Big, Long 2016 Summer

We are having a thorough summer! The move actually lengthened it for the kids, who finished early in Blacksburg and start late in Pueblo.

More time for mid-day couch-cushion forts and flashlight reading!

More time to earn household helper stars!

More time for rides at the park!

More time for new hobbies! The kids love kinda yoga, the cheese animal-based yoga program on Amazon prime.

More time to check in with our friends at the Pueblo Zoo:

More time for family outings to the Nature Center:

We've had an unusual number of cloudy days around here! It always feels odd to step outside and not be blasted with sun arrows.

This time, we didn't bother with the raptors and instead took a nature walk. We saw rabbits, hummingbirds, enormous ants, osprey chasing other birds, a few cool songbirds, lizards and snakes! And we speculated about paw prints on the river bed.

The difference in the palette on the river, versus the scrubby desert hills just a short distance from the river, is striking and beautiful.

There was so much peace in the hills, on a day that was cloudy and yet starkly dry and warm. Enchanting.

We watched this guy's meanderings for a while:

On a day to day basis, I'm spending most mornings at home these days, desperately trying to get Adele potty trained. It's uphill trying to convinced the world's stubbornest four year old to do ANYTHING she doesn't want to do. And she does not want to use the potty! In either capacity! She has had one hospitalization for constipation and two UTIs (one of which warranted about the strongest antibiotic they give kids) just this summer. This is urgent and exhausting in a way that reminds me of trying to sleep train Miles. It just doesn't seem possible. Pray for us!

But we get out, especially when Adele has early morning potty success. I'm coming around to King Sooper's, which I discovered labels their Soda Aisle, "Pop." 

We go to playgrounds, to the pool, to the zoo for storytime, and to our local branch library. It's really a very good summer, as I have the time not only to enjoy being with my kids but to work on my own needs. I'm back to daily yoga, I'm meditating regularly, and really making mental health strides. Health was my theme for 2016, and despite not having reached optimal health I've made a lot of progress. 

Oh, and we did this last weekend:

I can't believe it's August, but I also can't believe there are still 2 and a half weeks before classes at VT begin, and THREE AND A HALF WEEKS before schools starts for the kids. This is a totally different life rhythm. I've learned to be okay with more video games than previously, less frenetic cleaning, less Productivity, fewer outings-- and more peace. Because I can't do Full Time Parent the way I used to do Weekend Parent. I'll just break. 

There is loneliness. There's some ennui. Steppin' Out is this weekend, and it would have been our seventh time there. Steppin' Out 2010 was our first weekend in Blacksburg. Our church is small and doesn't seem to have a lot of people our age (thought, as Jon always reminds me, there's always lower attendance in summer). I'm not sure where to meet anyone with similar interests, especially while caring for the kids full time. 

But there's also joy and exciting milestones (for the kids and for me) and hope. Lots and lots of hope. 

There is truly (and literally) never rain without a rainbow here.