Spray

Seth's ingenious idea for cleaning the paint rollers we used in Aunt Sarah's apartment went slightly differently than he'd planned.

The Song In My Head

It's been a wonderful summer~ lots of blue sky, cousins, card games, lawn mowing, days at the beach and pool, conversation. But as it draws to a close, these lyrics are rolling around my brain as I pack suitcases, anticipating the plane ride on Wednesday morning that will take us back to Shanghai where Scott is waiting. Do you know it?

Boy I hear you in my dreams

I feel your whisper across the sea

I keep you with me in my heart

You make it easier when life gets hard



I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend

Lucky to have been where I have been

Lucky to be coming home again

Ooh ooh ooh


Anxious to be home again with him! :-)

Lyrics from Lucky, Jason Mraz

Sunset Toss

Caleb and Caden, Huntington Beach, August 2011 Photo credit to Seth

Guys' Backpacking Trip

So thankful to my brother Mark for putting together an awesome wilderness weekend of backpacking in West Virginia with Caleb and Seth! They had so much fun on their 27 mile trek, carrying all their food and supplies for the three day, two night trip on their backs. Below are a collection of photos from Caleb's camera, but if you want the full story, you'll need to ask the guys about their adventure! :-)

The trail was marked by a sign only at the very beginning. The rest of the 27 miles was noted only by piles of rocks, both on land....
... and in the water.
Sounds like one of the highlights was the several swimming holes the guys discovered. Looks real safe, huh? Mark told me he did nix the suggestion of back flips into the stream. So glad. :-)

Cooking breakfast on a tiny camp stove...
...and marshmallows at the campfire.

The guys were surrounded by lush forests and running streams the whole weekend... so glad their reservoir of natural beauty was filled before we leave for Shanghai. Thank you so much, Mark! Seems like it was a weekend none of you will soon forget. :-)

Summer's End

One week from tonight, the kids and I will be only a sleep away from going back to Shanghai for our last year in China. Scott's been back in our China home for a week already. Always feels good to get back to our regular life after a summer's worth of visits and fun. This year's return will be a bit different than the previous four, with the end to our time in China in sight. We want to make the most of it. We have time to think of how to do that.

But for now, we're just looking forward to being in our own place and having all six of us around the dinner table together again.

Mowing

Mowing the lawn at Pa and Nannie's house has two parts- the riding mower part for the expanses of grass, and the push mower for the edges. The boys always call dibs on the riding mower. :-) Gwen has gotten to tag along with the driver of the tractor on a number of occasions, most recently here with Seth.

Mira Mae, at last

Last Saturday we were all officially introduced to our youngest niece and cousin, Mira (pronounced Meer-ah). She's a perfect little blonde peanut, and we think she is darling!
Love those blue eyes!
The three youngest nieces- Adelaide, Mira and Naomi. Want to guess how many shots I took to try to get all three striped girls looking at the same time? :-) Sweet girls!

Ladies' Man

Caleb gets the girls, which we have in abundance! Here he is with Gwen and cousins Emma Clare, Naomi, Maggi and Adelaide. :-)

Miss Personality

I've been enjoying getting to know sweet cheeked Adelaide this summer. She is the sixth of our seven beautiful nieces... meeting Mira Mae, the seventh, tomorrow, so more pictures are coming!

Our Kind Of Town

Last week in the midst of all our college visits, we had a one day reprieve in Chicago. Scott had a business lunch, so Caleb and I had a couple of hours to spend in the city. Mid summer weather makes Chicago especially appealing... we loved the sunshine, blue sky and the stunning aqua water of Lake Michigan.
We followed our noses to Millennium Park to see the Bean and the face fountains, to listen to the symphony practicing in the band shell, and to people watch a bit. This was a place I took the kids many summer afternoons in the past, riding the train into the city from the suburbs, and I loved being there again. If you haven't been at the Bean, it's hard to describe how amazingly cool the reflections are. What's real, what is a reflection, and what's a reflection of a reflection?
Love these fountains! I remember a time we rode the train home, kids shivering in the air conditioned train cars, soaked from playing in the fountains all afternoon.

After Millennium Park, Caleb suggested we hop in a cab and head to Navy Pier, another downtown destination we have loved in the past. We rode the giant Ferris wheel there (at Caleb's request- how many more times will I get to buy him a ride ticket?? Loved it!) for an amazing view. As the wheel slowly rose above the city, I felt a little giddy with the beauty of the day, the love of Chicago, and the joy of being with my guy.
Our only sorrow last week was that Justin and Mary aren't in Chicago anymore... they made our time there in the past that much sweeter. But though it won't be the same without them, Caleb and I agreed that we are sure looking forward to living in Chi-town again someday soon.

College Visits

Left my parents' house after dinner tonight, Scott and Caleb and I. We drove across northern Ohio, passing corn fields and farm houses. I soaked in the green and gold of the fields for the first hour, loving the intense color. As the first hour turned into the second and third, my attention shifted from the fields to the broad expanse of the sky. The dome of blue above us seemed huge, and its color changed and gained intensity as the minutes and miles passed. The sunset was a show like I haven't seen in a year, and I was a captive audience as we drove into it. Scott pointed out the winking fireflies in the grass at the sides of the highway as the dusk gathered. Ahhh. So lovely.

Now we are safely tucked into the beds of a Hampton Inn, the first college on our itinerary of visits this week just ten minutes down the road. Can't wait to see where this next bend in the road leads...

South Africa blog

Click here for day by day details about what Seth and the rest of the South Africa missions team are up to!

South Africa Team!

This is Seth and the rest of the youth missions team, at the Pudong airport before they headed out Thursday night. We haven't heard from them yet, but by now our guy should be "playing a band" in South Africa. Love it. :-)

Summer

School Is Over

School is over,
Oh what fun!
Lessons finished,
Play begun.
Who'll run fastest,
You or I?
Who'll laugh loudest?
Let us try.

By Kate Greenaway

I love children's poetry, and this poem from my childhood comes dancing into my brain about this time every year. It's towards the back of the big Child's Book of Poems- do you remember it, Mark and Sarah? :-)