You Don't See That Every Day

"What made your weekend amazing?" That question came on the radio today, and I didn't have to stop long to think of all the great happenings of my past week. But what made it amazing, is the people I was with during the time. Last week was Sports Camp. All five of the kids were involved; the 3 older ones volunteered, and the 2 younger ones attended (and loved it!) So every morning for 3 hours I had no children at home. This has never before occurred in my life. And I thoroughly enjoyed the mini-vacation. Each day I was so thankful for all the workers and volunteers at Sports Camp - without them, my much-needed break would never have happened.  This past weekend I was able to spend time with relatives and friends. On Saturday the Mr. and I got to watch our two girls in their swim meet while my sister took the other 3 to a parade (at which they bagged a ton of candy). Even though my husband had to work the rest of the day, the 2 girls and I made it - late - to the par...

The Mr. has been in the middle of combining for weeks now. But I am just starting to reap the bounty of the gardens. Today we got peaches! These came from our tree in our own front yard. We planted it a few years ago, and it usualy gave out one, maybe two, peaches each summer. We rarely got to eat them. Today Little K and I picked a bowl full!  16 peaches ready to eat. And just as exciting - there are dozens more on the tree waiting to be picked in a couple of days. I don't know that I will have enough to can from our little tree, but we will be enjoying the fresh sweetness this week.

"It wouldn't be a fair without a horse ride ." That pretty much summed up one daughter's trip to the county fair. I took all 5 kids down to the fair last Friday; it was the first time for all of us to be at this fair (we usually go to one closer to us). But because my daughter, the Chef, had her 4-H entries in this fair we had to go and see how she did. And boy were we pleased! This was her first year in the 4-H program, and I am so thankful our friend put this all together. She entered cookies, biscuits, a short story and a skit. With the the edible entries, she also had an interview she had to do for the judges. We hadn't prepared for that, but I think she did ok. Her cookies were marked "Excellent" and got a blue ribbon. Her story was marked interesting, and got a blue ribbon. Her skit, which she did with 3 friends (also in 4-H) got a blue ribbon. And her biscuits!! Well, if this was 100 hundred years ago, we would probably already have her engaged...

I know, I know, it was last week that we celebrated Independence Day around here. Life has been busy. Maybe I should re-title my blog to that phrase! Well, this year we celebrated the 4th a little differently than usual. We didn't go on the annual family camping trip; which was a little bit of a bummer, but not too much because the weather was SO dang hot and I enjoyed being able to cool off inside my house instead of sweltering in a tent. The Mr. had to work also (he did get to stay home Sunday thankfully) so I didn't feel up to camping without his calming influence and strong tent-setting muscles. Instead, I took the younger girls to a parade. We sat at the end of the parade route (because we decided a little late to go to it) and we sat. And we sat. And we waited. Nearly an hour on the curbside (because why would we come prepared with chairs?!) and my backside was pretty sore. I managed to get up and buy the three of them some ice cream right before the parade came down...

Now we're cookin'; It is in the 90s around town here, and even though I grew up in hotter summers, I have kind of gotten used to the milder summers of northern Oregon. Until this week. So we planned a minor escape for the day. We took a trip to my happy place - the beach - anticipating a lovely sunny, cooler, afternoon. Oh, it was cooler alright! I remembered to bring sweatshirts for everyone. It is the Oregon coast after all. I ended up wearing mine and my son's, and wrapping a blanket around my legs. That wind was cold! The kids didn't seem to mind too much. They spent a long time working together (happy sigh!) on building a big pit in the sand. (Right next to the waves, so it should fill in sooner rather than later ... I don't think there is a safety risk there.)    My sister and I sat, wrapped up like two grannies, and watched them work. Every so often the little one would come and grab a bite to eat and run back to the group. We also watched a group of...

I was suppose to be a part of a Google Hangout tonight. But my technologically challenged brain could not figure it out. So instead I get to entertain you. My son informed me that we are one third of the way through summer vacation. That makes me sad because there is so much more I want to do and the time is flying by. Before I know it, the kids will be back in school and I will be wandering around wondering what to do with myself. OK, maybe not. I am pretty sure I will be rushing around in September, just like I am now, trying to figure out how to get it all done. Yesterday I took a couple of minutes to snap a few photos of our morning at the farm. The Boy got the task of discing the field for his grandpa while I pulled weeds, and his sisters picked peas. Grandpa, meanwhile, sat in the shade and slep t. ha! No, if you know my dad, that wouldn't happen. He was on the other tractor, planting. Later in the day I took a few more minutes out of my 'busy-ness' to take th...