15 Turns Around the Sun

Tallest in the family:

Two weeks away from driving:

Hitting the gym several times a week:

A month away 10th grade and official high school:

Loves summer sausages and Lego and cold hard cash:

Happy birthday, Sam. Your fifteen years have been a wild and fun adventure! Let the adventure continue!

 

Lily, The Neighbor Child and One Sleepy Boy

On the 5th of July, the little great nephews came to our house, and we dragged them to the park. They didn't take much convincing. 

We had to go to the park as Lily was returning from five long weeks with Idaho Conservation Corps clearing hiking trails in Idaho and Washington. Grace had been despondent to spend the summer without her Lily, and we had missed her cute face as well. I, personally, need her to boost my ego as she is always the most excited for any of my new knitting projects. She was excited to come home to her friends, family, and dependable running water.

All the groups who returned looked tired and dirty, but also so very happy. Lily was crying and laughing while hugging everyone. They all worked hard, developed very strong opinions about hand tools, made some good friends, and Lily developed a passion for working trails. We were just glad to have Lily back to running in and out of the house.

The little guys were exhausted from the holiday, but tried to sit through part of the program. Big dude gave up and went to play on the playground, while little dude just gave up and went to sleep.

  

After my back gave up, we moved him to a bench, where he slept on.

After the program finished, and we played a little more, we loaded the sleeping boy up in the van, got him home, unloaded him, and put him in our bed where he kept sleeping for at least another couple hours.

The late night of fireworks caught up with us all, so we were happy he was sleeping but also just a little jealous.

Lighting up the Fourth

I started the holiday with a bit of yard work and picked the last raspberry bounty of the season. Appa loves to hang out with me while I'm doing this. She is especially good at picking raspberries. Alas, she eats everything she plucks, so she's not nearly as helpful as she believes herself to be.

That evening my sister Becca invited everyone over for a good old-fashioned holiday. She grilled the burgers and dogs, her daughters made every side dish known to humankind, I brought a couple more (which included raspberries picked by me, not the dog), and Terry and Alexis brought their boys. 

After a tremendous and delightful dinner, we had to wait for the sun to set so we could light fireworks. Becca's girls spent hundreds on fireworks this year. There were so many! The adults played card games while the little guys asked every ten minutes if it was dark enough to start. Waiting is hard work. Thankfully, there were lots of big cousins to entertain them.

By the time it was dark enough to send sparks flying, they were already exhausted. 

They watched the fireworks from their blanket nest.

We had big fountains.

The neighbors had big illegal fireworks, which all the boys (Sam pictured) loved with their whole pyro hearts.

We had interpretive dances.

Everyone managed to stay awake through the entire show, even if just barely.

It was a beautiful day to spend with the people I love.

Adulting Update

This one came home for two days. She then headed back to Bellingham with her best friend, Kylie, in tow. They are working on Orcas Island as camp counselors and then will share housing with four other roommates this fall as they both attend college. 

Not to be outdone, this one decided to propose to his partner! I don't think they have a date yet, but soon Bailey will be an official part of the family.

I love all these cute faces, even if I can't understand how quickly they grew up.

McCall Trip

We ended up in McCall for a few days this summer. We planned for swimming, paddleboarding, and lake time. We ended up with cold nights and comfortable days. Comfortable days that were too cold for swimming. We still had a good time.

The teens loved these glasses. I had to take pictures of them modeling the glasses, as they were so thick that their reflections were just a blur.

Sam put together an entire outfit. The glasses did not come home with us, but the camel hair suit jacket for $8 did come home with us.

We only had two kids traveling with us, but we still posed with the bears.

and with the otters.

It was too chilly to swim, but we did enjoy the sunset over the lake.

Michael made a cute little dwarf on the insanely tall bench.

There were plenty of deer to gawk at.

They were basically posing for photos.

Ice cream alley in the afternoon,

 and a hot dog roast in the evening, and we all were feeling fully content.

Weekend of Little People

Friday night we had this little loud one,

and this big, quieter one for a sleepover.

Saturday morning, the usual crew of my pseudo grandchildren were added to the mix.

Free and fun activities were found at the Boise Water Shed. 

Dams were built, water was splashed, 

and cousins had a lot of fun together.

Half way through the events there wasn't enough caffeine in the world to give me an energy boost. Four kids aged 3-10: how could anyone keep up? Then I realized that was the age spread of my own four monkeys. I don't know how I survived it! When we returned all the assorted children to their assorted parents, all I wanted was a quiet room, my knitting, and maybe a good audiobook. 

That's when I realized that I am officially old. Very, very old. I'm okay with that.
 

Lava Hot Springs - The Whole Clan in One Cabin

ATVs, hot springs, and family time. 

The view for those intrepid enough to ride an ATV to the summit.

The intrepid:

And the non-intrepid: 

Seventeen people, three days, three bedrooms but lots of beds. It was great (and exhausting).

Quick Visit

Who is the strongest?

 There were no losers in this battle.