Knock, knock, knock.
I crack open one eye and see the sunlight streaming in through the windows. Woodpeckers. Usually our woodpeckers are a problem in May, but all the birds seem to be arriving late this year. I bang my hand against the wall a few times to scare it off, and then pull the blankets back over my head.
Knock, knock, knock.
I'm starting to get a little exasperated now and I knock back on the wall a few more times. Finally, the woodpecker seems to have left.
I think about the sound that kept me awake last night, like the whining of a lost dog moving around our house. After worrying about it for 15 minutes, I sort-of woke Derek up to tell him I thought there was a dog wandering around outside. He told me it was the local elk mewing in the field down the hill. "Are you sure?" I had asked. "Positive," he replied as he closed his eyes again. I feel a little silly now for praying that whoever owned the "lost dog" would find it.
I push my thoughts away and roll over, squeezing my eyes shut against the sunlight, attempting go back to sleep.
Chirp, chatter, chirp.
A squirrel has decided to scold some other creature right outside my open window, and he's loud. Perhaps he's actually scolding me for daring to try to sleep past sunrise.
Basically all the wildlife is conspiring against my sleep cycle.
I give up and roll out of bed.
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Even though I wish I could have a day to catch up on my sleep, I'm glad the squirrel scolded me out of bed this morning, because I actually have some time to write a chatty post. I'm sitting on the porch now, coffee cup on the table, listening to the birds singing in the trees, and feeling the warm sun on my back. Watching out of the corner of my eye as Wyatt practices aiming his unloaded .22 at a distant tree. We signed up the two big kids for 4H this year - actually, I should say Derek signed them up. I made it very clear that I didn't have the mental space this spring to manage 4H commitments, so it was up to him to make sure they stayed on top of their projects, and he has held up his end of the bargain admirably. Wyatt is shooting in the county fair competition this weekend. It's been really great to see how seriously he is taking gun safety, and to see him get more comfortable with shooting, because, as he reminds us frequently, he'll be old enough to hunt big game next year.
Gwen signed up for sewing in 4H, and she and Derek have been figuring out how to work a sewing machine - with a little help from me. I am still the only person in the house who knows how to thread a bobbin, so I'm not totally unnecessary. They made a cute little shirt together, and I'm so proud of Gwen for her hard work in learning how to follow a pattern - I don't even quite know how to follow a pattern! My sewing expertise is limited to blankets.
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At the beginning of June, I was sure I'd have buckets of time to read a bunch of books, organize the school room, take up a new hobby, and write on the blog. It was summer break, after all! No schoolwork on the to-do list for a few months. Unfortunately, that is not quite how it's worked out - I don't even know where June went, I just know I was out of the house almost every day for pre-planned trips, errands, appointments, the homeschool conference, and VBS. You don't even want to know how much I spent on gas. But the last appointments were checked off the list this week, and I am looking forward to catching up on house projects, cooking more, and yes, more reading and hobby time for the next month.
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Speaking of trips, for 4th of July weekend we all went to visit my grandparents at their cabin in a cute mountain town a few hours away. I love getting a chance to visit them each summer, because it's one of those trips that is just refreshing. We don't have a packed-full schedule, we just enjoy one or two activities and spend the rest of the time playing card games with my grandparents. Derek and I love card and board games, and we rope our friends into playing with us whenever we have them over for dinner, so it's a treat spending a whole weekend chatting and playing cards at the cabin. The kids usually run around outside, play a few games themselves, and watch movies during our downtime.
This visit my grandparents took us to an outdoor wildlife park that mainly featured animals that we have in the mountains, and a few from further north. Red foxes, coyotes, black bears, mountain lions, porcupines, elk, and even a wolf and a grizzly bear. We've seen many of these creatures many times in the wild, but it was really cool to see them up close. We got there in time for the afternoon feeding, and the keeper told us about each animal as they came to the near side of their enclosures to eat. It was really cool! Afterwards we went out for pizza, then home for sparklers in their driveway since the fireworks display was cancelled for inclement bad weather.
