labor.

By the time I finished at 5:00, I was exhausted and I ached all over. While I was nearing the end I noticed that Topher had come out onto the deck. He set-up some camping chairs, then brought out plates and his water bottle (mine was already on the deck). When I turned off the mower for the last time today, Topher informed me that he'd prepared a picnic for us. "I made you a corn tortilla! I got out a quesadilla from the bag and put cheese on it and cooked it for you."

I did not point out that some of those words were swapped. I love that he saw me working hard and wanted to show his love through an act of service. After I put the lawnmower in the garage and washed my hands, I joined him on the deck. It felt good to sit after such a long day. The company was pretty sweet too.

Ice Cream Evening

This was an evening that felt so idyllic. After dinner we drove Phoebe to the corner ice cream shop to meet her friend. We all got a sweet treat and I brought the other two home to enjoy the ice cream in the backyard. I was overwhelmed with how thankful I am that we live here and were making happy summertime memories.

Reading for Prizes

After school got out for the summer I signed Topher up for the summer reading program at the library. 

And then totally forgot to have him work on it.

He's read voraciously for the last two months, which is great. But the summer reading program has specific reading prompts, plus some art projects and local field trips. So reading what he picked only checked some of the boxes.

On Monday I realized that the summer reading program ends tomorrow.

On Tuesday I asked Topher if he wanted to pull out the booklet to see what he'd already accomplished. Just from regular reading, he'd gotten through a quarter of the one hundred and twelve prompts, seven weeks with sixteen prompts per week. He decided he wanted to try to finish it. I pulled books from our home library that would fulfill some of the assigned tasks, then we went to the town library for the rest. He read a lot when we got home that day.

Then on Wednesday he did some of the art projects with Phoebe and read some more.

On Thursday I wrote out the remaining tasks on post-it notes so he could easily see what was left. This worked so well for him and he knocked through many of them on his own pretty quickly, moving them from one side of the wall to the other once he'd finished each task.

Today Topher read the last few books, grabbed some paper and a crayon, and drove around with me for the local field trips. He finished the art assignments while we found the community garden, ginkgo trees in town, and life in this creek.

Then we went to the library to present all one hundred and twelve finished tasks in his summer reading booklet. He earned several trinkets of his own choosing, plus coupons for two ice cream cones, a hot dog, two doughnuts, and six dumplings. They were all well earned.

Rain, Rain

We've been in a drought this summer. A Pennsylvania drought looks different than a California drought or a Utah drought. The grass is still mostly green, but it's not the vibrant green it usually is. We've had a few storms, but not as many as usual.

The storm we're having today feels like it's trying to make up for all the rain we've missed.

The youth activity for tonight was cancelled because roads are flooded.

I had to drive through the storm multiple times.

It felt biblical.

This picture doesn't do it justice.

It's Too Darn Hot*

Today is a stay-inside-with-the-curtains-closed-to-keep-the-heat-out-and-the-cool-in kind of day.

*Can you name the musical?

Nature in Action

"Mom! Mom! I know a perfect picture I can take, can I use your phone?" -Topher, moments before he captured this picture of a bee visiting the lavender in our backyard.

Airborne

Bye Spring

The last day of spring was spent having s'mores at a campfire with friends after a rainy morning. We even got a double rainbow.

Parked

Today was a beautiful day, just the right temperature. Topher, Sophie, and I spent the morning at a park for a primary meeting, the middle of the day at a different park (with Phoebe) for a ukulele performance, and the afternoon at a state park swimming in a creek with friends.

After a shower and dinner, once he climbed into bed, Topher fell asleep almost immediately.

The secret to a good sleep is a day full of parks.

Camped

Phoebe and Sophie went to girl's camp last week. I drove Phoebe up on Tuesday morning for YCL (Youth Camp Leader) day.

Then I drove Sophie up on Wednesday morning.

They both had a wonderful time and said it was their best camp experience yet. I failed to take any pictures when I picked them up, but I did get this amazing shot of Sophie's hair after being in Dutch braids for a few days!

We missed them while they were gone, but we're glad they had such a great time!

Play Ball!

A few weeks before school ended Sophie had the opportunity to sing the national anthem with the other elementary chorus singers at a local AAA baseball game. We went to support her, then stayed for the game. Peter even joined us after a long day of missionary work. Phoebe was on a school trip, so she missed the game.

She did a great job!

The weather turned cold during the game. I held on as long as I could, but I finally retreated to the van during the eighth inning. I took Topher with me and he found several more photo ops.

The game went into extra innings, so Bryan, Cooper, and Sophie (Peter had driven separately and had already left) decided to call it and headed for the van. As they were walking out a hit ball landed right at their feet. It was a pretty cool souvenir.

Lazy Days

Summer break so far has included turning off alarms, swimming at a friend's pool, and spending many hours at a different friend's house today. I think we're off to a good start.

The Giving Tree

A half-day of school equals mid-day conversations under a tree.

Feels Like Summer

We've had two exceptionally hot days in a row. It's supposed to get cold again over the weekend, so we tried to enjoy it while we could.

You Missed a Spot

I spent a major chunk of my day mowing the lawn. It's the first cut of the year and it's overdue, so it was a slow process. I thought ahead and made sure I put sunscreen on my arms, neck, and face. I ran out of time before I could finish and had to hurry inside and shower so I could pick up Topher from the bus on time.

I knew I was tired from all that manual labor. But I felt extra tired. It wasn't until Sophie pointed something out that I realized why. I had put sunscreen on my arms and neck and face, but not on my legs. It was nearly 90 degrees today and I wore shorts. Sophie asked if the back of my legs hurt. I looked behind me and saw that the backs of my knees are very sunburnt.

'Tis the season.

The Best Day

Monday was the last day of our spring break. It was actually a four-day weekend, but it's all we got. To celebrate, we took the kids to see The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in the afternoon. Before that, Bryan took Topher to the park to play. On the way home from the movie, Topher announced that it was the best day of his life.

Welcome Spring

It warmed up enough to go on a walk over the weekend. It's cold again now, but for just a little bit, being outside was pleasant.

Drenched

We had three days of beautifully warm weather. 

And today it snowed.

But yesterday, it was still warm. Rain was expected right about the time I needed to pick Topher up from the bus. Sure enough, just as he ran from the bus to our van, fat raindrops started to fall. He asked if he could please run home while I drove next to him, even though it was raining. I would normally have said no, but on a whim I said yes.

He was soaking wet when we arrived, but so very happy, despite the look on his face in these pictures.

What Goes Up

Yesterday Topher's tree climbing required an intervention. He's never been that high up. Thankfully Bryan was able to talk him through climbing back down.

Thanks to Sophie for grabbing my phone and taking pictures.