R Munsch inspired.

She is such a talented singer.
(I very much regretted reading "Mortimer" to the kids because hearing "clang clang rattle bing bang gonna make my noise all day!" very loudly by at least 4 children for a long time is very tiring.  It stopped being cute very quickly. ;)

early august

We had such a lovely summer, with very few overly hot days. :)  Lots of opportunities to play outside.

 We had a friend move in downstairs who plans to stay 'til December sometime.  We tried to make our humble abode look more like a home.

Nathan still likes Lego, and making this crane, motors and all, was a bit of work-it needs quite a heavy base just to keep from tipping over!

40 Wheelbarrow loads

 We had a truck deliver sand one rainy Friday, and the kids asked me, "Can we do it?"  They wanted to bring it all where it needed to go-I said "sure!" and I can push the wheelbarrow when you need me.

 I stood nearby weeding, but found that I didn't get that many weeds out between loads, unless they were reorganizing the work crew and arguing the details for a while.

 "Faster, faster!"

 "One more scoop!"  If they filled it too full I had a real hard time pushing it-sand is sure heavy!

 The loads were dumped int the hot tub.  (I know, I know, what a shame!  But it's got burst pipes and things underground, plus a drowning hazard, so that pushed us past our hesitancy.)

 When the loads were dumped, a few kids spread them to the centre of the tub.

 And a few other kids were there to watch, and to play with when they could sneak it.

"The pile is getting a lot smaller!!"

We got it almost all finished in the morning.  Now we have a sandbox again for all our old sand toys!  A few times the kids have dug a deep hole in it-and when they do, they can stand in it and it's even over Nathan's head!  But we discouraged that-so now they've got cars and sandbox related things going on-and they've been playing in it quite regularly still,   And now there's sand in their beds...sand by the entrance way...

Summer sun

 Nathan has been enlisting his siblings to help him build a fort.  It is "way back there" so company is a real asset to deter loneliness.

 They always make sure they are back by 3:30.

 "Is it snack time yet?"

So many flowers in bloom

and so many plants to admire!

 Hot days mean freezies are called for!  We've still got 3 left Oma (which, when cut in 2 is one for everyone!) for any last hot day. :)

My favourite days this summer (aside from camping) were days we stayed at home and didn't do anything too extra ordinary.

Entrepreneur

Collecting and cleaning golf balls in the hopes that all the work will pay off some day.

Summer is slipping away!

 Nathan the tailor outfitted him and Melanie with belts fit for working out in the backwoods making a tree fort up in high in the trees.

 I had mixed feeling about him just taking over my sewing machine, just like that.

We had swimming lessons again this summer.

 But not at home. :p

  Summer is turning it's back on us. 

It was a good summer, but busy.  Days at home were fewer than I'd like...but still, it was a good summer.  I even got quite a few things ticked off of my to do list (I highly recommend making lists that aren't too long and cumbersome. ;) 
Hope your summer has been good too!