Day Twenty

One of Chris's first flower arrangements of the summer.  I love sitting on this back porch, lingering over a summer dinner. 

Day Nineteen

Jack just learned how to blow bubbles with bubble gum.  He has tried Bubble Yum and Bubblicious brands, and prefers Bubblicious.   Next he'll try Hubba Bubba.  This brings back lots of bubble gum memories from my youth!

Day Eighteen

Walked out the front door today and saw Pumpkin's tail wagging, sticking out of the bush.  I wonder what he was looking at under there.

Day Seventeen

Day Sixteen

This is Darcy, Sean and Jack's 2nd cousin.  During a visit to Jodi and Danny's, she and I became friends.  I felt honored!   

Day Fifteen

Today we got a peek at *The Munchkin* as Jack has been calling this little one.  We learned that he is a he.  Here you can see one hand near his mouth and the other up by the side of his face.   How wonderful! 

Day Fourteen

 Today I took Sean, Jack, Brian and Michael to Riven Rock.  It was over 90 degrees, but it felt wonderful in the water.  Lots of beautiful scenery and great potential shots of the boys finding crayfish and jumping off rocks.  Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera!  Later, Jack showed me this cute scene of Crystal tucked into the chair and I took the picture, so I could have one for the day.  I like the way her pink tongue is showing. 

Day Thirteen

Two pictures from the park today.  Sean was connecting with all kind of bugs.  Here is a picture of him with his friend, the firefly.  And also a picture of an interesting bug he found on the pine tree.  He often directs my attention to the small, but interesting, details of the world.

Day Twelve

Chris and I were admiring the flowers in his garden this morning. This wet spiderweb and echinacea caught my eye.  Beauty I could have easily missed.  His garden is bringing us both much joy! 

Day Eleven

Here is Jack is making a sheet sculpture under the bottom sheet of our bed.  He and Sean crawled around under the sheet and it looked really cool!  Plus, I enjoyed their laughter. 

Day Ten

This picture was taken by Chris.  These are wineberries that are growing in our backyard.  The boys enjoy picking them and popping them right into their mouths.  Chris quoted Sean as saying "A bush like this is handy to have around!"

Day Nine

Too hard to pick just one for today. Below is a picture of Jack and little kitten Nolla, who stopped by for a visit with my niece, Ally and Chris's mom, Becky. Nolla is a very sweet kitten, and was friendly enough to let us all hold and cuddle with her.

And here is a picture of Sean and Chris enjoying the evening breeze on the porch swing before dinner.

Day Eight

This is the view while sitting in the garden nook that Chris created this spring.  In the lower right you can see the fire pit that he made and we've all enjoyed.  There are lots of flowers planted in the garden on the left which will be blooming in a few weeks.  And all around are big lilac bushes.  This is one of my new favorite spots to read.

Day Seven

Jack, posing to be today's picture.  He is standing in front of Kid's Castle playground, waiting to meet our COW Club friends.  *COW*  stands for Community of Wonder, which the kids and parents named our small homeschool co-op.    

Day Six

A beautiful swallowtail butterfly enjoying the butterfly bush.  What a treat to see!

Day Five

My Moonflower Vine seedlings. 

I planted these after reading the novel *The Moonflower Vine*, which I was reading when I discovered I was pregnant.  I was surprised and comforted when I read that the mother in the book also had a surprise pregnancy when her girls were almost grown.  She fully enjoyed being pregnant and becoming a new mother once again.  These Moonflowers are known to be fragrant and bloom in the evening, staying open for just for one night.  I'm looking forward to their blossoming stage. 

Day Four

The boys and I have really been enjoying watermelon this summer.  Jack and I critique each one for crispness and flavor.  This was a particularly scrumption piece.  Yum!

Day Three

We went to the pool for the first time this summer.  The cool water felt great, since it was over 90 degrees today.  Here the guys are playing with the tubes.  They sat in them and raced across the pool.  They then stacked them on Chris.  I liked how the sun reflected off the water.

Day Two

Abundance

There were so many fruits and vegetables at the Farmer's Market this morning.  I came home with 2 bags full of  blueberries, raspberries, green beans, new potatoes, candy onions, baby squash, and salad greens, plus homemade olive bread, bear claws and a doughnut for Sean!  Jack joined me and got a snowcone and a whoopie pie. Today USA plays England in the World Cup and Chris noticed that we had our colors represented here.   

Day One

Day Lily- a sign of early summer.  This one is growing in the garden that Chris has lovingly tended the past month.  I feel grateful to be able to enjoy the beauty that he has fostered.