Red Screen Door: Home Sweet Home

Where do I even begin? I have about about fifty photos and just a few words because, hey, it's summertime and I have better things to do than sit around on the computer. Also, you have better things to do than sit around and read more than just a few words, am I right?

Look what came out of our garden!

And Jack's been at the sewing machine again. He made a mini Snoopy pillow for Sawyer because suddenly the kids have decided that they like each other. DID YOU HEAR THAT? They LIKE each other! It's amazing. You said it would happen and it finally did.

Do you see his thumb? This is what happens when thumbsuckers eat markers. (What are we going to do with this kid?)

We've spent these warm and sunny afternoons lounging around by the pool in the front yard, sharing popsicles and big bowls of popcorn with our friends and soaking in the summertime.

And we also roadtripped up to Portland to hang with our friends Peter and Simon. No sense in wasting water, is there?

On Wednesdays I get to be a soccer mom. It's more fun than it sounds, I assure you.

The veggie leftovers from the farm have been plentiful. Jack is totally into helping in the kitchen and so I put him to work for me. He grated and bagged up a big old bunch of zucchini for the freezer. He also helped me pack up a flat of tomatoes. This summer I have seen a side of him that inspires me as a mother. This summer I have seen Jack as the real person he has become, not just my kid. What I see is pretty amazing.

We are reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle. We sit on the deck in the afternoon shade and sip cool drinks. He always begs for just one more chapter and I always say yes.

And I've been sewing. This is Sawyer's new sunhat which he has steadfastly refused to model until I caught him unawares in his blueberry picking delirium.

As you can see there are lots of green berries left on the bushes. We picked 20 pounds this time, but we will be going back for more soon. Much, much more.

And we got our first egg from Daisy! It was the tiniest, daintiest little egg I'd ever seen and she's given us one each day since. It was Jack's idea to compare it to the blueberry for perspective. He is a budding photographer, I think.

This picture was taken just before Lulu jumped up on the table and ate her weight in blueberries while Jack and I were in the other room.

Sawyer discovered his beloved blanky in the washing machine and held a one-man sit in to protest. He calls it "mine bunky" and DOES NOT appreciate laundry day.

Afternoons at the lake...

I'm so glad summer finally came.

Remember when I told you about my dress? Well, I finally finished it, invisible zipper and all. Yeah, that's right, I said invisible zipper. Booyah! (Yeah, that's right, I said booyah.)

I also refused to be intimidated by collars and buttonholes any longer and made the boys some button up shirts.

No one will ever pose for me. Ever.

And now we head to California for my cousin's wedding and a long weekend of pools and parties and family and food and staying up way past your bedtime and all of those other magical summertime things that you remember from being a kid.