lazy days

My kids like their movies!! I really don't know why they choose to sit/lie on the floor upstairs when they have a couch and a recliner to watch movies downstairs. Silly kids!


Makenzie got out her school workbooks from last year and did some of the pages that she didn't get to do before school ended. Joel made fun of her, but she didn't care. She likes to do schoolwork.


We haven't had many sunny days this summer. When we do, though, we spend lots of time outside. Today was sunny, but cool. We didn't really feel like getting the pools out because the air was chilly, so we just sat outside in the sun reading while Seth ran around (occasionally jumping on us). We didn't even sweat sitting out there with the sun beating down on us. Alaska's a CRAZY place to live!

an afternoon with Luke

I asked Luke to clean up the family room today, and he actually DID IT!! I was so surprised that he had done what I asked the first time I asked that I told him I'd take him out for ice cream. He also had a dollar in his wallet so went searching for something that only cost a dollar and was something worth spending his only dollar. Luke can be a little difficult sometimes, but sometimes he is a perfect angel -- like this afternoon. While we were driving, I asked him what his favorite part of being alive is. His answer surprised me -- "being with you, Mom." No one disciplines him as much as I do; no one gets as angry at him as I do; but I guess no one accepts, loves, and encourages him as much as I do, either. Or maybe he just wanted me to buy him more stuff :-) I choose to not believe that, though, because I didn't buy him anything else and he was still well-behaved and happy to just be spending time together. He even tried to help me pick out some lipstick without complaining. We stopped at a stoplight behind a city bus, and Luke was noticing all the pictures on the back. One of the pictures was a handprint, but he called it a "hand-paw-print." That made me chuckle!

it's summer today!

The clouds left!!!! It's been cloudy and rainy for about a month or so -- or maybe it just seems that long. But today was BEAUTIFUL with bright blue sky and hot sunshine. Alaska summers (when we actually get a real summer) are PERFECT -- hot in the sun, cool in the shade. Obviously, I filled the pools and slathered sunblock on all of us to spend some hours soaking up the vitamin D! Joel made a little fountain with the hose which looked really cool, but I couldn't quite catch the splendor on my camera. I tried, though:



Luke found a broken plastic croquet mallet or golf club and filled it up with water to sprinkle me when I got too hot lying in the sun. He and Seth never had a chance to get hot since they were in and out of the pool almost the whole time we were outside. They both love the water. Watching them is more entertaining than a movie!! Joel and Makenzie are getting too old to really enjoy the little baby pools, but they like to be outside reading with me and using the pools to cool off before starting another chapter :-)