Summer is here!

Early morning runs, long sunny days, bright blue skies, oppressive heat waves, nefariously persistent weeds, lingering glow-y sunsets, sweet abundant fruit, and no school: summer is here! 

An early morning view of our homestead from across the canal, taken during my Friday morning run.

Since the last day of the school year was on Thursday, June 12th, we have only been in summer mode for two days so far. But summer is here! Everyone is glad to have a break from the daily grind of the school routine. This week before school ended, I did some pondering, consulted with Jeff, and then revamped our summer routine plan. In the past, we have had the kids earn any daily screen time with equal outside time or exercise. When we moved into our current house, we added required yardwork to the routine, which counted towards screen time. Over the last two years, Jay and Rose started running so much that they didn't need to do anything else in a day to earn screen time over the summer. I knew we needed a new system. This was the year for it. I abandoned our beloved earn-your-screen-time plan in favor of a daily list: do these five things before you have screen time:

• Exercise (daily conditioning with the cross country team)
• 30 minutes of yardwork
• 1 indoor house chore
• 15 minutes of piano practice (Rose and Amber) 
• Practice your signature in cursive 10 times.

We haven't had a regular summer day yet to fully implement this routine, but I have high hopes for a smooth summer with a balance between structure and freedom-- between exercise, work, and play. We'll see how it goes!

A week of journal excerpts:

Monday, June 9th: Jeff and I both went running this morning at 6am. We didn't run together, but we had to get our exercise before the heat wave rolled all the way in. It was 70 degrees at 6am, and got all the way up to 101 this afternoon. Our back porch thermometer read 115! It was blistering outside.

After I drove Amber to school, I picked up a Walmart grocery order and went to the chiropractor. When I got home, Alivia's dad [my sister-in-law's father] was here picking cherries! He drove all the way over from the Seattle area today just to pick our tiny little cherries! We chatted briefly and then he went to finish picking cherries while I unloaded groceries and got to work mowing more of the front lot. 

I had about 40 minutes to shower and eat lunch after I finished mowing before I had to head over to the church to help with a funeral lunch. The funeral meal was very well done, but it was a long one. I was at the church for 4 hours. The extended family hadn't gathered together in lots of years before this funeral, so they enjoyed their time together. They said we could leave, and they would clean up, but I decided to stay and help, and I'm glad I did. Another sweet lady stayed with me and helped the whole time. I like doing funeral meals with her--we've worked at several together. We forgot aprons, so we tied big black plastic trash bags around our necks like giant bibs to protect our clothes from the ham drips and splatters. My hands still smell like ham, haha. I brought home some leftover ham and veggies for dinner.

Tuesday, June 10th: Whew, I did it! I got up at 5:30am and left on my run at 6am. I ran 4x1 mile repeats at 10k pace with 3 minute jogging recoveries. It was no joke and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do the 4th interval, but I managed it! Technically the full workout is 6 repeats, but I didn't want to overdo it on my first workout back from PT. It felt pretty good! I focused on form and did my best with the pace on the rolling Arrowsmith Road. It was hard doing a workout that early, but also a satisfying endorphin rush first thing in the morning. 

After drinking a protein shake, I made sure Amber was still on track getting ready for school, then went out and mowed for half an hour before driving Amber to school. I got all my outside stuff done before 8:15am! I stayed inside out of the 98+ degree heat after that. 

Tonight after dinner, I taught Amber how to shave her armpits. A week or two ago, I told her this summer I would teach her how to shave her armpits. I got out a razor and set it on my bathroom counter to remind myself to do it. Tonight before her shower, Amber came in and asked me to show her how to shave her armpits. So I went to her bedroom. She unselfconsciously stripped down and got in the shower, whereupon I walked her through it. After that teaching session, I told Jeff "parenting daughters is intense." Whew. 

Wednesday, June 11th: I am almost done mowing the front lot! 2 acres of lumpy gopher mounds, sticks, and debris buried in tall dry grass is slow going. I should be able to finish tomorrow. This morning I went on an easy 30 minute recovery run, then mowed another 40 ish minutes before taking Amber to school. It wasn't quite as hot today, but it was still nice to get the mowing done early.

I stayed at the school when I dropped Amber off this morning so I could watch the elementary school talent show, which ended up being more elementary than talent. Amber's 4th grade class did a song with boom whackers, hitting the plastic tubes on the floor to make notes and rhythm. Their performance ended up being the last act of the very lengthy talent show, so I sat there for 90 minutes watching [cringing] and waiting. It was a long haul. Amber had fun though! She dressed up in her white dress with little flutter sleeves and felt extra pretty. On the way to school, she sat with her arms above her head and said with a satisfied sigh, "I did a really good job shaving my armpits last night."

