River Day

Laura and I had planned a beach day.  We wanted to get up soooo early and go to Virginia Beach but at the last minute Rob didn't want us to so we had to change gears and go some place closer.  We went to Colonial Beach, which is not really a beach like waves and ocean and all that but it was a large body of water and a patch of rocky sand.  It's on the Potomac so thus the our newly coined term "River Day".  Which mentally prepares us for a fun, but not oceany day.

We ended up having a pretty great day.  It was close, only an hour and a half away and the kids all had such a great time.  We were in the water the whole time and they swam and played.  The boys had mud fights and jumped off the pier.

The little town is super cute and the boardwalk is small but also very cute.  We enjoyed the small town ambiance.  There was a lot of laughing and eating of sandy chips and melty PB&J's and at the end of the day we returned home sunburnt and sandy and tired.  All signs of a good beach day.

Hannah, Eric, Daniel B, Ethan and Joseph

Alaura and Grace
(not pictured somehow Maggie and Daniel M)

Clean!

Good job Hannah! Her room is sparkly clean. 

Other news of the day: we went to the pool  Ethan threw the football around with some other boys.  Grace and Rob went fishing.  That is all.

18 Summers

Everyone knows that summer is the best season of the year.  I love it.  I love the no scheduled bedtime, the sleeping in, the warm weather, the fun trips, summer food and summer movies, summer novels and camp and ice cream dreams.  Love it.

As parents we don't get too many summers with our kidlets.  18 is all.  That's why I say yes to friends, and yes to messes, yes to watching movies I know I won't like, and daily trips to the pool.  I just want to soak it in and live it up.

Today was a typical summer day.  Hot. We slept late (8ish).  Grace got to go to Maggie's to play.  Ethan wanted french toast for breakfast and after that we worked on merit badges.  World Cup is on so he watched that.  I did some chores.  Grace went riding.  They did a trail ride and she got to trot on the trail! Maggie came and kept me company while Grace rode and after we went to the pool.  We ate dinner late (8:30ish) and it was burgers with cheese grilled by our dear dad.  Then the girls gave our FHE lesson.  We ate fruit pizza for treat and Alyssa came over to sleep over (even later: 10:17ish)

Best part of the day, FaceTime with this little wonder woman and her momma. Penny dressed herself Dani told me.  Summer with an almost 2 year old is a favorite of mine!

Father's Day Night

trying out dad's new tent hammock

a little baseball

talking on the phone with Abba, out by the tomatoes, in the setting sun

Father's Day

 We are father's day lame-o's as we didn't even send out cards this year.  We will make happy father's day phone calls. I should have remembered and made an effort because I have the utmost respect and love for fathers.  Their roll in their children's lives is crucial.  A good dad makes all the difference in the world.

Our little family is blessed with some great dads.  First Rob, the father of our home.  He works hard and loves his family.  He is a good example of integrity and faith.  He has a tenacity that allows him to do hard things and follow through with choices even after the emotion of making the choice has passed.  He is a man of solid character, great intellect and compassion.  We are lucky to have him lead our family.

Where did he learn these qualities?  From his own dad.  Abba is the best.  We love him and feel so lucky to have him.  He is funny and kind, patient and hard working.  Abba exemplifies what a man should be.  He is devoted to his family, he is smart, he loves to have fun, and he has a heart open to loving and helping others. I will always remember the example he was of a great son as he honored and cared for his aging parents and in laws.  We love this guy!

my fav picture of dad and I at Dani and Greg's open house

And of course Papa.  Papa is the best dad a girl could ever want.  He has always been kind, and interesting, and supportive.  He serves God and his family with every thing he has and everything he is.  I have never seen him been selfish or lazy or heard him say anything mean or unkind.  All of his children want to grow up to be just like him.  I love you dad.  Always.

From the Proclamation on the family:
The FAmiLy is ordained of God. marriage between man and woman is essential to his eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with com- plete fidelity. happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are estab- lished and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repen- tance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. by divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. mothers are primarily respon- sible for the nurture of their children. in these sacred re- sponsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. disability, death, or other circum- stances may necessitate individual adaptation. extended families should lend support when needed. 

These 3 men live these words.  They are wonderful examples to their families and to others  around them and I am grateful for them.  Happy Father's day!!!

There's something wrong with this picture

Sitting at the park on a June morning. I'm grateful for the cool breeze since I know full well it could be blasted hot and humid as all get out. Instead the recent storms have cooled the air and brought the welcomed breezes. I have my orange juice and my book and my spot in a camp chair in the long line of other parents  in their camp chairs watching their kids and other kids try out for Rec + soccer. 

A half hour earlier we were walking in from the parking lot, schlepping the gear we need: Gatorade, goalie gloves, soccer ball. A coach we know walks along side us and Ethan greets him "hey coach!" "Ethan! Hey man you know it's too bad your family has a no playing on Sunday thing. Wolf Pack (the elite travel team that many of his friends play on) wants a goalie and they mentioned you by name. You would have made it." I was furious. What I thought and what I said were not the same thing. What I said was we have more important obligations on the Sabbath. Then we went and signed in.

I watched my boy line up shoulder to shoulder with the other kids. A line of coaches carrying clip boards walk down the line writing down jersey numbers. Some kids are nervous. You can tell by the way they shake their hands or hop on their toes. I know Ethan's not. He's out for the consolation prize- playing on a team where his skills while greater than the other kids also have little chance of improving with out the challenge of harder opponents. You can't serve God and mammon. I wish wish wish we lived in a world where everyone honored The Lord and played on their own time instead of His. But we don't. I don't know what Ethan will grow up to be or how he will choose to live his life but he will have no doubt where his parents stood. Hopefully he'll also know how proud we are of him. He's smart and kind and a good athlete. He's a leader and yet humble enough to listen to his mom and dad. The whole Sunday sports thing has been a real trial to him...and to us. 

To make matters worse my sunglasses broke:(

 

For the record

I snapped pictures of all our rooms to show that while I complain about Hannah's room and make her "clean it" what probably seems like every day I am not meticulous or unreasonable in my expectations. At.All.

Here is mine and Rob's room.  This is pretty typical.  Bed made.  No curtains yet even though we've lived here 5 years.  No nice furniture even though we've been married 16 years.  Some stacks of books, some laundry to fold...a dog bone.  The usual.  It's clean and a bit messy but comfortable.

Ethan's room.  Stacks of books.  He's in bed because it's raining and he is full of allergy meds.  He's watching the world cup.  Usually his bed is made and his room is pretty neat.

Grace's room.  One one bed is she's started her getting ready for camp stack and has her animals.  Bed's made...you can see the floor.  This is also pretty typical.

Hannah's room.  Cleaning in earnest day 3.  Some progress has been made.

I like my house to be clean, more often than not it's comfortably lived in.  And even though I like the idea of clean I don't keep it spotless.