Summer is here!

We're in full summer mode over here. We finished school a little over a week ago, and then took off for Sunriver for a week. Since returning we've worked on some exterior house projects and noticed how hot and dry it's beginning to get.

(We had friends join us in Sunriver this year too, which was so much fun... but more about that in another post.)

Every passing year (and day) I love Josh more. He's always been someone I look up to and admire greatly, and with time that only increases. He amazes me with his love for others, his selflessness, his work ethic, his faith in God, and the way he leads our family. He's my best friend and it's pretty sweet to get to live this life together, raising our lovable, wild kids. :)

We celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary at the end of May by going out for a nice Italian dinner and playing a fun questions game that made us laugh a lot. I sure love this guy! And the family God has given us.

End of May we also celebrated Mother's Day over at Caleb's house, after church. We got to enjoy his patio before his house sale closed. It was a relaxing afternoon all together! Happy Mother's Day, Mom. Love you!

End of May we also got to celebrate my dad's birthday, unofficially, since he prefers not to celebrate getting older. We bbq'ed and roasted marshmallows, making smores, and listened to great music. Happy birthday Dad! I sure love you!

Josh and I like being spontaneous, so it's fun to have friends just down the street who we can play cards with on short notice.

We had fun celebrating Evan's birthday with our buddies! Sheri planned a great scavenger hunt for the kids.

We're still discovering new walking trails near our house. One day while Josh was working from home we ventured out for a lunch walk.

Isn't this beautiful?

The day before Mother's Day, Josh and the kids spoiled me with a day to do whatever I wanted. So we did some work in the garden, we drove to the country store for popsicles, we drove by some properties (I like finding lots with pretty views), we sat by the creek and talked (pic below), ... and I don't quite remember what else we did, but it sure was spontaneous, which was a lot of fun.

Around that same time we also did more clean up work in our backyard. It's been a slow transformation, but it feels great to see things getting uncovered and put to use. I told Josh that for my birthday this year I wanted to be able to enjoy our backyard all summer. My dream was to have an outdoor eating area, a fire pit area where we could enjoy seeing the stars, and the trampoline/sprinkler/creek all right there so that it felt like everything was within steps of one another. 

Having just had an excavator back there doing so much brush removal, our backyard has looked less than stellar with the grass torn up and multiple burn piles blocking the way. ;) We still need to reseed the yard and do more landscaping, but we were able to get enough areas cleaned up that we could at least enjoy those things listed above in the simplest state, and I was thrilled!

While cleaning out the summer house (that outdoor covered patio area) we found six bird nests up in the rafters! Oh my. They all looked old and abandoned, so we removed them. Well, one morning I was enjoying some tea out there and two blue jays swooped in, with nest bedding in their beaks, and they began talking to one another loudly, searching for their nest. I felt horrible!! I told Josh and he recovered the nest he assumed was probably theirs and he relocated it to a safe, thick tree/bush nearby.

I'm extra thankful for these chairs we found on Craigslist, because they recline! The other night we sat around the fire talking and enjoying the warm evening, and got to recline and watch the stars. It was really sweet. The kids and I are reading a book called Signs and Seasons and I'm having fun taking note of the stars' movements this summer.

Wayne had these pavers in his garage that he wasn't using, so he brought them over for us to make a fire pit. I thought that was so kind! We are really enjoying it.

This kid is looking like a teen!

Would it be a proper post without chicken photos? ;) Sometimes Josh and I laugh at life. He is a neighborhood, pavement, minimal yard work guy who would prefer to spend the weekends off playing with our family (hiking, biking, wine tasting, etc.) and we live on almost six acres with chickens and weekends full of house/yard projects. ;) It's kind of ironic. We know we'll be here one more year (to avoid capital gains), but we'll see after that if things change. All I know is that this season with kids is pretty sweet when you have lots of yard to run free in. We're thankful for this season.

This was Jude the last day of school. In pjs! Onto 7th grade next year. (Still homeschooling through our charter school.)

I read this book the last week of school and LOVED IT!! It has changed my thinking.

We took a drive out to Silver Falls a few weekends ago. It was a lovely day, perfect for an easy hike (walk), and the scenery on the drive was breathtaking!

See the kids on the right (below)?

The kids and I have been extra fascinated by nature these days. We're seeing patterns in everything in nature, which links to mathematics and science. We recently collected a ton of different flowers and looked at parts of them in our microscope and found similarities. It's good to just look and wonder and question and allow your mind to think. And enjoy the beauty of God's design/art.

When you really think about everything, and notice the patterns in it all, the similarities between an atom and the solar system and your DNA, and the way waves move and sound travels, and the pattern in which leaves unfold... and the way our bodies are designed and how they function within the laws of this world and all this world is made of... it's really hard for me to not see that there is a Designer. And we're made in His image as we love to create order as well. I just can't help but be in awe. And I love to study it because I feel like I'm seeing more of God's brilliance and love for us. Why do we feel so calmed by nature? Why is most everything in nature in cylinder forms? Why does everything man-made so often use right angles? Just random things I think about. ;)

A friend recently asked why I'm always jumping in photos. ;) Ha! Josh responded and said that every time I do it's like this "full of life" side of me emerges, a part of me that he's always known and is always there, but sometimes the responsibility of life can hide it. I think that's kind of true. :) I LOVE LIFE! I always have, and I guess these silly jumping pics are just my way of saying, "I love life!"