Hiccup

All righty, here are some snippets from mid-summer up until now - fall next week!  Guess I had about a two month blogging hiatus.  I overwhelm myself with how many pictures I take and then as time goes by - and if I don't cherry pick some of them as I upload them onto the computer - it turns into a little mountain in my mind.  Time to start a climbin' - they're pretty severely out of order but here goes:

Fun and loads of equipment to play with at Nana and Papa's house

Always love a wagon ride around the driveway

Mr. Whiskers gets a bit terrorized when Estelle comes in to town

A farmer's market bounty - beautiful - a highlight of summer 

Shoot, can't remember what this was but I'm sure it was a real charmer as all of Jason's pastas are outrageously delicioso

Whoa, this was REAL good - breakfast burrito of sorts

Jason uses just a touch? of garlic in a lot of his creations - shheeeeesh

Oh, my favorite - any sort of ravioli with sautéed shredded carrots and yellow squash with a balsamic vinegar wine sauce and the beloved baguette…and probably a glass of tart white - heavenly

Stunning view towards the lake of my Dad's (and aunt Kathy and bro Joe's) new house on Lake Poygan

Joe and Estelle take a stroll down to the water

Incredible double rainbow over Lake Michigan in late August

Favorite picture of the summer maybe! 

Roasting marshmallows on Lac Vieux Desert near Eagle River

Stelly loved the squirt gun - her little tongue in and out flapping in tandem with trigger pulls

Pretty happy to be hanging out up north with family

Also looking pretty content, I'd say.

We all have such a great time up there.

Sunset over LVD

We had our roof done and I thought I had the final cleanup figured out when I offered Graham a dime for each scrap he could find around on the ground…$19 later.  Ouch, thought maybe half of that…and we're still finding shrapnel!

Sauteed veggies with roasted potato wedges and barbecue chicken but not just any sauce...

Barbecue sauce from scratch of course

Action shot of Graham's first Little League season

LOVED playing catcher - I do believe it was in large part due to the equipment and being able to do this stance

Graham drew some pictures from a nature book.  So exciting and neat when he comes up with and does stuff like that on his own.

This little beauty - the photo doesn't quite do it justice - was always solitarily illuminated so amazingly on a few summer mornings looking out at the window box while doing readings.  Really made me smile and feel peace.

Classic face a la Stelly #1

and #2

Graham went to day camp through the YMCA for the week

OK - I think there's some malfunctioning going on with too many photos…will pick up next time with some more food and my cousin's incredible wedding, first day of school, etc…

Peace and love you

Whoosh

Time flies when you're having fun - especially in summer…we're trying to soak it up though and thoroughly enjoy even with this new heatwave…98 today.  Woo.

Graham got to walk around the warning track with his little league team and take in a game afterwards - quite a thrill!

A little golf at the Lake Park mini course

The beloved Downer bike race - we hung out at our house and then headed up to Downer Ave for the exciting kids' race and then took in the pro race - always a favorite summer event

backyard pool time

This is, in fact, the fish that Graham caught up in Eau Claire!!  It was obviously fresh and it really was fabulous…Graham was beaming that he was able to provide his family dinner that night.

We made a visit to Schlitz Audubon and Graham and I took pictures of some of the gorgeous flora we saw - as well as turkey fauna!

So pretty - fern shadows on a fallen log

We spent a beautiful day on Wood Lake with my Mom and family

Aunt Connie and Uncle John

Uncle Steve with a Stay Calm and Carry On t-shirt - love it!

Estelle and our cousin Kaylin had a ball in the water

Orzo with basil, goat cheese and roasted peppers

The sweltering walk home after the 4th of July parade

Post Fourth of July parade cool off in the course sprinklers at Lake Park - 90s and humid - hottest I can remember!

Hanging out in big bro's room

Jason took the kids to Eau Claire while I stayed behind for a sort of reunion with my three best friends from H.S. and my cousin's awesome wedding shower 

Picking blueberries near Eau Claire

These must be the ones we ate.

Graham went out and ran through our one thunderstorm in the last, what?, 6-8 weeks?  So fun.  I miss the rain!  It was so exciting and refreshing.

The time I had alone while Jason and the kids were in Eau Claire was unreal.  You miss the things you don't have like for me, free time and alone time.  It was so quiet and so foreign to be able to take my time doing things that I wanted and needed.  No big rush or urgency.  Quite an opposite to the daily life here.

The calm let me think of a number of things that I value and strive for…balance, simplicity, solitude, living in the moment, things are the way they are for a reason, divinity and mystery, training myself to always look for the good in every moment and situation, practice optimism, stop bad thoughts and attitude in their tracks and change it, give it up and let it go; and replace it with joy and gratefulness.

God grant me the humility, patience and wisdom to live these things!