The Summer Journal, part I

I check my calendar occasionally to see which day of the month we are on,

and I have been amazed that we are almost halfway through July!

That means summer is half over, ya'll. (At least by the way I figure things! ha)

Just crazy.

So I'm trying to be intentional about taking time to experience

 the sweetness and richness that is summer,

in the middle of travel, gardening and all the seasonal activities.

One way to do that is to

pick all the flowers!

There's nothing quite like a bouquet of fresh-cut florals to adorn the table.

Sometimes, the littles join in on the fun.

This is Hadassah's creation!

Ahh...fresh veggies!

Aren't summer meals delicious?! It's so rewarding to find goodies in the garden.

The children seem to think it's a game,

except when it comes to picking cucumbers, because they're "prickly"!

This little guy chose a rake for his gift from Timeless Toys,

and he sure has gotten lots of use out of it already!

His mama isn't complaining about the willing help, either 😉 

Calla lilies have long been at the top of my list of favorite flowers.

I even carried them in my wedding bouquet!

And it so happens that there is a bed full of them at the back of my house, so I make sure to pick plenty while they bloom.

I found this patio set at a yard sale this spring, and it's been perfect for summer dining!

Now that it's so hot, we opt for indoors most evenings, but it comes in handy when we're entertaining a crowd.

Not much beats sweet corn, and my son seems to think it's just as good raw!

He ate the whole ear before I even had a chance to cook it! 

Too bad those cows of ours decided to get out and have a feast in my garden. 😠

Rainbows are such a beautiful gift from God, don't you think?

Bubbles are some of the easiest and cheapest forms of entertainment for children!

I think it's time to get them out again.

Our Nicholas Edward celebrated his fourth birthday in June!

I can't get over how much of a little man he is.

This toy is a favorite, because he's "going to be a farmer when he grows up!"

He chose to have a pool party with his friends,

and they had so much fun!

Let's see how many children are actually looking at the camera!

Eddie traveled to PA to help with wheat harvest for a week, so the children and I joined him at my brother, Jim's home for the weekend!

Aren't these raised beds beautiful?

The children had fun playing in the sprinklers on a hot afternoon!

Can't let the children have all the fun!  

From Juniata, we drove north to join my parents at their campsite at Locust Lake Campground.

The children had a blast playing in the sand!

Grandpa was their hero, because he helped them build a huge fort!

Mom had their campsite all decked out for the Fourth.

Stars + stripes, baby!

The campfire is so fun for the kids, and Nicholas was happy to be roasting his own hotdogs,

while chatting it up with Grandpa!

Messy, sticky, sugary S'mores: camping isn't complete without them!

It was such a perfect evening...well, other than the loud music coming from the campers next door! 😏

Dad treated us to ice cream cones and a pedal boat ride!

Yeah, we were spoiled 😊

There's something so peaceful about being at the lake.

I think God blesses us with a sweet kind of rest when we choose to take time

to enjoy His creation.

It sure felt that way to me!

Thanks for following along on Part I of our summer adventures!
Here's to hoping the last half of summer won't fly by quite so fast as the first part did. 😉
Happy weekend, friends!