Thursday, June 12th: Today was the last day of the school year! Its officially summer break now! This morning instead of running and mowing early, I played piano for an hour before taking Amber to her last day of 4th grade. When I got home, I lifted with my friends Danae and Liz for an hour. Then I mowed the last section of the front lot. It is done! Now what!? Haha. 

With yardwork, it feels like I am barely keeping my nose above water, going from one urgent to-do to the next. I  finished mowing, but the driveway weeds are sneaking back so now it's urgent that I spray them. But the side flowerbed and the bed where I should have planted tomatoes two weeks ago is ridiculously overgrown too, so that needs to be taken care of, along with the weeds around the shed. Aghh! Hopefully the kids' required 30 minutes of yardwork every weekday is enough to stay on top of it all this summer! 

Friday, June 13th: This morning we took seven HS cross country kids (including Jay and Rose) plus Amber to run on Badger Mountain 45 minutes down the road (in two cars). I volunteered for Amber duty on this run, so I pre-gamed it with a 5 mile run of my own at home before we left. Amber and I jog/walked 3 miles and then hiked the last 2 miles of Badger. It was good mother daughter bonding time. I did have to work a bit to keep Amber's morale up during the running parts, but I wisely brought my hydration pack so she could take sips of water along the way. It helped both of us immensely, since we were on the crispy brown shade-less sagebrush-y trail for 80 minutes.

When we got home, I ate first lunch/second breakfast and then sprayed the driveway weeds. Jeff headed to his classroom to finish checking out for the summer. I was about to relax inside with an episode when Jeff informed me (on his way down the driveway) that the neighbors were out with their cows. We've been wanting to talk with them but since they haven't built a house on the 10 acre lot behind us yet, we have to wait till they come to take care of their cows. By the time I got outside on Friday afternoon, however, they were gone and only their cows remained. Since I am incapable of walking through our yard without fixing/weeding/tending something, I tried tying a few stray drooping grapevines up in the arbor and then started picking raspberries, which are apparently ripening quickly right now. I had a large handful in no time, so I went inside and got a bowl so I could continue picking. I talked on the phone while I picked. After I had a full bowl, I finally came inside to eat another lunch and rest.

We had family movie night tonight and watched a lame superhero movie that made me fall asleep. 

Saturday, June 14th: Happy Flag Day. I wore my stars and stripes socks today. This morning I ran 6 miles at 6:30am. The weather was a pristine and perfect: 48° when I started running: golden sunshine, cool morning air, fields of fragrant fresh mint, orderly rows of corn and grapes, rustic barns, shimmering irrigation rainbows, and cheerful birdsong. I fell in love with the Yakima Valley all over again! Today was our reward for surviving the heat wave earlier this week. 

After my run and a shower, I ate a bowl of homemade granola with fresh home grown raspberries on top while driving to the church for the annual ward walk to the park. It's my favorite ward activity of the year. It's simple and fun: walk to the park, chat, eat, play, go home. Amber scootered to the park. Jeff, Jay, and Rose ran. I walked with friends. The youth played a game of ultimate frisbee at the park. I chatted with friends. We left for home at 10am. Jay drove the girls home while Jeff and I went to the Valley Irrigation store to buy supplies to water the trees on the front lot. When we walked in, and the lady asked if we needed help, we said yes. She was incredibly helpful and guided us through selecting a massive 1200 foot roll of tubing, plus the various other little bits and pieces we need to create our own drip irrigation system for the fruit trees on the front lot.

At home, we put on our sun hoodies and got to work in the yard. Jay and Rose mowed, Amber used the weed whacker for the first time, and I attacked the horrifically overgrown weeds in the tomato bed. I had such a mountain of pulled weeds by the time I finally finished working! I planted three little tomato sticks in my large freshly weeded bed. Hopefully they don't die! I risked only getting three plants this year because they grow so big, and I didn't feel like investing more than $15. If they die though, we won't have any tomatoes at all. 

I came inside almost 3 hours later, coated in dirt, mud, and sweat. After a PB and fresh raspberry sandwich, I talked to my friend Laurs on the phone, took my second shower of the day, and prepared to veg with an episode. Whereupon I totally fell asleep. I slept for 20 minutes at 4pm--too late for a nap! But I managed to wake up enough to play the piano after dinner, in spite of my tired weed-pulling-hands. And we even had family scripture and prayer on a Saturday night! Woot! Summer will not get the better of us!

