summer 2023

 

I had some really grand plans for this summer. We were going to plow through some read-alouds, bone up on our science, work through a reading curriculum, have a bountiful garden, raise a calf, do some canning . . . 

 

 

Wanna know what we actually did? We grew a lot of weeds, finished exactly one science book, made it through two read-alouds, raised some tomatoes with blossom end rot, let a lot of bananas get over-ripe, and didn't do a ding-dang bit of our reading book.

 

On the plus side, five kids are alive and kickin'. The laundry is mostly done. The meals are mostly healthy. Most of us are getting sleep. We've eaten our fill of blackberries off the stem and cut some pretty colorful bouquets. 

 

We've used the slip and slide until it's about broken, eaten most of our meals on the front porch, hollered hello to our neighbor, and made it through swimming lessons. 

 

We've had visits from family, heard good sermons, ate great food with friends, and shot off some big fireworks with our nephews.  

 

 

We've had baby snuggles, ice cream, Daniel Boone movie nights, cheeseburgers, bruises from trying tricks on the slack line, and a LOT of banana bread.

 

So while we didn't accomplish much of what we set out to do, it's been a pretty good summer all things considered. We're a family of seven, finding our new normal amidst bike rides and water balloon fights and wrinkly laundry and  gooey burp cloths.

 So we grew more weeds than flowers. So we didn't bring over a single calf from the dairy. It was our summer, and it was just perfect.