I just came into the house from the garden. It's so smokey out there today from all of the wildfires that I can't see any of the mountains and there's a haze hovering low in the sky. It's close to 100 degrees and I was sweating just from collecting the last of our lettuce that's surviving in this heat. My mind is in the present, but for the sake of our 2017 family Blurb book, I need to go back and catch up a bit here.
We've had an amazing summer and I'm still so surprised that it's quickly coming to an end! It's felt like a great balance of having time to savor the little things, and enough structure and activity to keep us moving. We've also had a lot of visitors this summer. We love having people in our home, gathered around the dining table, or sitting in the living room drinking tea/coffee and talking for hours.
It's always strange to see the fields turn brown in the summer. We live in such a green state that I often forget we even have a couple months of non-green life until it comes back around again. :)
Back in June the rose bushes around the farm looked incredible!! I loved walking the driveway with Josh in the evenings and getting to literally stop and smell these roses.
We enjoyed roasting marshmallows with our church "community group" on our last gathering before we took a break for July/August.
Gina and I met up at the water fountains one hot summer day to let the kids play. We love how often we get to spend time all together!
Ian came to visit and we had dinner and a competitive game of canasta!
Ian and I won! Woot!
We have been the slowest home renovators ever! One of the houses on our property is rented out, but we're fixing up the other house. We're about to submit some plans to the county, and hopefully our renovation will get underway this September.
Watching the deer out at the property. There's a large, old buck who lives there, and we see him from time to time.
The kids read a lot, play in the creek, and watch movies when we're out there.
We spent my birthday weekend in Portland with our friends the Colemans. While Josh was at a quick eye doctor appt the kids and I walked around the pond that I use to walk them around when they were babies.
We went for a spin in Drew's new Tesla. Such a fun car!
Jude LOVES cars and everything about them, and he definitely loved Drew's Tesla.
The Colemans treated us to a yummy dinner. Thanks friends!
We got to see the house they're building and write some notes on the walls inside. We can't wait to visit when it's finished! (Josh and Marisa are standing in the kitchen here.)
We took the kids to see the new Cars movie.
And we roamed the Farmer's Market.
And went for a swim!
It was a HOT weekend, so slurpees were in order!
Drew took us to a magical house in Lake Oswego that had a 1 acre backyard with the most incredible landscaping, all done by one woman and her husband. It was remarkable and reminded me of what the farm was like when Granddad spent every day tending to the garden beds.
The woman gave me a jasmine plant that now lives in a pot by our garage. I love seeing it each day.
Ben LOVES Bosco and has asked many times since this day if we could get a dog.
Pokemon became all the rage with our boys after that weekend. Ben is dressed like the kid in the books or on the show?
We took swimming lessons until mid-July and then took the rest of the summer off. Selah is now in level 6, and Jude and Ben are loving level 3.
Enjoying an afternoon with family at dad and Janet's.
Sometimes we'll just randomly stop at a park for 30 mins. :)
Time with friends, who have since moved, but we love to keep in touch with still!
We had a lot of fun this past 4th of July! My mom and Wayne treated all of the family to a train ride out to a firework show. We got popcorn and snacks, and got to sit in a beautiful field near a pond to watch the show. It was a great way to spend the 4th!
We love how often we get to spend time with family!! It's the best!
Life around the farm fills my tank to the brim...and to overflowing. I can't quite explain how much I love to see the full moon rising in a colorful sky. I took this photo while standing in my garden one evening.
Our chicks are nearly full grown now, but these pics are from June/July. They are very well loved. Selah named the girl Hazel, and the other is in fact a very handsome rooster. Selah named him Frightful (after the hawk in the book My Side of the Mountain.)
One night I was working in my garden and I saw the full moon rising on one side of me and this cotton candy sunset on the other side of me. Bliss!
My garden is huge now (compared to these pics), but it's been amazing to watch it change! I love that the kids grow their own things and have interest, too. It really is my happy place, and I'm realizing that I have a little obsession with pumpkins. :) Give me all the pumpkins! This year we're growing mini white ones, Cinderella ones, and some beautiful green ones, and two other varieties I don't know anything about.
Selah made the cutest video this summer about growing beets.
This was back when Judes corn was only as tall as Jude.
Jude's cilantro was a hit and we've enjoyed it all summer. We're on our second batch of sweet peas now that are just blooming again. I love how many things you can grow twice in one year.
This was our corn when it first came up. Today it's much, much taller than me! We can't wait to harvest it soon.
One of our favorite memories from this summer was sitting out under the stars, talking about God's love and many other things. I'm so thankful for warm evenings and time together as a family.
Thank you Lord for this beautiful life! My greatest joy and contentment comes from knowing You, Lord. xoxo
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