Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Finding our Rhythm

“Mom, it’s not weird to me that tractors are on farms and other places; but it does not make sense to me that seagulls are here and not just at the beach.” – Jesse
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After fixing our broken lawn mower the other night, Mike came in seeming less thrilled with his success than I might have guessed and sighed, “I wish I wasn’t so good at fixing everything. I really wanted to get a new lawn mower.”

Several friends on facebook suggested I might, out of sheer love, go and damage the lawn mower further, or, even, leave it in a conspicuous spot where it might possibly get stolen. And I would . . . because, heaven knows, that would be love, but . . . if we had the spare money sitting around . . . there are sooo many things I’d like more than a lawn mower.

Poor Mike and his cursed abilities.
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We are finding our sea legs with this whole summer-time business.
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We jumped in immediately with Bear Lake and Grandpa’s Farm, etc. We celebrated summer’s arrival with sheer adventure (and, as I type that, I realize more and more how, from here on out, the presence or absence of a capital letter s in that word – summer – will always require closely paid attention).
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But then . . . we came home to the business of normal living and, for all their eagerness to have time to simply be, the older kids seemed a bit at a loss for what to do with themselves. Whole days of freedom? How did one manage that (particularly when one’s mother still thought 30 minutes of computer time was sufficient for one day)?

Luckily, their minds seem to be opening up to the possibilities more readily now. The past few days we seem to be discovering a rhythm that doesn’t have me worried about how to keep them productive all summer long. Guinea pig birthday parties, creation of stop-motion movies, games on the trampoline, library reading programs -- all starting to fill in spots where school time and homework used to sit.
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July and August will bring more high intensity adventure again -- what with birthdays, family reunions, out-of-state family arrivals on both sides, girls’ and boys’ camps and, you know, new babies (baby); so I am enjoying this spell of smooth and relaxed summer time while we have it.
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Also, a few days before summer officially started here, Penny celebrated her seventh birthday.
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Daisy made the birthday cupcakes and so, needed a picture taken with them as well. Mostly though . . . I like whatever is happening in the background here.
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And, from the old cell phone . . .
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Recorder concert, Blaire visit, Great Aunt Sarah turning a normal farm visit into a carnival with her cotton candy machine, a note from Penny, Jumpy’s birthday, Jesse perusing Consumer Reports with breakfast, 32 weeks pregnant, etc . . .

4 comments:

Marilyn said...

Oh, I can't believe you lived near Portland! It's so, so beautiful in the Northwest. My mom grew up there and I think she's always kind of missed it. I'm a Utah girl and I really do love it here, I think the desert and the mountains are fascinating and beautiful,but . . . when I see all that GREEN, and the lakes and waterfalls and the OCEAN . . . I get a bit wistful and I have to tell myself sternly that our life is here right now and I wouldn't choose a different one. Rockaway Beach was like another world to us. So peaceful, there was never anyone on the beach! Is it always like that? And the sunsets, and the winding roads along the coast with little charming restuarants . . . It must have been hard for you to leave. Also I must say you make a very cute pregnant lady! I'm excited to meet (virtually, of course) that little Summer girl when she comes! I always wanted a little girl called Sunny :) Sometime we must compare other names we like and see if the rest of ours match as beautifully. :)

Mike said...

I'm also a UT girl. I adore moutons. After leaving WA and all its lushness to come back I was afraid I'd find UT lacking, but I don't. We definitely have our beauties. STILL, yes, it was hard to leave WA and mists and green and OCEAN. If it wasn't for the ever present "call of the homeland" ;) -- UT is home to both of our enormous families -- I think we could have been quite happy staying there forever. And that was one of my favorite things about WA and OR beaches. They rarely seemed like part of hips and wild towns like you'd expect ocean cities to be. Most of the ones we frequented were small poorest logging towns with empty and quiet beaches that you often had all to yourself. As for names, we absolutely share a fondness for . . . I don't know . . . bright and cheery girl names. I actually had "Sunny" on our name list when we were deciding about Daisy! :)
Also . . . this is Nancy, not Mike. Just haven't figured out how everything works on this new little mac I am typing on.

Kara said...

this looks suspiciously like Bear Lake.....or maybe Utah lake....

Nancy said...

Kara! You are so good! It's Bear Lake (which has been a significant spot in my life since childhood). You live in Canada, right? But, apparently, know your UT lakes well! :)

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