dawn

the sky is the color of deep indigo ink.

the chilly is air heavy with the scent of vegetation,

wet with the dew of the night.

the earth is reverently hushed.

and then the sky is paler blue,

the mountains show in dark silhouette.

the green of the valley becomes more intense.

a glow of pink blooms in the east.

the dark water ripples,

ethereal mist rises and blows in my face.

the silence is shattered: ho-onk? asks a goose.

his fellows answer, rising on powerful wings.

the birdsong crescendos, the breeze lifts my hair.

colors become more distinct.

i can almost pinpoint the moment

the sky changes to blue from its pearly pre-dawn hue.

suddenly the sun leaps above the mountains,

pulsing in the glory of fiery coral sunrise.

it continues to climb, reaching down to the earth,

offering warmth and pure gold light.

and so, another day begins.

camping

Earlier this month we went camping

at a gorgeous, pristine location

that is only about an hour away from our home!

It was amazing.

Here are a few of my favorite photos.

Big Sky Country

Our brand new tent fits the six of us

much more comfortably than the old one did.

little explorers

wildflowers

There was a tiny stream a short walk from our campsite.

It was a magical place for the boys to play:

shallow enough to be quite safe,

yet extraordinarily exciting.

I love the quiet woods.

I am quite good at building fires.

Well, good morning, handsome!

In addition to many butterflies,

we also saw deer, frogs, fish, and lots of mosquitos,

but I didn't get any photos of them.

gift from Little Man

gift from Sweet Pea

busy girl

Can it get much better than this?

field of wildflowers

hiking to Coolidge, a ghost town

ruins

So glad we met these rain clouds were on the drive home!

mocha floats

that's

1/2 cup of espresso

(orI'll bet strong, cold brewed coffee would work too)

1 cup of milk

2 scoops of chocolate ice cream

caramel syrup to taste

all combined in a tall glass

try it.

it's good.

to a wild rose

I wish you could smell them

right through your computer screen.

summer

I don't really like summer.

Sure, there are aspects of summer that I love,

but the heat just sucks my life out.

Plus I have seasonal allergies,

and I never know what to cook when it's hot.

I'm trying to stay focused on the good things, though,

because life is so much nicer when you're not whining.

Here are some of the fun things we've been up to:

Little Man saved up his money and bought himself a new bike!

We're working on learning to ride without training wheels now.

Their enjoyment of the kiddie pool is infectious!

The sprinkler is great too.

I take my turn running through it,

but there's no photographic evidence. :)

Our popsicle love is still going strong.

left to right:

cherry lemonade

tropical trio (banana, pineapple, and coconut milk)

fruit-salad-sicles (bits of melon and strawberry in pineapple juice)

I'm having so much fun

learning as much as I can as fast as possible

about jewelry making.
Now I just have to figure out how to take better pictures

of the stuff I make.

sweet tea

(Who says mugs have to be reserved for the hot liquids.

I heart my mug collection all year long.)

We're seeing how far we can get through the Little House series

for the summer library reading program.

It was that time again.

Time to upcycle the dirty, broken crayon bits

into bright, fresh heart crayons.

Not pictured:

Planting flowers

Date nights with Ben

(Motorcycle ride and a picnic with a view! Also Star Trek.)

Dairy Queen

Vanquishing organizing projects

and completely rethinking my laundry system.

(Both much more fun after the fact.)

Road trip to Washington with Mum and the kids.

Enrolling Little Man in school

Autumn vacation planning

grey and green

splatter, pat.

the rain is back.

the sky, layers in grey.

why do they say

that sun is best?

i'll never know.

because green is greenest

against the grey.

it's finally getting warm in Montana

I've been refilling our popsicle molds almost every sunny day.

They're quick and easy, frosty-refreshing,

the kids are convinced they're a magnificent treat,

and since I use 100% fruit, they're nutirtious too!

What's not to love?

[Apple Cherry, Mellon Blackberry, and Mango]

I just fill the molds with whatever fruit juice I have on hand

or blend up a little bit of fresh fruit with my stick blender.

And sometimes I'll add a few frozen berries for variety.

summer

We have been busybusy this summer.

And I have been relishing the golden moments

rather than scrambling to capture them all on "film."

This month we have...

celebrated Brother's third birthday

survived a week of Benjamin being in Chicago for work

visited the river and the park

endured nearly constant smoke from wildfires

hosted a Pampered Chef party

went to doctor appointments

road tripped to visit friends in Idaho for a few days

(while visiting them we fed apples to sheep, dug in the dirt,

played new wii games, harvested vegetables,

and stayed up too late talking)

celebrated out sixth wedding anniversary

gone to birthday parties and bridal showers

organized and cleaned

had a successful yard sale and lemonade stand

participated in our library's fabulous summer reading program finale

hosted the first meeting of the book club I'm a part of

spent a fun family evening at our county fair

(complete with cotton candy and carnival rides)

It's been a full month,

and the next one doesn't look too much slower.

Life is good.

On a slightly related note,

I recently digitized my calendar.

(this app for Kindle Fire was definitely worth the $5.99)

Now I wonder why I (figuratively) kicked and screamed

against this change for so long.

It's been really handy

for keeping track all of this good life's insanity

plum jam

My favorite.

(Especially when it's on French toast.)

I totally hoard

this bit of preserved summer

and avoid offering it

to my children or visitors.

Awful, I know. : )