swimming, swimming.

we love swimming before dinner!

the ducks were calling...

the professor is out of town and... the ducks were calling.

it was a beautiful night.

so, after music lessons, we headed to a "lake" for a picnic leah shared her dinner with the ducks.

i sat on the blanket with lily and the kids explored. it was quiet, and beautiful, and lovely. then, ellie fell in. yes, she really did slip. but, it wasn't accidental that she was in the water in the first place no, she didn't ask if she could get wet. no, i wasn't mad cause it was really funny my sweet ellie always keeps life fun!!

even cold and wet she was so cute and smiley, we all kinda wanted to jump in with her.

well, maybe just get our feet wet. leah was not happy when she slipped in. i love this picture of leah's daring rescue. i love jakob, kissing leah's head. cute kids.

they had so much fun, just being outside why don't we do this more? cautious, careful, anna was not so happy when she slipped in by now i was waiting for the police to show up and arrest me "sorry officer, they ALL just slipped in."

nope. not the night i had planned. yes. i was a little "sound of music-those are my kids in the trees" embarrassed but. watching their joy brought me joy. overflowing joy. and i'm so grateful for the beautiful land that i live in for the family i love and for a God who is always with us. i'm so grateful for magical moments when the ducks call.

i'm gonna miss this...

Summer is ending.

I can feel it in my bones. The slow, lazy days of summer are fading and my clock is getting faster. My calendar is filling. My kitchen table is covered with school supplies. I LOVE school supplies. I've begun to label my activities "this is the last time we will..." or "we really need to do this before..."

My closets are cluttered... i have piles that drive me batty... leah is ready for some one on one time... my kids are ready for structure. But, i've loved this summer. I'm ending the summer in awe of my brood. They're good kids. I like them. I like having them with me. I'm going to miss them.

No. I'm not a home school mama. I like sending them away. And, I like getting them back. I'm definitely a mama that loves the seasons. I love summer. and. I love fall. Fall is in the air and I'm ready to wear cardigans again. I'm ready for Tuesday folders and soccer practice and spelling words and the structure that school day brings...

But, when I hear them laughing in my trunk on the way home from the pool. When I hear their seat negotiations.... I call by the window... I call front middle... and leah, "I CALL CARSEAT." I know, I'm really gonna miss this.

lotsa cheese!!

cause, i didn't want to make lunch today. we decided to visit The BIG CHEESE. it was fun. and, although the kids did eat our $18.99 cheese pizza, they were all still hungry when they got home. blah... i hate food. ok... don't you HATE the dumb prize part? i do. you can't get anything good for under 5,000 tickets. dumb. but, i've figured out my revenge on the whole prize thing. i don't help. hee, hee... have you ever seen 7 kids with 16 tickets each, telling the man at the counter they want the gumball machine that cost 10,000 tickets. :) finally, after 20 minutes of... "no, i changed my mind" or, "do i have enough tickets for..." or, can i have the green star necklace, not the grean heart necklace" or, tears because everyone else in the family got the 80 ticket fake gum and even though one kid only had 16 tickets, he wanted the fake gum... hee hee. i'm pretty sure my kids were better at working out their own salvation than i would have been. leah, with no tickets, ended up with a lollipop and a tootsie roll. and, justin, who had minimal ticket ended up with a YELLOW fake gum pack... the guy even had to go to the back to find a yellow one... hee. hee.... if you want to advertise to my children, then be prepared to negotiate with them! and, LUCKILY, we were on our way out the door, when the REAL, LIVE Chuck E. came out throwing tokens and tickets... oh, the joy of RE-NEGOTIATION. love it. When the professor came home, i was pooped out and not wanting to cook dinner... so, we decided to take a DUNK in the pool... throw some kid around!! and squeeze some freezin' baby...

and now... i must blog while the PROFESSOR prepares dinner.

Did you see that? Somehow summer fun got me out of two whole meals today...

lovely, crazy, summer days...

These are the days...

What a day!

You can't help but find joy in life when you are surrounded by happy, jubilant children.

As I tucked mine in bed tonight, they are a bit pinker than I would like (it's that spray-on sunscreen, it doesn't work as well but takes 1/5 the application effort), but they are tired and still glowing.

From my sweet baby who isn't afraid to jump, and thinks she can swim without any help, who grins from ear to ear when I pull her up from a calculated-mock-drowning-experience...

To my girls who systematically include everyone within the pool walls... let's hold hands... let's all jump together... let's sing and dance and twirl and swim... did you see that mom?

To my older boys... you stay there and let's see if I can jump further than you... mom, watch to see who is fastest... i get the big tube first...quick, get to the deep end so the little girls can't grab onto us...

Life is sweet... and sunny... and full of joyful moments.

Yes, there are tons of dishes and wet towels and tired squabbling and "monsters under the bed" to justify the 15th trip into our bedroom at night... but there are those sweet sunshine moments.

Get ready... get set... JUMP!!
Catchin' some rays...

"Where's WALDO in the Pool?"