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 :-)

soccer is finished

Seth "played soccer" this year. The quotes are there on purpose because while other children were kicking soccer balls and doing something at least somewhat related to soccer, Seth spent most of soccer practice doing anything BUT playing soccer. He was on the same field as the soccer balls, though, so I'm saying it counts as "playing soccer." He really enjoyed himself running around, occasionally kicking a ball, jumping off an incline box at the side of the field, and trying to pull down the giant net that connects to the ceiling. This was a three-week program with practices twice per week -- very short season -- for people with special needs. Last night was the final practice, so each player received a medal. I'm assuming that Seth's medal was for being so stinking cute because it couldn't have been for participation!

i gave up

some battles are worth fighting and some aren't. some battles are possible to win and some aren't. apparently this is one battle that falls in the "aren't" category. i never realized how ultra-conditioned even the most liberal of liberalists are: girls have long hair, boys have short hair. it doesn't matter if a child has on a pink frilly dress; if the hair is short, it's a boy. and it doesn't matter if a child has on a suit and tie like a miniature man; if the hair is long, it's a girl. INSANE!!!!!!!! i might be a majority of ONE in the philosophy that there's more to a person than appearance.

and now as i not-so-graciously step down from my soap box, here are the pictures of my surrender:

obsessed with loonapix!

No lie! I have been spending hours every day putting frames on my pictures. I think this might qualify as wasting time, but I DON'T CARE because it's so much fun to me! I had to take a break from it today, though, because my printer ran out of ink from printing all the pictures I make.





I also started some sewing projects. I decided that my ipod needed a protective cover for when I need to carry it in my purse (which is generally NOT a safe place for an ipod to be). So I got a scrap of material at Walmart ($1) and a piece of felt ($0.41) and made myself and Joel ipod carrying cases:


They are pretty obviously handmade, but I'm VERY proud of myself for making them at all and especially for making them up out of my own head without a pattern. I also made Joel and Luke new pillowcases. I meant to buy myself material for a new pillowcase. I even showed Joel some pretty sparkly butterfly material, but forgot that I wanted a new pillowcase because I was thinking of making Joel's and Luke's. When I got home and realized my mistake, Makenzie wanted me to go right back to Walmart and buy it; but I was tired of the Saturday traffic. My sparkly butterfly pillowcase can wait until Monday.

summer busy-ness

I've fallen out of the habit of keeping up with blogging. I'd love to say that I'm going to get better at it, but reality is I probably won't. I've tried for years to stay in contact with friends and family, but I don't do a good job at all.

Anyway -- we've been busy with summer activities: parks, playing outside, watching movies, playing video games :-)

Joel is now finished with kids' church because he's going into the sixth grade. He can be a helper, but he can't participate as a "kid." On his last chance to win the big "jackpot" of candy, HE WON :-) Normally the winner gets a giant bag of M&M's, but Uncle Richard got Joel Skittles because they don't have milk in them :-)


Joel was even nice enough to share with his brothers and sister (I was amazed!):


Seth is still going to his private therapists throughout the summer. His speech therapist let him keep this yellow truck that they were playing with in one session. He played with it for hours at the park.


My big 11-year-old is pretty much too big to enjoy playing at the park unless he has a friend to do "big kid" stuff. He had a friend and another kid's dad to have fun on this day:


On Memorial Day, the second hand store had a big 50% off sale. Joel and I went at 7 a.m., and then I took Makenzie and Luke a little later. Luke picked out this Hawaiian print shirt because he really likes it:


And here's our summer-time dinner set-up:


Almost no clean-up required! We've been loving the sunny days so far!