Oh, Summer. You are so juicy. And hot. Really really really hot. It finally rained today, enough rain to cool things down by a few degrees and revive all living things. Our walks have been relegated to dusk this past week, and Dan and I were treated to a mink sighting and some screech owl whinnies a couple of nights ago...everyone is glad for a bit of cool.
We don't formally school in the summer (when do we "formally" anything?!) - which is to say that we don't stick to a routine, which has its pros (more sleep for the teen) and cons (a bit of crazy for mom). I anticipated more routine to July, but with my grampa's funeral service we have only a couple of weeks, some of them with Dan gone, and so...Life. We embark on another trip north in a week, so we are mostly just enjoying our days as they are, which is probably just as it should be. It's working.
Here is essentially a slide show of the other things we've been up to this summer:
Eliza participated in two summer intensives with other high schoolers (gasp!) and college students: mask work and stage combat. She loved both of them.
She is so capable and game. What a joy to experience as her mama.
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| *photo by J. Evans |
With Dan's new job, we've been spending time up in Dublin and Columbus this summer, and we managed to be there for their Pride Parade. Yes!! It was such a great community event, and Eliza walked with the theater company who were promoting their next show, Tammy Faye's Final Audition. This was her crowd. It was hot, so sunny, but Ani and I were happy to watch for hours.
There was The Birthday - and bowling - and a visit from grandparents...
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| I just don't even know. And yes, she approves the sharing of all the photos of her;) |
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| catapult and felt balls |
There's been so much reading - Dashner's Maze Runner series for Eliza, and The Sisters Grimm, whichever Harry Potter is in nearest reach, and Nancy Drew for Ani. There's been some art-making, like these collage cairns.
And what is summer without bubbles? There are bunches of DIY bubble solution and wands on the interwebs, and we used this one which seems to work pretty well, though the bubbles couldn't get super big with just the Dawn soap we used. Well enough for an evening of merry-making!
I love that these photos show the girls for the goofballs that they are. How I love them so...So much time together, and we still really like each other. Feeling very very grateful!
3 comments:
Who needs structure? Your gang seems to do a great job of coming up with ways to learn about the world around them. On the cirriculum? Maybe not, but design work, theater, interacting in a gay parade, learning more about how we are all alike, loving those around them. In between the books and games, they are being active physically, mentally and emotionally. Great job, Mom!
It looks like so much summah goodness going on over there!!! Camille would loooove a stage combat class. That's so cool that Eliza has the opportunity to participate in those classes. (Don't you love having a teenager in your life? We had several extra teens around here today and they were all such fun-loving, thoughtful, ridiculously goofy beings that they brightened up the house.) And bubbles, and pride parades, and poet puppets, oh my! Best wishes to you all for the rest of your summer days. <3
Yes, I love the teen spirit here in the house! Eliza's best friend is moving back this month, and I anticipate a lot of huge puppy energy filling our days. Some day I'd love to get our teens together!
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