Reflection

Well, summer is drawing to a close. Darker days and colder nights are coming...



It seems like summer was too short. It doesn't feel like we got many hot days and it was definitely wetter than usual. I'll miss the sun until next year...



We did have a pretty great season, however. We did a lot and had some awesome visitors.



Our first visitors were Auntie Tami and Uncle Marlon. Tami, Meadow and I took a day to pamper ourselves and each other. We went to tea and had tiny sandwiches and some yummy tea called Evening in Missoula.





We visited a local beach when the tide was very low and saw some marine life. Marlon was excited to have crab in his hand as well as on his hoodie.






We went to breakfast with my dad.



Marlon is from Cuba and hasn't seen the same kind of wildlife as we see commonly in the Northwest. He got very excited to see the deer that come and eat all the plants in our yard. It actually gave me a new appreciation for thing around me that I often take for granted. Now, whenever I see un venado, I smile remembering Marlon's excitement. This picture is pretty blurry but I had to capture the moment. If you look closely, you can see un vendao through the window behind the guys.



We went to a local park.

And visited the Village Green.



And a Japanese Sculpture garden








Last Wednesday, I received a message from a friend that I went to midwifery school with. She told me of an adventure she and her husband are on and asked if I had time to have coffee and could they pitch a tent in our back yard. I immediately responded that I no longer live at the house with the awesome yard but if they didn't mind staying in a guest room, we'd love to have them over for dinner and to spend the night. And so they came over to our house on Thursday evening. They're riding their bicycles from Vancouver, BC to Santa Cruz, CA. They rode 50 miles the first day in the rain. I was so impressed and excited to have them come and stay with us. At this point they must be getting close to Oregon. They were thinking that 60 miles per day was what they'd average, which would put them between Olympia and Portland tonight. Here are Dana and Greg as they were leaving our house Friday morning.

Poker has been my weekly ritual this summer. I play with three to six other ladies at a friend's place. We have lots of fun and talk lots of shit.





My good friend, Addie is getting ready to have a baby. She is 26 weeks pregnant tomorrow and has had a little bit of a rough go of it, complete with nausea that just isn't letting up! She's positively glowing, however, and I was thrilled to take some photos of her a few weeks ago.





Jeremyah is playing football again this year. But this time it's tackle football and he's so excited. Such a little man. He had his jamboree this last Saturday. Here is a shot of the football boy with a couple of friends from last year's team.



These next couple of shots are from two years ago. I think they were taken exactly two years ago today. I was on a road trip with my now former friend Bree. We drove from Boise to Boston in two weeks. We stayed at my cousin's place in Colorado before heading to Chicago; Niagara Falls; Seneca Falls, NY; New York City; Cape Cod, MA; and finally to Boston where I stayed the night, went to Cheers and headed home.


Here is an awesome trumpet player in Battery Park

So, summer is coming to a close. The kids are both starting new schools this year. Meadow is going to middle school and we moved out of range for Jeremyah to continue at his old school. I'm excited for them to go back to school. They need something to occupy their brains instead of TV and bitching at one another.
Ruby and Sprocket got the most out of summer they could. Here they are, resting after a day of frolicking.

Couldn't resist throwing this one in. Meadow and Sprocket!

Hope your summer was delightful and here's to next year!