daddymoon

We spent a fantastic {and sweltering} camping weekend with some of our favorite people. I took entirely too many pictures of our kiddos...bordering on the intrusive, but flinging a "you'll thank me in 20 years" at the reluctant subjects.

we fished, we swam {so hot,} we ate {still dreaming about that granola, JRS,} we played

{each camping trip, I challenge myself to make something in the dutch oven on the open fire {I should probably stop}...this trip, I tried Granny's fruit cobbler using the peaches from Grandma and Grandpa J and blueberries we picked with Opa

it was a little crispy around the edges, but worked okay...tasted okay...it'd be better with ice cream, but I haven't figured out how to camp for four days keeping ice cream cold...let me in on the secret if you have}

Daddy arrived to meet us a day after we got to camp...safe and sound from Tennessee. Home {well, camp home.} Together. 

To round out our trip, we met friends at another campground for a night, opting for a cabin in the rain instead of a tent. Wise choice. We swam indoors, ate cheap pizza, and played bingo with dozens of other campers. I won twice...9 bucks {enough to pay for the pizza} and left as soon as people started glaring at me.

Now we're home {real mortgaged home.}

Fifteen hours...the number of hours asleep I've had in the last 24. Blissful. There was the quick go-back-to-sleep, snuggling with my best boy as the rain fell outside our cabin. A cat nap on the car ride home. An honest to goodness sack out after the great unpacking. And then starting a family movie at 9:30. {I mean, come on...that's not even giving me a fair chance.}

I must have needed it. My annoying cough and cold must have needed it.

So, the house is a wreck...we're assimilating his stuff with our stuff...it reminds me of getting married. And there's the soggy, muddy laundry and the food that stayed in the cooler too long to deal with. All very much worth the weekend fun.

I'm loving the nip of fall in the air...fully recognizing that it may not last...but I'm ready for it.

Goodbye, summer. Hello, autumn. Hello, Sweet Man. I'm going to wrap myself up in you.

more harvest

Carrots...a friend was surprised that we could grow them in an Ohio summer. {I'm surprised that we can grow anything in an Ohio summer with my annual case of it's-the-end-of-July-I'm-over-it neglect.)

Bug carried in 2, then three, then 5 and 6 carrots at a time for about a week and before we knew it we had a veggie drawer full.

Bug: Can we make a carrot cake? {Has he ever tasted carrot cake? I don't think so.} 

me: Of course, what a great idea! We'll take it to our picnic on Saturday.

shredding is hard work

Friday, we baked. Saturday, we decorated, shared and enjoyed.

Some of you may be thinking clever boy wearing his carrot shirt. Nope, it just happens to be his favorite shirt (from his daddy) and he wore it both days we worked on the cake.

If you're keeping track, like I am...Sweet Man returns home in 3 days for good...very good.

first day of school

we prayed, pledged, read, & snuggled

we discussed the fruits of the spirit while noshing on fruity kabobs

we counted, practiced our phone number and address, wrote compound words

we cut, identified letter sounds, subtracted 9's

we stayed on schedule {huzzah!} thanks to Bug

we marked the day with a pose

{moments before this, Bean had a beaming smile on her face as she wore her floor length velvet skirt and high heeled patent pumps...I asked her to dress for first day pictures, after all. I offered 3 optional more casual skirts to change into and she begrudgingly did so. She made sure I didn't forget she was not happy about the wardrobe change.}

we celebrated our day with a new board game {a total blast...} and banana splits for dinner {perhaps, not such a good idea}

and just before drifting off tonight, she asked do we get to do school again tomorrow?

home again {& poor grammar}

Tonight we returned from our North Carolina trip. There's a thin layer of sand on everything, the washer's whirring, and I'm trying to sort the discs of the 3 audio books we listened to in the car. Oy.

What a great adventure to wrap up the summer. Thanks for letting us crash your party, Grammy A! 

I looooooove the beach...everything about it...the smell, the seaweed, the barking sound of dry sand as I walk to the boardwalk...the warm, salty water, at least until my throat aches for fresh water. {Pardon my tangent: my favorite beach is Arecibo, Puerto Rico...beautiful sand with shallow blue water with the extra bonus of a freshwater stream carving a path to the sea.}

This trip was to Caswell Beach...just south of Wrightsville Beach, where I lived for a bit. Mostly we beached ~ morning walks on the soft sand, midday swims and digging, evening crab hunts. There was a little thrifting and eating in Southport {a fun town down the beach.} Even a bit of hanging out with new family. Bean had a bit of pink around her eyes {seems to be where she always gets sunburn} but the rest of us left without any significant sun damage...success.

And in the spirit of The Adventures of Billy and JJ,  here is the kids' version of the trip:

Bean: I liked the dogs {Opa and Grammy A's,} that we got to see them and I got to pet them. I like *Grammy A* at the beach and I like the beach that we went boogey-boarding and that it was her birthday and your birthday and that we gave her presents and got to see her open them and she gave you some presents and we got to see you open them. {Wowza~ grammar's gonna be a blast with her, no?}

Bug: At the beach, I loved boogey-boarding, looking for crabs and periwinkles, trying to free Bean from the sand pile {Opa buried her up to her head.}

It was a perfect last hurrah to this gypsy adventure. Big news: it's almost over...this wandering life. Sweet Man has taken a job back here in the close-to-home office, beginning next month. Back to a normal schedule...with all of us in the same place most of our days. It's time...we need to be together, in one place. But it's bittersweet because we had so much fun traveling.

He'll have two weeks off before he starts. Better start school soon because I know I'll want to play hooky when he does. 

{It has been two years today since Mom died.}

Sweet Man just pulled in the driveway for a long weekend home. 17 days since we parted.

I'm gonna go get me a hug.