No photos, lots of words: Summer, 2011

Nothing makes you wish you had something more than when you don't. So, right now, I am really wishing I had a camera. Cause I don't.

My camera . . . OUR camera . . . is probably, hopefully (cross your fingers) in Goose's (or is it Grandpa's? I'm sure it's Grandpa's) go-kart trailer. More specifically: stuck in the pocket of the fitted black polyester jumpsuit Daddy wore go-karting last month, in Grandpa's go-kart trailer. And that trailer is in Tooele which is far away from everywhere and everything that is close to us. So, that is the long version of why this post has no pictures.

Which really might actually be the reason for this post, because normally I would just take pictures of what's going on and not bother to transfer them to the computer (let alone the blog).

However, with no camera to document recent events, I feel like life is passing us by, and it's being lost; we're not capturing it; time is running right through our fingers!

And with that dramatic introduction you would think something grand has happened, something really worthy of such camera longing and wordy introductions. But, no.

Nothing dramatic, nothing grand. Just us. In summer. Cruising along:

1. The end of school. Katie finished kindergarten. Ryan finished all school that is not high school. I have a high schooler. I know, technically, he was a freshman last year, but next year he will actually go to the high school and Katie will go to first grade! I will be one of those moms who have no children at home during the school day. I feel a little ambivelant about it all. Well, that is, if ambivilent means you have mixed feelings and a little anxiety. A little pressure too. I feel I need to be accountable for that time . . .

2. We got a new washer and dryer. OK, normally new appliances aren't of historical note, except well, maybe they are for us. We get them so infrequently . . . and we let the old ones get so old before replacing them . .. let's just say this washer and dryer have changed my life and yours too. Our old washer was, in a word, "old." It still worked fine, but the technology was out dated and it used a lot of water. Our old dryer was, in two words, "nearly dead." The dial only worked at one particular setting which was the "less dry" cycle which meant that the dryer automatically turned off just before the clothing actually got dry. Lucky for us, it was an old dryer and not very exact because I generally just had to let it run through two "less dry" cycles to dry a load completely, unless of course, I was trying to dry towels in which case it took 3-4 "less dry" cycles. (My Mom's a Math Tutor Note: Think about it a minute and you'll realize that if the dryer worked exactly on the "less dry" setting, we would have to run the dryer for infinity and still, the clothes wouldn't get dry--only "less dry." It kind of reminds me of half lifes (half lives?) which you'll learn about it Algebra II or thereabouts and then this might make more sense.)

Anyway, having a new washer and dryer is awesome. And you all are begging to use them, so life is even better.

3. Sleeping out. You've been sleeping out a lot. Mostly on the balcony, but also, we did camp in the back yard one night, and it was much better than I had anticipated. Daddy set up two tents, 4 camp chairs, and 1 fire pit in the back yard. We had s'mores. Yum. We roasted them over the few small pieces of wood we could find supplemented by all of the paper that I've been saving until we have a new shredder. I thought the old shredder died only a few weeks ago, but judging by the amount and age of the papers we burned in the fire pit, it's been several months. Lucky for us . . . . we enjoyed every last bit of that paper fire. Getting a new shredder is one thing I will not blog about. I promise.

4. Painting the girls room. Painting and/or decorating bedrooms is one thing you will remember of your childhood. Or maybe it's the not painting and not decorating that will stick in your minds. Either way, I have been promising paint to Maddie and Katie and Jack for longer than I care to admit here, and I've finally started. After only, what, 3 weeks(?) of having various colors painted in rather uneven boxes around the room, I finally bit the bullet and chose the color that I thought I would regret the most when it was all done. It's a terrible way to do it, but I'm not good at picking paint colors!

We currently have one wall (almost) completely done (it doesn't really need third coat, but definitely some touching up in several spots), and I think everyone is good with the color. It was definitely the best option of all the options we had tried. I promise to finish the other three walls soon.

5. Dish? Or is it Direct TV? I don't actually know for sure. But we got it. And you all are excited! You know I was really happy with the 20 or so channels we had, but I will admit that it will be really nice for you to be able to watch sports at our house, and I think I'm really going to like the DVR!

So, that's our summer. We still have trips go on and lots of golf to play. We'll swim a lot, and watch some movies. We'll hang with your grandparents and play a lot of soccer. It'll be good. Just like last year.