Recess at the Swimming Hole

 Warm, sunny days have been predicted this week. I looked over the schedule and thought Tuesday was a time we could break away to the swimming hole....Arielle and the boys joined us.  I told the girls Grandpa and I were going swimming with the boys and Arielle. They opted to get up EARLY and get their school work finished before 10 a.m. Yes, remember, we took July off and it's AUGUST now. WHAT??? 

How fun for this Baachan to be splashed again by a little guy! Being a boy mom is loads of fun. 

Swimming in Alaska is not without challenges. It isn't bad once one allows themselves to become numb. LOL 

This crazy woman made some sort of bet with her husband which required her to SWIM, as opposed to wading.....

Benny was not impressed with the immersion experience. 

As we got ready to leave I noted the floating tube thingy I bought at a Bella sale up high on a garage shelf. Arielle got it down for me. I must put the pump in the van....but it was fun. Michael has reminded me we also have an inflatable boat we could take to the swimming hole. We just need another warm day or two. 

Stacia's sweatshirt is off, Allie is in the numbing process....her sweatshirt will be off soon.

I noticed skies were blue and sunny to the left...and gray and cloudy to the right. It's all in what you choose to set your gaze on. That'll preach. 

Grandpa doesn't swim. He does like getting out...his respite. I remembered the paper today. These outings go better if I remember the paper. LOL 

Arielle was happy to paddle around the area...as far as she could go and back. 

The girls made Benny's day by making an "amazing" sand castle with him. It was a compound really...I was impressed Arielle remembered sand toys. She later confessed she grabbed them from our recycling when she grabbed the floating thingy. Allie said this was the first sand castle she remembered making....pre-schoolers are so good for us, they give us many excuses to PLAY. 

Benny provides splash assistance

Stacia attempted to convince Allie and Arielle she was HELPING them BALANCE by propping her feet on the back of the kayak and letting them pull her around. ::snort:: 

She did provide the same assistance to Allie. 

Benny introduces Danny to stick fighting...

A word about Danny....we know his crawling days are fast approaching.  In the past he has been content to sit and smile at GG. 

Not so much today...he's on the move! I'm not sure it's official crawling yet, but this guy got all over the beach...and OFF the blanket. He did NOT want to sit in his chair and smile at the activity today. He wanted in it...the rocks, the sticks, the mud....he wanted it all. And he got it all. LOL 

📷by Arielle

It was inevitable, as any boy mom knows.  Many girls enjoy building a compound and leaving it for others to play with....most boys want to destroy the compound -  at least once. It took a bit of talking for Allie and Stacia to be o.k. with it...but yep, Arielle and Benny instigated the flood of '21 which wiped out the sand castle compound. Note the fog is lifting by this time. 

Van life - it's a good life. 

It was a bit chillier than we expected. I'm glad when Arielle and I discussed it in the driveway, we decided to make the most of it.  We needed the recess...which we also labeled PE and Driving Time. 

In a truly frightening moment I noted Birch leaves turning yellow...could it mean...nah August is SUMMER.  This happened today too.... I thought the girls were moving GG to revival...singing, praying....in the end he said they are turning into  good drivers. 

Thoughts on Respite

Monday - respite. Arielle and the boys came over to hang out with Grandpa. Michael and I packed a picnic lunch and decided to drive out to Eklutna Lake. We had never done this before, we had "planned" to since our first assignment in 2002.  We had just enough time to drive up, have lunch and drive back. LOL 

Worth the wait - we'll be back

 It's beautiful, peaceful, calming....it was a great place for lunch...the drive was good for uninterrupted conversation. 

Such an interesting formation 

I really don't know WHY we never thought to schedule respite care before Grandpa needed caregivers. 

Enjoying our breathing space

RESPITE
NOUN

1. a short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant:

   "the refugee encampments will provide some respite from the suffering" · 

   [more]

   synonyms:

   rest · break · breathing space · interval · intermission · interlude · recess · lull 

I don't love the above definition of respite.  Our life is neither difficult nor unpleasant. It can be all-consuming, chaotic, exhausting. It seems to me it may have been healthy to take respite breaks in the midst of the frantic pace of  the "life" we've lived. Couldn't we all benefit from breathing space, recess, lulls?  I did take time for self-care....but I have never in my life scheduled  someone to take over my life for 3 hours every week so I can have an intermission, breathing space. 