Jay dressed up in all black for his Frankenstein presentation in English class on Monday.

Mowing, mowing, mowing. I added up the piecemeal mowing I managed, and it took me about 6 hours total to mow the 2 acre lot. That included driving extra slowly, going over some sections twice, and  hopping off the mower to move branches regularly.

A blue heron visited our backyard daily this week. One day I watched it plucked a gopher right out of the ground and fly off with the rodent dangling in its beak! Generally I think long limbed long necked birds are creepy, but I welcome this heron any time it wants a gopher snack!

Showing off my sweaty plastic bag apron with Tammy in the church kitchen.

The flower bouquets that were on the tables at the funeral meal were gorgeous! I had to take a picture of them. A sister in our ward has a flower garden and serious flower arranging skills.

I had a bad couple of hours on Wednesday where I thought I had messed up our mower blades. After a very loud thwack, the mower died and a maintenance message flashed on the tiny screen. I peeked under the mower and pulled out a mangled metal piece of irrigation equipment. The mower blade looked totally bent and wrecked. When Jeff came home, he glanced at it and said it wasn't messed up; the blades were made wavy on purpose. Whew! The mower worked fine after I cleared the grass and debris out from under the blades.

Amber, in a white dress, returning her boom whacker after her class's performance at the school talent show.

My attempt at a wildflower garden seems to have failed. It is mostly gross prickly weeds and grass, but this week a few happy blue cornflowers bloomed and gave me a sliver of hope.

Last day of 8th grade! Last day of middle school! Rose is heading to high school!

Last day of 10th grade, with his fresh summer buzz haircut. Jay is ready to be an upper classman!

I forgot to take Amber's last day of school picture at home, so she posed on the sidewalk at school drop off. Last day of 4th grade for this vibrant soul! She has one more year of elementary school left.

Jay won the annual last day of school Eiffel Tower-building-with-desks contest in Jeff's French class. Jay took French 1A and 1B this year, and then advanced to French 2B for the last trimester of the school year. Tres bien, mon fils!

I admired my finished mowing job from all angles when it was done. There is something deeply satisfying about finishing a big visible yard project.

Admiring the mowing job from a few more angles (above and below).

Jay decided his personal celebration of finishing another school year was to drive to the grocery store and buy himself a steak on the way home from the last day of school. He cooked it up on the stove and ate it at 2pm. He said this was his first steak, and I realized he was right--I never make steak! It's too expensive and beef is hard to cook right.

Last day of school/first day of summer family selfie! Everyone was pretty tired but they rallied for my requested family picture.

Friday morning GLORY of a run along the canal. I love how our home is nestled in the bend of the canal. It's just so cozy and idyllic.

I braved the dogs and ran on Reeves Road and won--they did not escape their fence this time. I love the bucolic scenery on this rolling dirt road.

Our Friday morning Badger Mountain run begins!

Amber, jogging along the trail--a treeless trail has no shade but it does have a constant view!

Jay and his teammates looped the entire mountain while Amber and I toiled on our trail--they ran past us head-on while we were still outbound.

Pretty yellow blooms--I don't know if this is sagebrush or not--usually the big sagebrush bushes bloom yellow in September. Do they bloom twice? Not all of them were blooming, and the only blooms were on small bushes, so maybe it was a different variety. Whatever it was, it was pretty!

View from the top of Badger Mountain. We could see the temple from one angle. I'm not sure if this picture has the Columbia River Temple in it, but we had fun pointing it out while we walked.

Summit selfie!

Badger Mountain West Summit: 1,582 feet.

Hiking down the mountain with my Amber. We talked a lot and played I Spy.

Amber ran down the last 200 meters to the parking lot to hand off the keys because we realized everyone was waiting for the car keys I had in my backpack! We had a watermelon in the trunk!

Our crew of adventurers after a trail run and watermelon feast.

They told me to get in a picture too.

Our first raspberry harvest of the year!

Saturday morning glory run--this shady stretch of canal is so nice.

Mint and grapes, with Mt. Adams ghosting along the horizon.

I remembered to take a before picture of the tomato garden area. It was SO overgrown!

One hour later...

And another 45 minutes later: the tomato twigs were planted!

When I woke up from my nap on Saturday afternoon, the kids were all sitting at the table eating dinner together. We don't usually have dinner all together at the table on Saturdays, so this scene was sweet.

Summer is here!