Goodbye to Summer

It's been quiet on my blog lately, although that has definitely not been the case in our real lives. We have been busy making our way through the house buying process. Applied for a loan, signed purchase and sale agreement, completed the inspection. Busy, busy, busy. Now we are just figuring out exactly when we are going to close, and when we will be moving into the new home, all while trying to prepare for baby #3 who is due in less than two months.

At the same time, the weather lately has been awesome. And it seems even nicer, considering that we really got jipped this summer. Everyone likes to make fun of the Pacific Northwest for being such a rainy, gray climate, but our summers are typically spectacular. Beautiful. Crystal-clear. Mountains shining white in the distance, trees bright green, water a perfect, tranquil blue. And the temps hover around the 70's. Summer in the Puget Sound makes up for the depressing days of winter.

Usually.

This summer though was kind of a let down. Our sunny days were few and far between, and the crazy weather really messed with the crops too. Last year this week, I picked 20 pounds of apples from our apple tree. Right now? I doubt there are even two pounds to be picked, the tree is so sparse. And our plum tree didn't bloom at all. Wouldn't you know this was the first year I tried to grow my own garden, but the crazy weather patterns were no help, and all I ended up with was a handful of green and string beans.

So, since the weather was so fantastic last week, (and I am assuming that it will most likely be our last great week of summer), I tried to keep busy with the kids, taking them places or just playing outside, so that they could enjoy as much of it as possible before the weather turns cold.

On Wednesday, my brother and I took the kids (my two boys, and my niece), to Remlinger Farms, in Carnation. We didn't really know what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised. It reminded us of a sort of miniature Disneyland, in a way. There were rides for the kids, animals, an empty school bus and fire truck to climb on and in, a train that you could ride around the farm, pony rides, musical entertainment, delicious food - seriously, SO much to do. The kids were in heaven.

Driving the school bus

Train Ride

Water ride

Carousel

Car ride

Thursday was another hot one, so the boys and I played in the back yard, for what may be one of our last times this summer. My kids are pretty easy to please. Hand them a hose to spray water around, and (one of the few) apples from the apple tree and they are happy. The boys just splashed around in the kiddie pool, and water table, and enjoyed being outside, one of their favorite places. Binker always says, "I like outside!" I get a little sad for him when I think of all the months we're going to be stuck inside during winter, but at least he will have school and other activities to keep him busy.

While they played happily in the water, I picked blackberries from our backyard. We don't have neighbors on one side of our house, it's just a large, overgrown blackberry field, and I can't believe that in the three-plus years we have lived here, I've never taken advantage of picking the blackberries - especially since they are my favorite. I picked several cups' worth though, and the boys were thrilled to eat them at lunch. I am thinking about making blackberry cobbler with the ones I have left.

Even though the temperatures were easily in the 80's, and we were all running around in shorts and tank tops, it was easy to see that fall is not far off. The signs of autumn are already starting to creep in.

I had to fight off a number of these spiderwebs to get the blackberries

Leaves changing color

It's always a little bittersweet to leave summer behind, but we have so much to look forward to in the coming months: Binker starting preschool, our newest son being born, moving into our very first home, and Husband beginning a new job with the Navy. Bring it on!

Lovely Summer Nights

I love summer evenings. Stepping out front around 8pm and it's still light out. There's the last bit of glow from the sun in the western sky. Outside it is fresh and warm, with a slight breeze that whispers at the ends of your hair. The air is thick with the scent of lilacs and fresh-cut grass.

In the distance you can hear the repetitive chu-chu-chu of a sprinkler, and maybe one lone neighbor mowing his lawn a few blocks over. Older kids, who are allowed to stay up this late, are still out on the street playing basketball or hide and seek, and their laughter intertwines with the peace of the night, as you take it all in...

On these perfect summer nights, it seems that nothing bad could ever happen. No matter how old I get, these kinds of nights always stay the same, and they make me feel like a kid again. It is all timeless, and there is something so beautiful and comforting knowing that while the world is constantly changing, some things do remain. Lovely things.

Let this be a Lesson

We woke up to sun today. FINALLY! Summer actually seems to be here, thank the Lord. I was thisclose to filing a complaint with the man upstairs. He must have known that my complaint letters can get pretty long and wordy and scathing, and he probably just wanted to avoid that whole mess. He's a smart guy.

Since we haven't had a really sunny, warm day in awhile, I knew right away that I wanted to spend as much time outside with the boys as we could. We started the day off with a three mile walk down to the beach and back. It was glorious! I wore a spaghetti strap tank top, and soaked up all that sunshine as we walked.

After lunch, the boys and I headed back outside to play in their awesome pool. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures, but we had a BLAST! Ryan is like a fish, once he's in the pool, he stays put. He splashes all around in the water and is never ready to get out. Jacob went back and forth between the pool and the sprinkler. We would count to three then run through it, hand in hand. Jacob would scream at the top of his lungs as the cold water hit his tummy and face, but he wore a huge smile the entire time. It was awesome.

After all that play time, the boys were ready for a nap. As they slept, I went out on the back deck and sat in a lawn chair and just rested in the awesome sunshine for about twenty minutes.

I mean, look at this view. We couldn't resist playing outside in it.

And I didn't even edit the photo to make the water look more blue.

Well, about an hour ago I passed by a mirror, and caught a glimpse of my reflection.

And I didn't even edit the photo to make my burn look more red.

So, let this be a lesson: Wear sunscreen!

I'm gonna go apply some Aloe Vera.

Here Comes the Sun

Here in Washington, we have a bad reputation for never getting any sunshine. In fact, Stephenie Meyer based her entire Twilight series of books on a family of vampires who live in Washington so that they can stay out of the sunlight. When I first heard this, it irritated me a little. I don't like it when Washington (the Seattle-area, specifically) is misrepresented as this depressing, gray, overcast place, where everyone has a Prozac prescription. Did you know that both New York and Hawaii each get more rain than Washington, every year? Don't get me started.

Recently, however, the weather seems to have been stuck in winter mode. Add that to the fact that I am already feeling a bit down every day from missing Richard, and it hasn't been a good combination for my mood. I was beginning to resent looking out my window every morning at the depressing, gray, overcast landscape, and considered getting a Prozac prescription, (kidding)! Seriously though, it has not been a good start to summer, and I was seriously considering making a temporary move to a warmer climate.

This morning though, we woke up to the beautiful rays of sunshine, (only a day late to the actual start of summer). The house thermostat was reading 72 degrees by 9am, and I felt like doing Jacob's "Happy Dance"! It wasn't long before we couldn't resist heading outside, so Jacob and I took his water table out back and played and played. He loved splashing the water, saying "watee" (water), and running around in the grass. I loved soaking up that natural vitamin D; we were both in heaven! Oh and Ryan was napping...don't want anyone thinking I am picking favorites here!

Already a Sun-Worshipper

Hopefully that huge glowing ball in the sky will stick around for a few more months.