nearing summer’s end

This week a 100 degree plus heatwave has reminded us that summer has not relinquished her hold just yet, and wouldn’t you know it, the heat came exactly with the start of the new school year.  In my memory, the cycle of the schooling season meshed a little better with the cooling change in the weather, but then it seems that school always started after Labor Day, and summer’s last gasps were welcome warm sunny days with cooler mornings and evenings.  But then again, I didn’t live in Southern California!

July sunset

Looking back over these fly-by 2 1/2 months,  we’ve managed to fit in many of the items on the kids’ to-do list as posted on our kitchen chalkboard:

chalkboard

It’s great when the kids’ list reflects the mom’s list, and when each of the items is a realistic “want to-do.”  The only one here we did not pull-off was the lemonade stand, funnily enough.  Our lemon tree has been bearing fruit all summer, but the real lemon season comes later–so maybe the lemonade stand will too!

drawing of our bug house with bug residents

actual bug house

as seen through my sunglasses

future surfers?

waiting for dark

when will the movie start?

kids' movie at the drive-in

brothers play store in the garage

...and pirate

watching the pumpkin patch grow--still no pumpkins

rub-a-dub dub

summer's blue

topping experts

from the oven to the table

another day, another boat

homemade icecream sandwiches

getting a handle on it

These are just a few of the simple, mostly at-home, pleasures that occupied us from June to August, and as simple pleasures go, I think they add up to what  we can officially call a “good summer.”