Spilled Milk

Back in May I imagined that our summer would be like a tray of refreshing drinks with straws, umbrellas and little slices of zesty citrus fruits. It would be a vacation from our problems--no homework, no rushing to school, and no fights over how to accomplish it all with my unwilling children. I could just take each of the coming summer days like a long, cool drink that would re-invigorate me for the coming year.

Ah, can you just imagine it?

Well, a lot happened between now and then, and I'm not quite sure what I was drinking because my summer was mostly a blur. And here my last post made it sound like once I started getting suitable sleep, all would be well. Oh, the tricks we play on ourselves. 

Despite months of generally good sleep, punctuating that time with a week in the mountains and an unhappy one-year-old just before school started left me a bit unprepared. 

As I rocked little Claire and wondered if she was finally getting a second tooth, I whispered to her in the quiet darkness that her sister was starting first grade tomorrow. "And that means," my voice faltered, "that summer is over." I had stumbled through the darkness to pick up a crying baby, but now I was grateful for the darkness where my tears could slide down my face unchecked. 

"It went so fast," I heard myself say. "Was I even there? Why do I feel like I missed it?" And then the torrent of tears threatened as I heard my future self asking the same questions but without any babies left to rock. No reassuring feel of a small head nestled into the hollow of my shoulder. I stemmed the tide of emotion with a deep breath and a reminder that I needed sleep more than I needed a headache.

The tears threatened again after I dropped off my exuberant first-grader at school, the same questions thudding against my consciousness like a battering ram. I took a deep breath and asked myself, "Well, are my kids happy? Oh, I guess so," I answered reluctantly. "Then stop worrying, Elissa!" And I did. I moved on to getting the younger kids ready to go shopping for school supplies, which I'd neglected to do, since I hadn't planned on summer ending. It just did, whether I wanted it to or not. 

Of course if you'd been with me during the frenzy of summer activities, the storm of children fighting and whining, and the hassles of heat, you'd think I was lying when I say I didn't want summer to end. And I didn't. I just wanted to rest from it for a bit. I will probably feel the same way about raising children into adults. I didn't want them to stay children forever while they were children, but once they'd moved on, I'd wonder why I hadn't rested more so I could have enjoyed the time we did have.

After two stores and a lot of whining (every single blue pocket folder was gone!!), we stopped by Caitlin's school with a plan to meet her teacher and show off her siblings while I handed over the supplies. But alas, the kids were "testing," and couldn't be disturbed. 

I wanted to be disappointed, but I realized it was 1 pm, I had a toddler ready to nap and a preschooler who could play on his own (and unlike his older counterpart, he does not fight with himself, so he's also fairly quiet). I began to see the silver lining on my latest self-imposed grey cloud: freedom! And that is how I have time to blog about our summer. 

I don't know if I was refreshed by our summer activities or just relieved for a change in pace. I do know that I'm ready now to move on to new problems. And though in their formation, the memories of summer looked more like spilled milk than neatly arranged beverages on a tray, I'm grateful to have them, along with the refreshing tears they bring on. Crying over the spilled milk can be very useful after all.

[And in an effort to rest, I did not sign up the kids for any activities this season. No sports, no art, no dance, no horses. Just school, home, family, church, friends, toys, games, puzzles, scriptures, books, food, chores, grass, trees, rocks, scissors, tape, paper, glue, markers, bugs, toads, potty breaks, time-outs, parks, bikes, clean-up, and some fighting just to test the limits. Yep, we'll be resting plenty.]

So hold on, a lot of photos are coming your way. Lucky for you, I do not have access to many of our photos while our server is offline.

June

How do you explain to a six-year-old the grim chances of survival for an abandoned fledgling?

When all is well, it seems nothing can go wrong.

But where there is love, there is inevitable heartbreak. You were loved--perhaps a little too much--Lowla the Swallow.

July

All ten of my parents' grandchildren and the proud parents of three of them, including the newest addition, heading into the
Museum of Natural Curiosity in Utah Valley

Double, double your refreshment

Meeting Grandma Colleen

Some of nature's offerings are better than others in the summer and the kids found a hornet nest that moved them all to tears.

Proof that I was there.

At Aunt Janna's we had a ball, baby.

And just like that, it's gone.

[Thank you, Christina, for snapping these three photos.]

Pet grasshopper

We even put the pets to work.

August

Caitlin's fox obsession continues...she bought "Slick" with her own money.

Something's not quite right...

Still not quite right...

Oh, of course! The old "twin cousins in the mirror" trick!

Claire has an expressive face. Clearly she's thinking, "Alright, what's going on here, Mom?"

"I use only my best manners. Well, I'm tipping my hat anyway."

Old Town Fort Collins [thanks for taking this, Matthew].

Visiting friends in Windsor

My youngest brother, who amazes me with his kindness to my children and his frequent acts of humility as the youngest of six kids who all want to parent him.

Richard took a spill on his glider bike, cried a moment and then hopped right back on. He was testing out the new park's bike path and got too close to it.

I missed the horse lesson to photograph Caitlin on "Mama," but it went well I was told.

We tried to include my parents' dogs in the fun. They ate it up. Along with some leather boots, a sofa and a frisbee.

Windsor Lake. If only I could find the photo of me holding a crawdad at this lake nearly 30 years ago. I was in stripes then, too.

While we were missing the bus on the first day of first grade...

Canoeing with our friends in Wyoming (apparently Merrill turns pirate upon entering watercraft).

The highlight of our summer--our friends and neighbors decided to be baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Now we can harass them all seven days of the week!

I'm a SAINT volunteer (I drive old people), but my mom is the true Saint who has taught me to serve others however you can.