It's been good for Michael and I to do this together...and honestly....maybe in a small way, hanging out with Grandpa is also respite for a young mom and her sons.....

Serene Sunday

 Josiah and Livie met us for lunch after church. Stacia and Allie had decided to get Livie involved in a baking project. Stacia had a new tart idea percolating in her mind and set about recreating it. 

Baking is serious business. The more I watch Stacia develop skills, the more I think she really may open a Christian cafe as a community hub. I can see it happening. 

Michael had mentioned needing to get a big, dead spruce out of the yard before CyRi's wedding. We have about 11 more dead spruce trees to get down. We took 5 down last year.  Josiah commented, "Let me know when you want to take that tree down and I'll help you...." 

There's no time like the present! 

When the big one came down we could see MORE dead ones we'd not noticed before. 

I hadn't been in the garden for 10 days...what with crazy prep week and then being gone last week. I decided it was time to get into the garden and see what I needed to get done. The animals love gardening.

Dash LOVES kale

Our little flock

We have been debating adding some more reds to the mix. They are great layers. These gals aren't producing much - but enough to keep our little family in eggs. The girls don't eat eggs, the boys aren't home for breakfast...Michael and I rarely eat eggs...Grandpa loves eggs for breakfast...and we bake a lot. We aren't sure that we need to increase the number - the flock was twice this size a couple of years ago. The thing is we know that some of these will begin to die in the upcoming year....and it would be nice to have mature layers when that begins to happen.  

ANYWAY - I was about to give a garden update. I was AMAZED how quickly the garden had grown. We got a late start - Mid June....but we've got a few good sized cucumbers.

The radishes are flourishing, as is the kale, lettuce and swiss chard. 

This was my first lasagna bed. I have 4 other lasagna beds planted. It is clear that things are growing BEST in them.... 

For instance these beans.....

...were planted the same day as these beans....in one of the beds begun the traditional way...with garden soil. I see the same with the Kale in the two beds. They both get the same amount of sunlight. 

I have baby cabbages....

    

And teeny, tiny asparagus.

 

There are a lot of snap peas.

The cheddar cauliflower didn't work. The old standbys are forming up nicely. 

I only planted 3 squash plants this year...as opposed to 12 - 15 last year. I have 5 little zucchinis. The yellow squash doesn't' have blossoms yet. 

 

I'm itching to carve out time to get into the garden. All my flower starts died. I've not planted near what I did last year...but I'm having fun.  I'm coming up with a plan for next year. I think I will ORDER seeds and get them started inside early and be ready to transplant by the end of May. I was simply too overwhelmed in April and May to get it done.  Maybe I'll find a greenhouse that has starts for EVERYTHING I want. LOL                

July Randomness

The above photo is a good summary of the randomness of July. We spent quite a bit of time in the car as Stacia and Allie added more hours behind the wheel. AND I'm getting a jump start on their Brit Lit AP course. LOL 

WHAT are we doing with THESE?  I won't buy these again.                   

                               

Running partners...

Sasquatch? 

                                                             

    Allie got her driver's permit!!! 

                                                 You just never know what you'll find in a park. 

The "perfect" sledding hill becomes the perfect rolling hill in the summer. 

Grandpa helps me deadhead the flowers....

I didn't get out for as many walks as I envisioned...but I loved each morning that I did! 

A bit of inspiration of what is POSSIBLE - even in Alaska. 

Establishing routines to carry me through the seasons - winter is coming and I'm prepping to embrace it. I even bought a Happy Light this summer. 

Stacia loved cuddling with Jenna and Jeremiah James while I visited and putzed around with Elise. 

Careful readers may have noted schooling stopped. The girls worked through June on summer school and getting ahead for the upcoming year. Allie had a couple of more things she was catching up so she can move into her senior year strong. They worked HARD - without complaint.  We decided to break for July. It was a good call. This gave Allie's online school time to catch up with us, time for all to breathe....and be fully present at weddings, rivers, fish camp....and now August is beginning. 

It is unreal that July is over. WHAT?