We will start here

Wow, this place has been silent and I have been so sad about it.  Life just has gotten so busy.  But I am missing the part of me that blogged.  So this week, I am vowing to get up and exercise every morning and squeeze in some blogging.  I am going to start super simple with a ramble.  And then I have so much to catch up on I might just do some remembering some summer moment posts and see if I can find a rhythm of visiting this space again.  

Summer has been good.  At the beginning it felt like it was going to be long.  My kids don't go back until Septmeber 10th.  But it is already August.  And now the time is just going to fly.  Charley is begging to go school shopping.  We aren't signed up for any more camps.  I am determined to just go with the flow and relish all the time with three underfoot.  

My sister took that picture of me and the three as we said good-bye to the lake up north.  37 or 38 years I have been visiting that dock.  I haven't missed a year.  And now Charley has been there 9 years.  More to come on that week. 

This summer we have been busy with I don't even know what but it was nice this last weekend to make time for friends.  We hadn't been to their house in a while and last year around this time they came here to visit.  My kids always have such a blast with their boys.  Ed's buddy Mike has been a good pal since they were youngsters.  So fun to see them as dads now.  And Kelly and I can chat cameras, kids, cooking, and life.  Perfect summer weekend!  More to come on that.  

My photography thing has become this real thing.  It has even had moments where it has started to feel like a job.  Too many bookings in one week.  The break for our week up north was blissful.  And getting busy keeps me from doing my own families pictures.  BUT, I have started making some connections with photographers all over the US and I have had fun entering photos like the one above in themed weekly contests.  This one was picked for the theme public.  Doing these types of things allows me to focus on my style and my family and keeps me creatively challenged.  and it is so much fun to have a group of photographers or a photographer recognize my work as "top ten" worthy.  

Summer slide is in full swing here, even when we have to return our library books in laundry baskets.  So August has been about getting Charley back on track with his math facts, he has been great about reading.  And Henry is getting warmed up for a fantastic start to first grade.  Miss Syd keeps talking about preschool and I can't believe that this year I will have 2 hours, two times a week, without any children in the backseat.  Mixed emotions!  definitely. 

This little guy was hanging out in our yard.  He was literally the length of my pinky nail when we found him.  We have been feeding him a new crisp milk weed leaf daily.  And he is now the size of my pinky!  He travelled to Wisconsin with us this weekend and even came into the restaurant on the way home because we didn't want him to roast in the car.  These types of things are the little things I am so glad I took the time to do with my kids.  And I worry I don't do them enough.  But my focus these days is on what I am doing not what I am feeling like I am not doing.  And Henry's amazement at this little guys growth has been a reminder to slow down and relish these little things.  

We are fitting in zoo trips, just us.  And little sis wants to do everything like her big brothers...see them there in the distance.  We are trekking to the pool when we have an hour or two free, when a friend calls or texts that they are going to be there, when all three are in need of a bath, or when we need to burn a little last minute energy.  

These three are my joy this summer.   And even though August is typically a countdown to summer ending.....with school starting a bit later.  I am giving myself permission to think of that countdown just a wee bit, but to remind myself that we have September to countdown.