Ready or Not

Summer is racing along. 

We've just gotten our 2011 blog book (waiting for a 20% off coupon means a little delay in printing some years...) and reading it over has led to a fit of reminiscing, looking back at blog posts from this time of year, dating back to 2007...

Turns out, this time of year is always kind of hard.

Every year, I fight against the loss of summer, by embracing every festival and fair and sunny day I can find. Every year, I begin to yearn just a bit for the routine of fall.  Every year, I am excited for the newness of another academic journey.  Every year, our children are a little worn down by the gogogo of this season, their behavior gets rough, and we wonder where we've gone wrong as parents.

There is nothing new under the sun.

But the fact that we've gone through this before does not minimize the reality of now, the fact that, ready or not, our lives are about to shift drastically.  We are all anxious, feeling the first trembles of change. Jack is needy and whiny and scared at night and I am trying to be patient.  If my mind is racing with thoughts of school, how must our little boy feel, as he hurtles into the unknown.

Yet-- summer is not over yet!  We are keeping our balance on these shifting plates by being busy, being outside, sleeping late, snuggling in, playing Legos, taking walks... being together and on our own time for this one more week...

Here are some things we've been enjoying as August rolls along...

Backyard time

We've been hard at work on outdoor projects-- laying in the shade garden (almost done!!!), scraping and repairing and soon-painting the side of the garage, sprucing up the pergola-- and so the kids are getting good at hanging around in the backyard as we work.

Sometimes, they are so very beautiful together. The sometimes make the other times, the screaming times, easier to handle...

Wade Oval Wednesday

Our weekly city-wide picnic is always a treat.  The weather's been stunning for it and we've lingered in the grass out past bedtime these past few weeks.  The kids are obsessed with playing soccer out on the green.  They run fearlessly into the mix, big kids racing and throwing and catching in all directions around them. I remember so clearly, sitting on our blanket with our squishy-new babes, looking out at the madness and revelry in the field. thinking how impossibly big those children were, loving the energy and abandon of their play.  Ready or not, our children  are among them now...

Dinner with friends

Melinda and her family were out of town for a week on their family vacation.  It's good to have them home.  There's no one we love doing nothing with more than our wonderful friends!  A quiet evening at their home, relishing the almost unbearable beauty of our combined children in the yellow, shade dappled light....

The County Fair

 A yearly tradition (the kids have gone every August of their lives), the fair never disappoints.  People-watching at its finest, plus a grand selection of animals, plus greasy fair food-- and rides!  What could be better?

The weather was perfect, sunny and cool, as we took in the sights last night.  The kids petted every animal they could get their hands on, Jack bounced on a giant trampoline, Ivy rode her first roller coaster, and them Gram took the twosome to her house for an overnight while Nat and I went back in to the fair to browse the Arts and Crafts barns (always intensely fascinating stuff!).

It was a lovely night indeed.

He was so excited about this.  He was so patient.  He is getting very, very grown up.

I believe the expression on Ivy's face in this video may be the dictionary definition of "s**t-eating grin."

Next year, we're entering stuff in the fair.  Maybe in this competition.  Or in "Cookie by Man." Or "Oldest Dated Object" or "Other Special." Or one of the 500-some other odd and strangely specific categories of items on display.  I love the county fair.

Today we picked the kids up from the west side by meeting them at Kiddie park.  Because can you ever have enough little tiny rides?  No, I didn't think so.  Tune in for pictures later.  There's some more summer to soak up now...