Our Golden Summer

I don't have much of an excuse for taking such an extended blog hiatus, except that with all the busyness that comes from having so many people in one household, I was, well, busy! We weren't really busy in the traditionally understood sense that you would associate with summer. The kids didn't attend any camps. We didn't take any exotic vacations to Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon or even the beach.

Not that we holed up in our house like hermits. We went to Discovery Place a few times which, with it's revamped exhibits, was a big hit with the kids. We went to the pool more times than any other year in my oldest child's existence put together! And, thankfully, while we don't have any swimmers yet, they at least became comfortable with the water and enjoyed playing in it. HUGE progress. Declan and Keller went fishing for the first time (thanks Uncle Casey!) and even caught one or two!

I got to squeeze in two viewings of the Twilight Saga: Eclipse, and I unashamedly wore my Team Edward apparel at the first. I suppose I can't say for certain those feelings were shared by those who attended with me. Perhaps that's why my sisters MET us there and didn't join us until we were already seated in the dark theater. Hmmm...I have to give big points to my husband Mike, though, for seeing the movie BOTH times (when I think he REALLY wanted to see Clash of the Titans in 3D instead) and for listening to the soundtrack all summer whenever we've been in the car together. (I tried to demonstrate my appreciation by renting CoT for him on it's first day in video...)

We also worked in the garden. (Ok, by "we" I mean Mike and the kids. I did other helpful stuff, like clean and cook the harvest.) They picked all kinds of yummy bounty, salad tomatoes, cucumbers, blackberries, raspberries, pumpkins and string beans! The yield DID have some particularly delicious results, as I learned to cook pumpkin, using the puree to make breads, pies and cakes! It was definitely better than anything from the can, and we even had enough berries for a cobbler!

We also occupied our days with some of the less thrilling parts of family life, like potty-training McCrea, which meant, unfortunately for the rest of the kids, that we did spend a couple weeks virtually home bound. They probably FELT like hermits towards the end! Baby Kennedy is now almost six months and has quickly become a pro with solids and spoon, already up to two full feedings of cereal a day!

AND we adopted a dog this month! She's a short-haired black and tan miniature dachshund, about the same age as Kennedy, named Peanut. She has fit right into the family and is getting along with the kids great! Just yesterday she was barking on the porch, and Keller suggested, "Maybe she wants to play with a shovel?" (He really meant it in the nicest way!) She sleeps through the night (which is fantastic, because I really didn't need another "baby" right now.) =) However, she is NOT completely house-trained, so some days I feel a bit like a stalker as I follow her around the house. My "training" days did not end with the close of summer...

Of all the events, big and small, that characterized our summer, I have a feeling the thing my children will most fondly remember when they look back upon this time years from now...was their introduction to...STAR WARS. It is a phenomenon that I cannot understand, and yet, they love it. Some of the funniest quotes of the summer have come from my mesmerized children as they have watched these movies for the first time. From Keller alone, we heard such gems as "Is Chewie a bear?" (Yes. Yes, he is.), "Will Luke regrow his hand?" (One can only hope.) and "Look, it's baby Yoda!" (No, he's just always that small.) Brynnley wants to be Princess Leia, and Declan always pretends to be Darth Vader in their reenactments. (Yes, there are reenactments!) I have tried to reason with them that Darth Vader is ACTUALLY the bad guy, but my rationale cannot trump the apparent "coolness" of the guy in the big black iron lung. (Who doesn't love that helmet, right?) At first, it seemed we might have a fight on our hands as both Declan AND Keller wanted to be Darth Vader for Halloween. I was prepared to point out that you cannot have two Sith apprentices at the same time. (It's ridiculous the kind of tidbits I've picked up in spite of my best efforts to ignore the whole production.) I was fully aware this may result in a duel, but lately Keller has taken to portraying Han Solo during their outdoor expeditions. Problem solved, perhaps? (I don't blame either of them though, both Vader and Han are better than Luke.) Last, unbeknownst to him, they have decreed that McCrea is R2D2, and I think he can pull it off.

So our summer has been filled with light saber fights and ridiculously intricate questions about the motivations of Emperor Palpatine and the physics behind the Jedi feats, to which my husband generally ends up replying, "It's the Force!" They constantly hum the Emperial March, in and out of unison. Even their Lego creations are Walkers and Robots rather than good old cars and buildings! All in all, it was a good summer. Nothing openly special about it. But, to them, I'm sure, it will be remembered that way. It will be their Golden summer. =)