It was a great weekend all the way around!
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On our way home from visiting the cabin, we decided to stop at a trail to a waterfall that we usually don't have time to visit. We piled out of the car and spied the waterfall in the distance, then read the sign directing us to either the main trail or the "primitive" trail. Well, let's do the primitive trail! We set off and followed the kids up an overgrown, rocky path, over a log here, under a fallen tree here.
After crossing a small but steep gully, we couldn't figure out where the "primitive" trail was anymore. Derek decided to climb up the hill and see if there was a good way through for the kids. As he came back down the hill, announcing it was too dicey to take the kids that way, I spotted the main trail down the hill through some trees. We all scrambled over a fallen tree and a marshy area, and reached the path.
As I led the kids along, I noticed that the main trail reconnected with the primitive trail on an easier path, and the big kids and I scrambled up and got an amazing view of the waterfall! The water was cascading 100 feet over a cliff into a little pool, then continued in a bubbling stream down the hillside. We could practically feel the mist on our faces, even though it was a couple hundred feet away, and a perpetual rainbow decorated the bottom of the fall. It was gorgeous!
It was indeed too steep for the kids to go any closer, so I sent them back down the path to rejoin Derek, but curiosity got the better of me - I picked my way across the hillside to get a little closer to the waterfall. At twenty feet from the falls, the water was roaring very loudly, and the mist occasionally whipped into my face, making my clothes damp. Then I noticed that Derek and the kids had gone on the main trail across the creek and were waiting on the platform on the other side - it seemed silly to go all the way back on the steep, somewhat slippery path to get up with the main trail, so I decided to cross the stream in front of the waterfall instead.
Did I mention I was only wearing flip flops for this hike?
It was somewhat poorly planned, but I made it safely across the stream (which wasn't deep at all or I wouldn't have attempted it), and met up again with Derek and the kids at the overlook on the other side. It was pretty amazing to be so close to such a tall waterfall!
We all were very impressed with the waterfall and agreed it was a great 4th of July adventure in lieu of fireworks.
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When we haven't been face-to-face with huge waterfalls or running mundane errands, I've really been enjoying being home this summer. Aside from it being somewhat stressful financially to go anywhere with gas prices as they are, I've really been enjoying cooking more when I've had a rare day at home. I've made a caramel apple pie a couple times now, biscuits and gravy from the Magnolia cookbook (which I must admit were a huge hit), and sweet and sour chicken from scratch (as good as any we've had at a restaurant). I really want to perfect a key lime pie this summer, and perhaps even attempt the holy grail of pies - the lemon meringue. I don't know how many times I've heard my dad fondly remember his granny's lemon meringue, and though I don't have any hope of supplanting her pies in my dad's memory, maybe my kids or grandkids can remember my lemon meringue pies with fondness someday.
For my birthday in June, Derek took me shopping at Ulta and Hobby Lobby and let me buy whatever I wanted - I got some nice lotion and makeup at Ulta, and at Hobby Lobby I found an inspiring watercolor and drawing book. I would really like to spend a little time playing with watercolor and practicing drawing this summer. I can't guarantee I will share any of my attempts online, but it's something I always wanted to get better at, and I'm hoping for more down time in the next few weeks to practice.
On the to-do list for today though, I have to call and set up a couple more doctor appointments (though these won't be for a couple months yet), register for our homeschool umbrella school for the next year, renew HSLDA, start to plan a bit for next school year and potentially order some curriculum, and cut Gwen's hair. It reaches to her shorts waistband right now, but she wants it to be mid-back length instead.
The kids have donned their swimsuits to play in the kiddie pool on the porch, and I just spotted a water gun, so I think I'll wrap this up before water comes flying this way!
How has your summer been so far? Has it been as crazy as my June was, or have you had some down time?
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