Summer’s end…and an urban campout

It has been an unusual, crazy, speeding-by-too-quickly-summer, and

whether we like it or not, it is quickly coming to an end.

I hate that!

I’ve been back at school for eight days now, and several weeks before that getting things ready, and I’ve totally neglected the yard.  My husband has kept everything alive, but things don’t look like I wish they did.  This summer, with all its craziness, my plants haven’t been fertilized even once!  I’ve completely surrendered to the snails, and the weeds are ahead ten to one.

However, his bean plants have really produced this year.  They have grown over the top of their frame. 

Compare the after with the before photos.  You can just barely see the white PVC poles in the top photo.

After:

Before:

The late planting of the zinnias delayed the flowers, but they are finally blooming.  Hopefully, we will have a long fall season.

Do you love zinnias like I do?

My husband really wanted to have a family campout in our back yard this summer.  

I’m not sure if it just seemed easier to contain all the little grand kids than in the mountains, or if he just loves our backyard.

I felt like there wasn’t enough time to prepare and organize, but I gave in and went along with him, simplifying things as much as we could. 

We don’t have any streams or rivers, but the pond makes a nice rippling water sound and we have some great shade.  The bathrooms are bonus, too! It wasn’t quite as quiet as the mountains would have been, with airplanes and a fire truck siren (or two), but it was still relaxing and fun.

Anyway, we all gathered together on a busy Friday evening.  Robbie’s projector made for a nice movie-in-the-park atmosphere, and we enjoyed roasting marshmallows for smores.

It was fun!

We weren’t very good about taking pictures….so I dug deep in my photo collection and found some shots from 2010 when we had an outdoor movie night.

That summer we were more prepared, like hanging lanterns and creating a party atmosphere (and keeping the flowers healthy). 

The patio furniture wasn’t as nice, and the playhouse hadn’t been born, but it was still a great night.

Next summer I hope we try to do this again.

Maybe we can be more prepared,  and remember to take a few more pictures!

JoAnn

P.S.  Do you like to camp?

P.p.S.  Thanks for the “urban campout” hash tag, Michelle!

 

Old letters

This weekend my sisters, some of our families, and I got together to clean out our Aunt Mardene’s house.  (She passed away early in the summer.)

We all miss Mardene, but we believe she is in a better place and we are comforted that she’s not living alone anymore.

Still, it was a bit more emotional than I expected it to be.

It could have been all the memories that came flooding back as we sorted through old things and moved out furniture.

Perhaps it was knowing the old house I grew up in would no longer be mine to drop in and hang out anymore.  (My great niece and her husband are going to move in so that will help.)

Maybe it was the hot weather.

Or the rain.

Who knows?

It was hard work, though.

(Darn, no pictures of me with my rain-ruined hair, and my bright red, sweaty hot face!)

Mardene was very humble, and she was not a person who loved material things, but she was quite sentimental.

She had saved a lot of letters, cards, funeral programs, and newspaper clippings of family achievement, all neatly bundled together.

She even wrote down the names of people who called and visited on her birthdays, probably so she could relive each call over and over in her mind.

I found this big stack of letters that I had written to her over the years.  She must have kept every single one.

Maybe I’m feeling the “double whammy” effect from losing both Mardene and my father-in-law this summer, of knowing that those doors are now closed and I can’t visit or hang out with them, but it made me think really hard about the little things we do to support each other.

Letters, cards, pictures, phone calls, and visits were her treasures.

In our technological world are we denying our older family members and friends of precious gifts?

We text, email, and send off messages on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to stay in touch, which is speedy and wonderful, but how do you save those memories?

Something to think about.

I wish I could say that I’m going to start up my old weekly, family newsletters again, (I fizzled out the last few years), but I do want to leave behind good memories.

What things do you do to stay in touch with your family?

JoAnn

P.S.  The girls enjoyed a visit with grandpa shortly before he passed away. 

Thanks for the pictures, Liz.

Glad part of the family made it to a lake!

 

Gratitude

I’ve been working hard getting my classroom all ready for a new school year.

I’ve cleaned.

I’ve purged.

I’ve decorated.

I’ve planned.

I’ve filled grocery carts to overflowing with Elmer’s glue, markers, notebooks, erasers, tissues, Band-Aids, and other office supplies.

(Those sales are sure appreciated!)

I can honestly say I’m more prepared than I ever have been in eighteen years of getting ready for a new class.

Yes, I have spent the last few weeks of my summer vacation working at school, but I’m hoping it will help me stay organized.

As I look forward to getting acquainted with my  new class, I hope to find something special in each student, to be an inspiration for good in their lives.  I pray that I can be patient and kind. 
(Sometimes that is not easy.)

*  *  *

It seems like a good time to show some appreciation for all the good things that bless my life.

I love my family!

This country is a wonderful place to live.

My faith in God is a calming force in a crazy, scary world.

I’ve been blessed with wonderful friends.

I’m grateful for my health (especially after a frightful call back on a mammogram-thankfully, no problem!)

I’m excited for my grand kiddos who are excited to go to school and hope they get teachers who will help them blossom and will teach them to love learning.

I’m grateful for technology that allows me to see and hear sweet Naomi (above) even though she is far away (and her whole family).

I’m really thankful that life’s little bumps are just inconveniences that don’t really matter in the long run.

I feel very blessed!

What are you most thankful for?

JoAnn

 Source

The Bucket List…continued

It wasn’t  a lake, but we did get in some water time this week. 

It was fun watching everyone enjoying themselves, swimming or splashing around in the pool.  Some of us found relaxation by reading or just watching the kids playing, but everyone had a good time.

Today I spent time with my sister, Linda, as we went to the

Salt Lake Parade of Homes.

We saw some fun new decorations and some very nice new neighborhoods we didn’t know existed.

We had lunch at Zupas, climbed enough stairs to burn off the whole lunch,  and even resisted a cookie stop. 

 

This fun family room was in the red house (below) at Daybreak.

We LOVED this yard in South Jordan.

This charming bed combined the popular padded headboard with traditional wood.

It was my favorite.

We ran out of energy long before we ran out of houses.

We only got lost a few times and only forgot to take off our shoe covers once.

It was a good day.

JoAnn

P.S.  Thanks for the photo collage, Liz!