Why is it so hard to blog in the summer?

I wish I had a wonderfully long list about how busy I am doing productive and good-mommy-projects which would justify not blogging, but I don't. Life has been a state of controlled chaos around these parts. I always mean to get into a good summer routine, but never do. Our summer seems chopped up, going to Canadian conventions a few weeks after the kids are out of school, waiting a month, then going to Altamont a few weeks before school starts. Is it worth getting into a routine for just a month? (Don't answer that yes it is! You will ruin all my justifications!) For now, my kids run semi-wild in the house and backyard and I attempt to keep up with housework.

It is summer.

I sometimes wonder what a summer of organization and routine would look like. But really, it would look like someone else's summer.

I haven't been taking a ton of pictures lately. But here are some. Some from when the Whites were up, and some more recent.

Hope your summer is as lovely and organized as you mean for it to be!

Dahlia

Hollyhock

Daylily

Queen Anne's Lace

Petunia

Geranium buds

Painted faces

Hoyt working on the lawnmower

Ashley, the face painter

Gilbert, the monster

Gilbert trying to get Hoyt to properly appreciate the calf. Gilbert is always wanting to tell or show Hoyt things.

Cousins

Princess

The swing jungle gym

Elliott was a cow with chicken pox. I love this kid!

The kids wanted to paint Ashley's face, so she let them. Hoyt is a cow with horns.

Elsie talking to the calf

Picking grass for the calf

Feeding the calf. 

Hoyt at the parade

Love this kid!

Yes, this is a lawn mower decorated like the General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard. 

The superintendent dressed as Mary Poppins

A storm moving in

Owen and Cody discussing logistics as the tail end of their hay got rained on.

Evening light after a rain

Lily exuberantly throwing sand in the air

Justin roping an Elsie June

Purple spotted knapweed

Queen Anne's Lace again. 

Sunshine and shadow-y grapevines

A hummingbird moth, as Nina informed me

Coming Home

(Random factoid, Coming Home by Rosamund Pilcher was one of my favorite books when I was a teenager.)

We have been home from our trip about.... two and a half weeks. And where is the blog post catching everyone up on our very fascinating trip? Not in existence. We left for convention the day after we got back. Then left convention a little early due to two vomiting children. The other two got sick over the next two days. Then I felt yucky. Then Justin worked Saturday. Then the Whites came up for this week. And Justin got sick.

In other words, things have been happening (excluding blog posts of course) around here. We are all hale and hearty now, enjoying cousin time and summertime. I will put up trip pictures sometime, but right now, pictures of today seem much more pressing.

We took a walk this morning. Complete with Cheyenne's camera, and Orianna's spy calculater necklace pen and a pad of paper. You know, just in case we needed to do some quick calculations on the go. 

Lily discovered that she could see a rainbow through her water bottle, so she spent some time walking like this, irritating Cheyenne and Orianna by telling everyone that she could see space through the bottle. The younger kids were fascinated and had to try it, the older girls were so disbelieving. But they wanted to see the rainbow.  

A freshly cut field, meant some sore feet. We didn't really plan this walk, it just sort of happened. So Lincoln was barefoot, Rilla was in flipflops, and Gilbert had crocs. All of which allow hay stubble to poke your feet. So Cheyenne carried Lincoln, Orianna held Gilbert's hand, and Lily coaxed Rilla through. 

Gilbert dejected. He got thoroughly sick of the high grass. 

Green apples and a truck. 

Sticks all around

We had a good rain yesterday, so the boys had something to do. 

Lincoln stomping with gusto.

Pool time!

Fleabane, up close and personal.

(forget what this is)

Burdock

Chamomile and some mufflers

Justin welding

Elsie and the tire swing

A very white calf. I forget what this breed is called. I keep thinking Lincoln park, but... can that be right?

Flowers Lindsey and I planted at Mom and Dad's. 

Rilla swinging

A few tiny fireworks

Cousins