Goodbye summer

THE summer sun shone round me,
The folded valley lay
In a stream of sun and odour,
That sultry summer day.

The tall trees stood in the sunlight
As still as still could be,
But the deep grass sighed and rustled
And bowed and beckoned me.

The deep grass moved and whispered
And bowed and brushed my face.
It whispered in the sunshine:
"The winter comes apace."

So wrote Robert Louis Stevenson. An ode to summer. Of course in Texas, winter doesn't really come apace. Not so much. We still have 8-10 weeks of blazing heat. But summer as a state of mind is ending. School starts next week. This beautiful chlorinated chapter comes to an end.

Here's what will stay with me from our 2009 summer:

Swimming, swimming & more swimming. Annie's hair tells the tale. It's a mass of golden straw. I'm guessing that we went swimming at least three times a week most weeks. The kids are like dolphins. Dolphins who leave their towels in a wet heap in the van.

Big sunglasses - I managed to hold onto the 3 pairs I purchased at the dollar store last spring.

Blizzards of the month - though I only tried July's and August's featured flavors, I give my stamp of approval to the whole summer slate of flavors.

Church History - this includes reading Rough Stone Rolling and a diary Richard Bushman kept while writing RSR, teaching Gospel Doctrine, reading through family history written by Grandma Arrington, borrowing Every Person in the Doctrine & Covenants from my dad (what a title!), and other bits of reading. I've really benefited from & enjoyed all of it!

Minnesota! It is our north star, geographically and emotionally. All summer we look forward to traveling there, and when we return, we hold onto the memories very tightly ... and start talking about next time! 

Note: I wish I had the words to describe the fresh raspberries eaten right off of the bush. It genuinely breaks my heart that raspberries are not meant to successfully grow in Texas/zone 9.

The joy of NOT teaching. I'm actually refreshed & excited to start again.

Friends - so many playdates, bump-intos, celebrations ... though the kids' best friends moved away in July. But we had fun celebrating their move. The Beals spent a day visiting all of us at every address. We hit Freebird's with Elizabeth, Jason & Oliver in May. Neighborhood kids hung out. Mrs. Strayer's Fun Bus set the tone back in May. Let's just say the music was loud and the drinking water cold.

Breakfast tacos & scrambled eggs - Graham turned the corner on eggs and now wants them in some shape or form every day.

Screen Time, the name we use for playing games on the computer or watching TV. Screen Time is (supposed to be) paid for with Screen Bucks, earned by reading, writing, drawing, studying. Well, I made a really cute laminated chart at least! I'd say we're following it about 60% of the time. Almost there!

Field Trips: St. Thomas VBS!, Bluebell, Splashtown, Diabetes camp, Cub Scout day camp, Brenham, Baytown, Arctic Wolf skating rink, The Bounce, the Children's Museum, the Library, everything we did in Minnesota, the movie theater, U Paint It, and the kittens. Oh, the kittens!

A small sample of our frequently played tunes included:
"We Will Rock You" by Queen (Graham loves this song and sings/stamps along passionately.)
"Hoedown Throwndown" by Miley Cyrus (Annie's choice - we are trying to learn the moves)
"The Ghost of You Lingers" (my choice), "Jonathon Fisk" (Annie) and "Paper Tiger" (Graham's choice) by Spoon
"Fix You" by Coldplay (my children love this song and the live concert video - it makes them feel like they were at the concert with me)
"Sail On, Sailor" by the Beach Boys. It's not one of their best known songs but we love it - watch it here. (Yes, Brian Wilson is pitchy. When you're Brian Wilson, you've earned that right. It's a great tune.)