Summer

Summers are very hot in my town. I grew up here and I don't remember the heat ever keeping me indoors! We played outside all summer, in the hose, at the neighborhood pool, walking to the store for a Slurpee, riding bikes. I loved summers! But now, after living away from here for so long, in quite mild weather, it is harder to take. Even my kids can't take being outside very long unless they are in water. I dread every summer now, and that isn't very fun. So I thought I'd list the good things I do like about summer so I can enjoy it more.

Break from school
Watermelon
Apricots
Peaches
Corn on the cob
Camping
Going to the beach
Easy summer dinners
Wearing skirts
Swimming
Garden fresh tomatoes
Sleeping in
Vacation, this year, Oregon.
Yosemite (every other year)
4th of July
My air conditioned house!

Hiking

We found a new place for hiking this year! Unfortunately, I found out about it at the end of spring, but we were able to get one hike in there before it got too hot. We drove about 30 min into the mountains and hiked about a mile or so to the little creek. I was surprised to see so many wildflowers at the end of May. I look forward to going again in the fall. Here are some random pics.

Goodbye Spring

It is the first day of summer today.  And it is only 66 degrees this morning.  The birds are singing and a cool breeze is coming through the screen door next to me.  A unexpected blessing for sure!  Usually by now we would have mid to high 90's at the heat of the day.  It has been in the 80's for the last week.  I am so thankful that spring has lasted so long this year.  We would get days in the 90's and I would think "summer is here" but then it would turn cool and we'd even get rain off & on through the beginning of June.  Thank you, God, for this lovely extended spring.  I think I will make it through the summer easier :).

Standby

I am having a hard time figuring out this new upgrade.  I cannot figure out how to post photos or open up comments.  I have been successful with some things, thanks to the emails from the staff here.  But I am stuck now, and hope to post my hiking pictures soon.  Actually, it seems like I did add pics with the upgrades, but I can't do it now!

Please stay tuned.

Ronald Reagan Library

We recently went to the Ronald Reagan Library with our homeschooling group.  It is a great place. We got to go inside Air Force One.  The one that JFK used.  Actually 7 presidents have used it!  It is quite small inside.  The new one is 4 times bigger.  There was also a mini White House Replica.  It was really neat, but my pics came out blurry.  Here are a couple of pictures:

Here is a piece of the Berlin Wall!  This is the Western side, all painted on. The Eastern side had nothing. 

Mini White House:

Reagan's Portrait in Jelly Bellies.  We got to see this at the Jelly Belly Factory a few years ago.

Civil War Era Field Trip

  A couple of weeks ago, I took my three oldest kids to an old army fort that holds Civil War Reenactments and overnight educational programs for students.  My mom helped me make dresses for my daughter and me.  The boys wore jeans and solid shirts.  I tried to find solid colored flannel shirts, but it is the wrong time of year.  However, the weather was unseasonably cold and stormy and we even had to wait over an hour so they could clear the highway of snow, on our way there!  There was still snow on the ground and it was cold! Thankfully, I worked in the kitchen with the fire place burning all day.  The kids worked in 5 different stations throughout the day.  They learned how to make candles and do laundry on a washboard.  They built wooden tool boxes and bent metal in the blacksmith's shop.  They made adobe bricks by stamping in the goo with their bare feet and they chopped veggies for the yummy stew that we had for dinner.  The kids were all "recruits" and the major and general kept them busy the whole time with chores or games.  In the morning after we all packed our things, the kids had to clean and sweep the barracks until they passed inspection.  It took them two hours!  While all the parents stood around the fire drinking coffee :)  But they got a good breakfast and hot chocolate afterwards.  My kids loved it!  I hope to take the two younger ones in a couple of years.  Here are some pictures:

Birthday Fun: Legoland!!

A's 12th birthday fell on a weekday this year, so we had a party for him on the Saturday before:

A few days before that, our friends called and asked if we'd like 5 free tickets to Legoland!!  We said YES!  So on his actual birthday, we got to go to Legoland!   They were about to expire and they couldn't use and we had to use them soon.  We had a buy one get on free, too, so we only had to buy one ticket.  Not bad for a family of 7!  (We still had to pay for gas, food and hotel room, but it was much cheaper than it would have been) He had a great birthday, definately the most exciting way to celebrate a birthday that our family has ever had. 

12 years old, and he finally gets to drive:

The puny log ride, which is the way my scaredy cats like it :)

Freefall! Getting ready to go up:

Going Down!!

Miniland USA.  I loved this place:

Our old stompin' grounds, San Francisco:

The kids used to play at this fountain during our outreaches.  You could walk along the edges against the walls.  The steps were solitary, you had to really jump to the next one to not fall in the water.  The oldest two remember this: